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Mubarak fears war could lead to annihilation

Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Thursday, December 13, 2001

CAIRO Ñ Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that the Middle East, including Israel, is heading toward destruction.

Mubarak said the region is sliding into war that could involve weapons of mass destruction. The Egyptian president said he relayed the warning to the United States and American Jewish leaders.

In an interview to the Beirut-based A-Safir daily, Mubarak said the continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian war could lead to regional war. He portrayed a scenario in which Israel would assassinate Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, a move that would spark first anarchy and then revenge.

"I have no doubt that the people's patience will run out and this will force governments to engage in arms race, with the goal to acquire weapons of mass destruction," Mubarak said. "Biological weapons Ñ even a test tube of germs can destroy an entire nation Ñ chemical weapons and nuclear weapons can be brought in suitcases from the former Soviet Union."

"Then the entire region, including Israel, is liable to be annihilated," Mubarak added.

Mubarak said Egypt wants the elimination of all nonconventional weapons from the region. He said he has warned Washington and American Jewish leaders that Israel's weapons of mass destruction threaten the region.

"I am not saying that in another year or two the area will be destroyed," Mubarak said. "Perhaps in another five or 10 years the region could be destroyed by nuclear weapons, chemical weapons or biological weapons. No one will be saved."

The Egyptian president acknowledged that the Bush administration has been under congressional pressure to stop arms sales to Cairo. But Mubarak said U.S. interests would ensure that such sales proceed.

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