Egypt’s FM Argues Egypt Undaunted by Disclosed Cables

Egypt’s foreign minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, maintained that the US diplomatic cables leaked on the WikiLeaks site about Egypt proved nothing and that what Egyptian officials say in closed meetings is the same as what they say in public. He emphasized that there was no contradiction between Egyptian officials’ public and private statements.

The leaked US diplomatic cables revealed Egypt was anxious about Iran’s influence over Hezbollah and Hamas proxies demonstrating much hatred toward Egypt’s popular and influential Muslim Brotherhood. One cable highlighted that Egypt had lobbied for a delay in the referendum for South Sudan’s independence.

According to Abul Gheit, the ‘openness’ of their statements illustrate the strength of Egypt’s position. He argued, however, that not necessarily everything we read is true.
Nevertheless, no official comments were previously made by the government concerning the WikiLeaks cables.

Whistleblower WikiLeaks released its most recent Egyptian cable Friday, December 10, quoting the US ambassador to Cairo, Margaret Scobey, asserting that President Hosni Mubarak, in power since 1981, was likely to run for a sixth term in 2011, and undoubtedly win and remain in office until he dies.

Despite speculations, Mubarak has not yet officially announced that he will seek a sixth term in the presidential bid slated for next year.