Egyptian Government Newspapers on the U.S. and President Bush on the Eve of His Visit to the Region

On the eve of President George W. Bush's arrival in the Middle East to participate in summit meetings in Jordan and Egypt, the official Egyptian newspapers renewed their criticisms of the U.S. and President Bush. The following are excerpts from such articles:

'Bush is Like Saddam, a Murderer, Tyrant, and Oppressor'

Muhammad Nafi' wrote in Al-Gumhuriya: "It has been proven that Bush and Saddam are the two sides of the same coin, they are both murderers, oppressors, tyrants, [and] dictators who turn their backs on international laws and standards."

"But Saddam Hussein is more courageous than the American President, because he showed his ugly face to the world without any makeup, while Bush changes masks each hour of the day [with] the efficiency of a Hollywood actor. He is always acting on the world stage the role of the benevolent angel who is sent from heaven to bring peace, security, and love to every inch of the globe, to conquer Baghdad and replace its dark nights... with a shining morning sparkling with the sun of freedom."

"However, the shock was tremendous when it became clear that Saddam's hell is Bush's promised paradise. The one who used to kill tens of people with a pistol is gone, and then came the one who strangles hundreds of people with a silk cord! Saddam used to behead people, and Bush is 'beheading' people's livelihood."

"The American administration decided to dissolve the Iraqi army, and the security system, thus it fired 400 thousand employees. Similarly, it dissolved the information and the defense ministries, the military courts, and the state national security [apparatus], with 100 thousand employees. That means that the head of the civilian administration [Paul Bremer] signed the decree to starve half a million families!!"

"The world was up-in-arms against Saddam because he did not honor the law and did not abide by international standards, but the whole international community kept silent when Bush challenged the U.N. – the laws and the standards – and struck Iraq before exhausting all the [peaceful] options. Saddam stole Kuwait, but Bush is robbing Iraq… We already long for the Saddam era, in comparison with the Bush era. Saddam showed himself in front of everyone as an evil, blood-shedding despot, while Bush dressed himself as a white angel, and convinced everyone that he is a good man with an angelic mission and that his goal is to save them from evil, to put an end to their humiliation and to feed them. And as it is a divine good-deed, he does not require thanks or reward! In time they discovered that the devil and the angel are one person who is performing two tasks, Saddam fed them poison, even though he clearly wrote the contents on the bottle, but Bush is giving them the poison mixed with sweet honey!!" [1]

'Bush Suffers from Oedipus Complex'

Anis Mansour, a renowned columnist for Al-Ahramwrote: "President Bush should get treated by American psychiatrists. Not because he is crazy... President Bush the son is much more attached to his mother than to his father. So, we are faced with a case of Oedipus, who loved his mother and murdered his father. Bush the son enrolled in the same schools that his father attended. He worked in the same occupation as his father: buying and selling oil. He got closer to his mother when his sister died of cancer. When he was six years old, his mother heard him say to his friends: I cannot leave my mother in these conditions."

"His father used Saddam and then fought against him, [defeated him, and] kicked him out of Kuwait. The American forces were about to enter Baghdad, but Bush the father turned them back seventy kilometers. The son followed the same route and triumphed. He eliminated Saddam Hussein. He will succeed where his father failed and will be elected for a second term."

"Historical psychologists say that Bush the son pleased his mother, but not his father, who warned him against the war and the battle against terrorism. He asked him to be content with this amount of success, but the son repeated what his mother said: 'NO.'" [2]

Dr. Fathi Abd Al-Fattah wrote in Al-Gumhuriya : "…Bush senior, Bush junior, bin Laden, Al-Qa'ida, Taliban, Sharon, Netanyahu, and the Likud party are rooted in a radical religious mythology. All of them act against socialist principles and social justice [using] religious slogans and excuses. They maintain that they are the camp of believers which fights the camp of heretics. One can scratch one's head in a serious attempt to understand which one is the evil-camp indeed…" [3]

