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Leadership: With a lethal combination of arrogance and naivete, the U.S. has mishandled a crisis of its own making in the Mideast's most important Arab power. Egypt might now turn back toward Moscow. Anwar Sadat was remarkable in more ways than one. On top of making peace with Egypt's longtime foe, Israel, he took the land of the pharaohs out of the Soviet orbit into what seemed a permanent friendship with America, something that appeared impossible under his predecessor, the leftist Gamal Abdel Nasser. Perhaps even more amazing, after Sadat's 1981 assassination his legacy of peace and close ties with...

In our White House, it's no crime to be clueless. But It's no great honor either.

So imagine you are America's most senior military official and you want the world to know you have been in regular contact with your Egyptian counterpart at a time of geopolitical crisis. Which news outlet would you choose to get the word out? In a signal of the Obama administration's apparent contempt for what Sarah Palin calls the 'lamestream media', last night the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen picked Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'. Can you imagine Chief of Defence Staff General Sir David Richards heading for Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live...

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak at the White House in Washington in this August 18, 2009 file photo. Obama on Sunday urged an "orderly transition" to democracy in Egypt, stopping short of calling on Mubarak to step down but signaling that his days may be numbered.

US President Barack Obama's Middle Eastern strategy isn't working, but his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday was unlikely to help him understand why and what was needed to be done to achieve better results. Obama and Mubarak designed the visit to demonstrate the central place Egypt currently occupies in the US's strategy. Obama delivered his address to the Muslim world in Cairo in June and has already met Mubarak three times since taking office. Mubarak shares many of Obama's convictions and assumptions about the conditions needed to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet, while Obama has called upon...

Yesterday, President Jacques Chirac of France, who in the past has taken a hard line against Iran, shifted position and proposed that Iran would not have to freeze major nuclear activities in order for the talks to proceed. Now it was France and Chirac who were acting unilaterally. They were taking positions and making concessions to Tehran without consultation with Washington. In a single stroke, Chirac has undermined the unity between the United States and the Europeans in dealing with Iran. At the same time, he has undercut the Bush administration's position and reduced the chances that Iran can be...

Mofaz meets with Mubarak in Cairo, agrees to opening Rafah with third party By Israel Insider staff and partners October 27, 2005 Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that agreement has been reached to let a third party join Egypt and the Palestinians monitor Gaza Strip crossing points. Shaul Mofaz, who held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a Cairo palace, said talks were ongoing over who the third party would be, although Egypt and the Palestinians have expressed support for a European presence. "It has been initially agreed for a third party to be present on the Rafah crossing...

Foregone conclusion or not, Egypt’s September 7th presidential election has stirred President Hosni Mubarak, the incumbent candidate, into domestic political action, staking his campaign for re-election on a detailed plan to attack chronic unemployment through aggressive economic expansion. In his August 17th campaign-opener speech, Mr Mubarak promised to create at least 700,000 new jobs over the course of his next six-year term, through E£700bn (US$55bn) worth of investments in manufacturing, trade, agriculture and tourism. While the government would provide the stimulus with new roads and sewerage networks, more than half of the proposed package would come from the private sector,...

Italy probes possible CIA role in abduction By John Crewdson (Chicago) Tribune senior correspondent An Italian prosecutor investigating the apparent kidnapping of a suspected Islamic militant in the streets of Milan served military authorities this week with a demand for records of flights into and out of a joint U.S.-Italian air base in northern Italy. Italian newspapers have reported that the prosecutor, Armando Spataro, is investigating the possible role of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in the disappearance of Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan, better known as Abu Omar, a popular figure in Milan's Islamic community who vanished Feb. 17, 2003....

Something is brewing but nobody knows quite what Jun 2nd 2005 | CAIRO From The Economist print edition President Hosni Mubarak is struggling to keep a lid on reform but knows he must allow people to let off a lot more steam “THE problem is not that you're heading the wrong way, but that you've got one short leg and one long leg.” When a keen observer of Egypt said this ten years ago, he was referring to its halting steps at economic reform. The words could just as well describe current moves towards political reform. Egypt's desire for change...

Analysis / Sharon the peacemaker By Aluf Benn Ariel Sharon went back to Egypt yesterday after 23 years, and was received as a leader for peace. The public sulha with Hosni Mubarak was a lot more than just a meeting between two leaders, both former generals, who up until recently squabbled in public. The Egyptian president received Sharon as a legitimate leader, with equal rights, a member of the club of regional leaders. Sabra and Chatila was erased; everyone focused on the future. One of the veteran Israeli delegates who has seen many a summit and peace conference did...

Sharon And Abbas Agree To End 'All Acts Of Violence'SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Feb. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday declares to halt military action against the Palestinians after he agreed with Palestinian presidentMahmoud Abbas to a mutual ceasefire. "During talks with Abbas, we agreed to stop over four years of violence. Israel will cease its military activities against all Palestinians anywhere," Sharon said at the close of the one-day summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. "Today we are moving toward goal of peaceful, dignified, quiet lives for all nations in the Middle East,"...

Dec. 23, 2003 Mubarak calls Sharon, thanks him for Maher visit By JPOST.COM STAFFEgyptian President Hosni Mubarak telephoned Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Tuesday night to thank him for the "welcome and the successful meetings" held Monday in Israel with his Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. Officials in the prime minister's office said, "The two leaders discussed ways to advance the diplomatic process in the region. Mubarak emphasized his desire to advance Egyptian relations with Israel and expressed his interest in helping to advance the peace process." Meanwhile Farouk Kaddoumi, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's political department, arrived in Cairo on...