Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram: The U.S. is dropping genetically altered
food … in areas full of landmines
MEMRI, October 26, 2001
The American Papers Launch ‘Deranged Attack’ on Egypt In an article titled:
“Disturbing Phenomenon in the U.S. Media”(1) Al-Ahram’s editor Ibrahim Nafi’
wrote:
“Recently… we have encountered a deranged attack by many American
papers on Egypt’s position in the current crisis; we have noticed intentional
attempts to artificially create structural disagreement between the U.S. and
Egypt. The situation has reached such a state that these newspapers incite the
American government against Egypt.”
“…Some of the most prominent columnists in the American papers, such as
Thomas Friedman, took part in these attacks. If we look at the attack launched
by The Washington Post as an example of the barbaric attack against Egypt,
we will find that it is based on a biased misapprehension of the Egyptian
position.”
Egypt Has Independent Positions – Even If They Clash With American Policy:
“The accusations are ludicrous, but at the same time they reflect
ignorance, misapprehension, and arrogance…
What is strange is that the authors of these articles do not realize that it
is the U.S.’s policy that aspires to turn governments in most of the countries of
the world into dictatorships when it demands that they blindly support
American measures, while ignoring their own national interests and public
opinion. The American government and media ignore one essential fact: Egypt
is a sovereign state with principles, independent positions, and highly realistic
views about the international problems and the crisis.”
“I do not know how the Americans dare to speak in this way, primarily in light
of the fact that they have no reason to think that Egypt is obligated to adopt
the American positions absolutely, with no thought. Egypt has
always adopted independent national and pan-Arab positions on all international
and regional problems, even if these have clashed with American policy…”
Egypt’s Position on Terror:
“The truth is that these media attacks view the Egyptian position from a
narrow angle, and misinterpret it, not according to its real essence… Egypt
expressed complete sympathy for the disaster in America, and
strongly condemned the terrorist action. It called on the U.S. to consider the
crisis of September 11 in an objective and balanced manner. Egypt stated that
terror should be struck with full force…
Egypt emphasized that efforts to strike at terrorism
must not lead to damage to innocent civilians, in Afghanistan in particular and
in the world in general. Similarly, Egypt maintained that the American war
against terrorism need not lead to attacks on any Arab or Islamic countries,
which will, if it happens, constitute cruel and stupid aggression that will
necessarily serve Israel’s interests and necessarily increase the hatred in Arab
and Islamic public opinion towards the American policy…”
The American-British Military Actions Hit Civilians, Children, and Women:
“The developments of recent days have proved the justice of Egypt’s
position and the validity of Egypt’s apprehensions, which President Mubarak
has been pointing out since the beginning of the crisis. The American military
action in Afghanistan has entered a most dangerous phase, after the aerial
bombing and the American missiles hit civilians and residential areas in the
Afghan capital, and after the bombing continued for a relatively long time and
more extensive than initially expected.”
“The main goal of the American bombing and missile attacks was to achieve
what is called air superiority over the arena of events, something for which, it
can be assumed, no more than one day, or a few days at most, will suffice, in
light of the Taliban movement’s and Al-Qaida organization’s few central military
targets in Afghanistan.”
“This means that American missiles and bombs have nothing to hit in
Afghanistan. Instead of cutting this stage short, the American forces have
greatly expanded it, and thus many questions have arisen concerning what
exactly the U.S. forces are bombing…
Similarly, it would be expected that the bombings would not hit innocent
civilians. This development is evidence that the American-British military actions
in Afghanistan have begun to hit civilians, children, and women; it is not limited
to the ‘scarce’ military targets, but is expanding into populated areas and
causing great damage to civilians.”
America’s Humanitarian Aid May be a Crime Against Humanity:
“The U.S. tries to prove in every way possible that its military campaign
is not directed at the Afghani people, but at the Taliban movement and the
Al-Qaida organization. It has tried to express this in ways considered
exceptional in the history of warfare. American planes drop humanitarian aid
from the air on Afghani soil, as aid for the starving Afghani people, while
American fighter planes, bombs, and missiles crush other regions in
Afghanistan. This method poses serious risk… for the Afghan people, because
is dropped in areas full of landmines, which cause damage to the Afghani
citizens trying to gather it up.”
