|
N. Korean missile report rattles Cairo; Mubarak blames Israel
|
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thusday, November 29, 2001
CAIRO Ñ A report that Cairo agreed to buy 24 North Korean No-Dong medium-range missiles has set off alarm bells in Egypt.
Western diplomatic sources said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak fears a
backlash by Congress over the latest news of a secret missile deal between Cairo and
Pyongyang.
Egyptian officials said Israel had leaked what they said was false
information on the No-Dong shipments, Middle East Newsline reported. Egypt's official Middle East News Agency
denied the existence of the reports of the deal described by the South Korean JoongAng Ilbo daily.
Earlier this week, South Korean diplomats
and defense analysts confirmed reports that North Korea agreed to
ship 24 No-Dong missiles to Egypt in a deal reached earlier this year.
On Wednesday, Mubarak issued a statement that denied any intention to
obtain No-Dong missiles from Pyongyang. Mubarak said Egypt was the target of
a smear campaign in Washington.
"I have repeatedly declared that we are not seeking this kind of weapon
because we are not seeking aggression," Mubarak said. "Our fixed principle
is seeking to achieve just peace under which peoples would live safely
inside a region free of mass destruction weapons."
In his statement, Mubarak focused on Israel's weapons programs. The
Egyptian president said Israel is the only country in the Middle East that
deploys chemical and nuclear weapons. A recent CIA report lists several Arab
countries and Iran as possessing chemical weapons.
U.S. officials are said to have raised the latest report with Egyptian
Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. The sources said Maher was bracing for intense
questioning from Egypt critics in Congress. The foreign minister also met
with the American Jewish Committee.
Earlier this month, Mubarak complained that Israel was stopping U.S.
plans to sell advanced weapons to Egypt. Pro-Israeli lobbyists have pressed
Congress to block Bush administration plans to sell Egypt 53 Harpoon Block
II satellite-guided anti-ship missiles in a $400 million deal.
| 
