Con Coughlin: Obama, the cold-eyed assassin of Middle Eastern despots
[Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's executive foreign editor.]
At the risk of provoking the wrath of the politically correct lobby that wants to see wholesale reform of the Middle East, I am starting to feel rather sorry for Hosni Mubarak.
For thirty years this proud, Egyptian patriot, who fought with distinction in his country’s bitter wars with Israel, has devoted his life to serving his country’s best interests. A lot of people, particularly those advising US President Barack Obama, seem to forget that, when Mr Mubarak came to power in 1981, his country teetered on the brink of collapse after the charismatic Anwar Sadat was murdered by Islamic militants for daring to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Mr Mubarak, a professional military man, suddenly found himself thrust into the limelight and given the daunting task of stabilising his country at a time when the region was never far from all-out war. And it is mainly down to his careful, if unexciting stewardship, that Egypt has been a beacon of stability in an otherwise violent region.
Throughout all the region’s main crises – the Lebanese civil war, the Iran-Iraq war, the two wars against Saddam Hussein, and the war on terror – Egypt under Mr Mubarak has been a staunch and reliable ally of the West, even sending its troops to fight for the liberation of Kuwait twenty years ago.
But all this seems to have been conveniently forgotten by the Obama administration which seems more interested in promoting its politically correct credentials than standing by a loyal and valued ally...
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
At the risk of provoking the wrath of the politically correct lobby that wants to see wholesale reform of the Middle East, I am starting to feel rather sorry for Hosni Mubarak.
For thirty years this proud, Egyptian patriot, who fought with distinction in his country’s bitter wars with Israel, has devoted his life to serving his country’s best interests. A lot of people, particularly those advising US President Barack Obama, seem to forget that, when Mr Mubarak came to power in 1981, his country teetered on the brink of collapse after the charismatic Anwar Sadat was murdered by Islamic militants for daring to sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Mr Mubarak, a professional military man, suddenly found himself thrust into the limelight and given the daunting task of stabilising his country at a time when the region was never far from all-out war. And it is mainly down to his careful, if unexciting stewardship, that Egypt has been a beacon of stability in an otherwise violent region.
Throughout all the region’s main crises – the Lebanese civil war, the Iran-Iraq war, the two wars against Saddam Hussein, and the war on terror – Egypt under Mr Mubarak has been a staunch and reliable ally of the West, even sending its troops to fight for the liberation of Kuwait twenty years ago.
But all this seems to have been conveniently forgotten by the Obama administration which seems more interested in promoting its politically correct credentials than standing by a loyal and valued ally...