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Amb. EDWARD L. PECK
Peck served in Tunisia and Egypt, was chief of mission in Iraq and Mauritania, and deputy director of the Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan White House. He said today: “Asked why they don’t have Mubarak step down, the administration says that is not its role, it’s up to the Egyptian people, while tacitly admitting involvement in efforts to pull together acceptable elements to form a government. This will be seen by many as another example of U.S. Dynamic Hypocrisy.
“All states act hypocritically, but the U.S. is the only hyper power, so does it globally. Another example is loud public criticism of human rights in Egypt, but nothing about their almost total lack [of criticism] right next door, in Palestine. As the Israelis themselves have stated, a significant part of the problem Mubarak faces, shared to a somewhat lesser extent by other Arab leaders, is strong popular resentment of his acquiescent support for Israeli policies — at U.S. urging. No one in his or her right mind — and not everyone qualifies — wants bad things to happen to anyone in the Middle East, but they have and they will if the occupation continues — and I hope I am wrong.”
The New York Times reports today: “The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately and turn over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.”
See Jane Mayer’s “Who is Omar Suleiman?” She writes: “Suleiman has headed the feared Egyptian general intelligence service. In that capacity, he was the C.I.A.’s point man in Egypt for renditions — the covert program in which the C.I.A. snatched terror suspects from around the world and returned them to Egypt and elsewhere for interrogation, often under brutal circumstances.”
For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020, (202) 421-6858; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