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Muhammad Sayyed Ahmad concluded a lengthy anti-American article published in Al-Ahram with the hope that President Bush will not be elected for a second term: "…Is there a way to influence American public opinion, so that the elections next year become a turning point and reveal a different American face, meaning would the U.S. restore its democratic face, or will it continue to act as an empire? This is the challenge that will determine the future of the world." [4]

'The Removal of the Sanctions Against Iraq Require the Iraqi People to Fight the Americans'

An editorial in the main Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram determined that the Iraqis "have no choice" but to fight in order to expel the American forces, and that the Iraqi Ba'ath party should not be excluded from this struggle. "…Considering the situation, the Iraqi people have no choice but to fight in order to [achieve] their independence, rather than wait for international support, which – it is safe to assume – will not materialize."

"Truth is that the most important step that the political Iraqi forces have to make is to establish a national Iraqi body including all national political factions in Iraq, without excluding any political group [meaning the Ba'ath party] in order to act and expel the colonizers… If the Iraqi national forces succeed in establishing such [a] body, it could serve as a transitional government in spite of the occupying forces. It can also become a true leadership for the Iraqi people in their struggle for freedom and independence… This is the greatest goal for the Iraqi national forces, who should exercise utmost wisdom and forgiveness… instead of revenge…" [5]

Gamal Kamal, a columnist for the daily Al-Gumhuriya,wrote about the same topic: "…The recent decision of the Security Council… is a cause for laughter and sadness at the same time… this decision causes the heart to bleed, brings tears to the eyes, and dissipates whatever reason is still there. This is a decision that shrouds the present with fog and throws the future into darkness… They maintained that it was a decision to remove the sanctions against the [former] Iraqi regime, but their euphoric feelings of victory and their arrogance prevented them from admitting that their goal was to punish Iraq, the Iraqi people, their history, their present, and their nation…"

"This decision is similar to the conditions of surrender that the Allies imposed on the Germans following WWII, except that now they have international stamp of legitimacy…" [6]

'The Americans Can Expect Many More Casualties'

An editorial in Al-Gumhuriya claimed that the Americans recently killed in clashes with Iraqis will make the U.S. realize that "this fire will keep on raging because nations do not consent to foreign occupation, even if it gives them silk and velvet. Nations do not accept occupation, despite its sweet promises of democracy and prosperity."

"Therefore, the Americans should expect additional casualties. The longer the occupation continues, the greater the number of casualties will become. While the Americans celebrated their victory over the Iraqi dictatorship, they forgot that they defeated Saddam and the Ba'ath, but did not defeat the spirit of the courageous [Iraqi] people. Nations are not defeated in one, two, or three battles. The way nations resist occupation is sweeping, even if it has to deal with the mightiest power in the world."

"Therefore, if the Americans do not rush and withdraw from Iraq, it is not inconceivable that they will suffer a defeat or another catastrophe, like the one in Vietnam, at the hands of the brave Iraqi opposition… In any way, the end of every occupation is known ahead of time, and the countdown for the end of the American occupation of Iraq has started…" [7]

'U.S. Policies Cause the Escalation of Terror'

Samir Ragab, editor of Al-Gumhuriya, warned that if President Bush's visit to the Middle East fails, the frustration will escalate and with it the terror attacks against the U.S.: "The U.S. invaded Afghanistan and was not able to bring stability there… The U.S. succeeded in conquering Iraq and in controlling its peoples' resources claiming that it is bringing the Iraqis security, stability, and the rule of law. However, regrettably, what is happening is completely different. The battles hardly stopped between the original citizens of the country and those who came with the intention of obliterating their identity, their history and their traditions. It is clear that the situation will deteriorate with every sunrise, the Iraqis cannot take their land and their honor lightly…"

"Therefore, it would behoove the U.S. administration to revert back to 9/11/2001, to the day when many things collapsed – not only the two towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington – and ask themselves the same question that they have been mulling over since then: Why do they hate our policies and even our existence?... Every time the nations see the dark oppressive clouds looming over their hopes and aspirations, they are compelled spontaneously to avenge themselves from those who continue the policies of lies…" [8]