I met President Husni Mubarak for the first time in 1983, and have conducted a few dozen press interview with him since 1990; I have always remained in contact with him. With the revolt that is currently ravaging the Egyptian street, I will draw on hundreds of earlier questions and answers with him, to perhaps comment on what represents his political thought, as something that needs no explanation. I once suggested to him a political stance against the United States and Israel would gain him popularity. He said, “Listen, when Abdel-Nasser made his revolt in 1952, there were 18 million Egyptians. Since I took over from Anwar Sadat, the population has grown by 30 million Egyptians. When these people manage to live, we can talk about this patriotism of yours.” The Free Officers Revolt is around 60 years old. Thirty years of this period saw rule by Abdel-Nasser and Sadat, with another 30 under Husni Mubarak, who has let Egypt and the Egyptians avoid political and military adventures that afflicted the country; this is the most prominent part of his politics. I am not praising Husni Mubarak or accusing him, but merely relating what I know about him. He was and always has been very stubborn and fears no one. If he trusts someone, he speaks with complete frankness. He told me several times, “Turn this off,” i.e. the tape recorder, and gave me his opinion about an Egyptian king, president or official. Today, Omar Suleiman became vice-president, and I can write a column with my traditional question to the president: “When will you appoint a vice-president?” He would answer this question in different ways, but the situation is embarrassing and there is no room for joking today. What I am saying is that General Omar Suleiman, and I am a friend of his, is a wise man. He is a patriot, and Egyptian, with an Arab dimension. He is completely honest. I do not know the prime minister-designate, Ahmad Shafiq, and his work will judge him. There is a Lebanese expression that has different variations in Arab countries: “When the cow falls, many knives come out.” I have read justified criticism of the regime of President Husni Mubarak, and have also read hateful and sick items, and objectives that reveal the nature of their circulators, calling to mind the Arabic proverb, “a jar only leaks what it contains.” The government of Ahmad Nazif resigned, even though the street revolt was against the regime, not the government. What I have said, and say today, because I am trying to write the truth here, and not my wishes, is that this government was tasked with improving the Egyptian economy, and was very successful. However, corruption ruined its efforts and the good economic performance did not reach poorer classes, based on the notion of the trickle down effect. Instead it stopped at the higher classes, which were already rich. This is what I said in my column when I put forward the names of 13 Egyptian public figures for the presidency, including Jamal Mubarak, Mohammed El-Baradei and Omar Suleiman. Ahmad Nazif was not corrupt at all, but as clean as his name, which means just that in Arabic. Rashid Mohammed Rashid and Youssef Ghali are also honest, while Ahmad Abul-Gheit is above any suspicion. Faiza Abu Naga is better than ten men in terms of her ability and ethics. There are many others of this type in the Nazif government, but I am talking about those whom I know personally. If there is a corrupt minister, or more, and I do not rule this out, there are many ministers I do not know, and I have no proof against them of the type that could be accepted in court. I am not vain enough to expect that this will happen tomorrow or the day after, as if it is coming in the next 24 or 48 hours. What I am saying today with complete certainty is that the situation in Egypt is very difficult, and I am afraid that Egypt's young people will be disappointed once again, because I am convinced that even if we get Albert Einstein to be the prime minister, and all living Nobel Prize in Economy winners in the government as ministers, we would not discover a quick solution, or even one that requires a few years, for Egypt's economic problems. Egypt covers a million square kilometers but only one-tenth of it is lived in, or is livable, which means that 82 million people live in 100,000 square kilometers. Meanwhile, for purposes of comparison, Syria covers 185,000 square kilometers, all of it inhabitable, and has 22 million people. Syria has natural resources in the form of agriculture, water and oil that exceeds Egypt's; it has nearly twice as much inhabitable area with one-fourth the population. This does not mean at all that Egypt's problems are intractable. There are solutions, but they are all long-term. Reforming the education system, so that Egypt goes back to exporting educated people and teachers, is not just a five-year effort, but perhaps a ten-year one. The same goes for building an export industry and mechanizing agriculture, etc. Egypt is my country, just like Lebanon, Palestine and every other Arab country. In my heart I only have love for Egypt and its people, and anxiety, and a plea for God's mercy on all of us. [email protected]
