OBAMA RECONSIDER RECEIVING MUBARAK AT WHITE HOUSE

Chicago, IL /3/1/09/ Award winning author Aladdin Elaasar called upon President Obama today to revisit American/Egyptian relation and reconsider receiving the Mubarak’s at the White House. Mr. Gamal Mubarak, President Mubarak’s son, is expected to visit the United States and the White House this week. President Mubarak of Egypt is expected to visit the U.S. early April, as well.

As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak enters his 28th year in power and his ninth decade, Egypt’s future is more uncertain than ever. Egypt has the highest rates of unemployment among developing nations, young unmarried people, pollution, and corruption. The Egyptian economy is stagnant with inflation reaching 14-18 percent and a large gap between a small, upper class, and the 40 million who live under the poverty line. Egypt also has one of the highest rates of child labor, infant mortality, female illiteracy, corruption and abuses of human rights. Egyptian society and state media are rife with anti-Americanism and anti-Semiticism.

President Mubarak has been polishing his son Gamal to be his successor in a country which is supposed to be a republic with elected officials. Unlike Sadat and Nasser, Mubarak has persistently refused to appoint a vice president. Egyptians are enraged at the thought that Mubarak’s son, Gamal, would be their next ruler.

In his inaugural speech, President Obama addressed “those leaders who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history”. Author Aladdin Elaasar believes that those words apply to the Mubarak’s regime.

“We have been hearing about the New Middle East, and winning the hearts and minds of people of the Middle East, but it stopped right there, a mere lip service. Egyptians and Egyptian Americans are waiting for change. American/Egyptian relations should be stronger than ever, but not as business as usual. History taught us that shaking hands with dictators turns out to be a liability rather than an asset. Remeber the Shah of Iran, Suharto of Indonesia and Marcos of the Philippines; once thought as strong allies of America”, says Elaasar.

President Obama could face a bad choice in the largest Arab country, considering the several scenarios that can take place in Egypt. Would an ambitious general stage another coup? Would that general ally himself with the Muslim Brothers, Hamas, or Hezbollah? Would Egypt witness another Khomeini-style revolution? Considering the alarming rising poverty figures in Egypt and the disparities between the classes, could Egypt be overrun by an angry and hungry mob, French Revolution style? Just south of Egypt lies another unfriendly neighbor; Sudan’s government with its generals and clerics. With Hamas taking control in the Palestinian territories, Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon; backed by the Baathists in Damascus and the Mullahs in Tehran, the region is rife with radical elements who would all agree on one thing: hatred for America and wiping the state of Israel off the map.

Political stability, peace, and development in the Middle East, can best be achieved through reform rather than chaos. Foreign support may protect and prolong the lifespan of an authoritarian regime, but it cannot maintain such a regime indefinitely. It is in the interest of all parties concerned, including authoritarian regimes and their patrons, to opt for political reform rather than risk the imposed and unpredictable transformation of dissent. The U.S. should recognize that it should pressure friends into genuine reforms. – END

ALADDIN ELAASAR, a former professor of Arabic at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, is author “THE LAST PHARAOH: MUBARAK AND THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF EGYPT IN THE VOLATILE MID EAST”. Born, raised and educated in Egypt, Elaasar is a notable expert on Egypt and the Arab World.
For inquiries, please Contact:
Aladdin Elaasar
Tel 224 388 1353
Email: omaraladin-AT-aol.com
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