Article
U.S. Hated `Like Never Before,' Mubarak Says
Cites Iraq invasion, support for Israel, White House plays down criticism
Toronto Star, 21 April 2004
EXCERPT: Arabs in the Middle East hate the United States more than ever following the invasion of Iraq and Israel's assassination of two Hamas leaders, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in comments published yesterday. Mubarak, who visited the United States last week, told French newspaper Le Monde that Washington's actions had caused despair, frustration and a sense of injustice in the Arab world. This could threaten U.S. and Israeli interests globally, he said. "Today there is hatred of the Americans like never before in the region," he said. He blamed the hostility partly on U.S. support for Israel, which assassinated Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in a missile strike in the Gaza Strip Saturday. Rantissi's predecessor, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was also killed by Israel on March 22. "At the start, some considered the Americans were helping them," Mubarek said. "There was no hatred of the Americans. After what has happened in Iraq, there is unprecedented hatred and the Americans know it. "People have a feeling of injustice. What's more, they see (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon acting as he pleases, without the Americans saying anything. He assassinates people who don't have the planes and helicopters that he has." Israel says such killings are self-defence. But Mubarak said the Rantissi assassination could have "serious consequences" and instability in Gaza and Iraq would not serve U.S. or Israeli interests. Asked about Sharon's plan to pull out of Gaza, Mubarak welcomed any withdrawal that was agreed with the Palestinians and in line with a peace "road map" drawn up by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. The White House minimized the problem yesterday, saying U.S. President George W. Bush did not feel snubbed by Jordanian King Abdullah II's decision to leave the United States early and skip a planned meeting with Bush this week. Spokesperson Scott McClellan said the meeting was merely postponed until May and chalked it up to "domestic issues" in Jordan.
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