“Similarly, there were several reports that the humanitarian materials have been
genetically treated, with the aim of affecting the health of the Afghani people. If
this is true, the U.S. is committing a crime against humanity by giving the
Afghani people hazardous humanitarian products, as it was said in those
reports…”
U.S. Government is Behind Journalists’ Attacks on Egypt:
“There is no doubt that the recent attacks on Egypt by the American
press aim at blackmailing our country. They are trying to divert attention from
Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. Obviously, we understand that
the positions of the American media are not necessarily representative of the
American government’s official position; it may be that they represent the
position of the author of the article, of the newspaper, or of a particular stream
in the U.S. But we also realize that such attacks are not usually isolated from
American governmental influence, particularly at a time of crisis and war. We
also view with great concern that the attacks by the American press on Egypt
were simultaneous, which means that there is a collective coordinated attack in
the U.S. against Egypt and Arab countries…”
Galal Dwidar, editor of the Egyptian government paper Al-Akhbar, focused on
The Washington Post. Headlining his article “Will The Washington Post atone
for the crimes against Egypt?” Dwidar wrote:
“We in Egypt are sick of the pro-Israel bias of the American media that
submit to the directives of the Jewish lobby. Because some of what is written
on Egypt and the Arabs is a lie based on deceit, the names of some of those
newspapers and television stations – whose identity is American in theory
but Zionist in practice – have become synonymous with unreliability. We
have begun to view these mouthpieces as a media apparatus in the pay of…
the Zionist organizations and the apparatuses working clandestinely… What
they write can be described only as blackmail, and as desperate attempts to
distort the image and to pressure it to change its loyal and moral
positions.”
“Oh how I hope that The Washington Post’s aspiration to interview President
Mubarak is an attempt on its part to atone for the media crime it committed
against Egypt, which was expressed in an article rife with lies and evil
intentions, written and published last Thursday [“The Arab Paradox,” October
11, 2001] in favor of Israel, the pioneer of state-sponsored terrorism in the
entire world.”
“In response to the nonsensical words of The Washington Post, we say: ‘Is the
fact that American planes are attacking and killing civilians in Afghanistan,
instead of the wanted terrorist leaders, compatible with human rights? Can the
agents and those who sell their country’s secrets be considered heroes and victims only
because the law was implemented in their case? Is what Israel does every day
against the Palestinians compatible with the principles of human rights? …'”(2)
Al-Akhbar columnist Dr. Abd Al-‘Aati Muhammad also rebutted the articles in
the American press. In an article entitled “The new terrorists,” he wrote:
“Since the events of September 11, the emergence of
some who can be called ‘new terrorists,’ who are not very different than the
old terrorists. Both kinds negate those who oppose their opinion and maintain
that the truth is only on their side, and are incapable of self-criticism or
admitting their mistakes. While the old terrorists have used arms to repress
those who oppose them, the new terrorists are now using an even deadlier
weapon – the weapon of ideological oppression…”
“The campaign of hatred and incitement against Egypt currently being
waged by The Washington Post and The New York Times is a good example of
the new terrorists whose voice is rising in the West…
Although we have already become accustomed to these Western
attacks, this time they have shown the true intentions of the group that
influences the capitals of the West…”
“There is no need for us to remind these new terrorists that Egypt was the first
to express support for the American political campaign against terrorism. There
is no need for us to remind them that the American democracy, for which they
now weep, is the one that put its hand in the hands of the old terrorists; it is
that whose hands were stained with the blood of innocents in
several wars; it is that which supported many autocratic regimes in
Asia, Africa, and in Latin America, and its conscience was not shaken by the
fear for democracy . By what human right do the new
terrorists from the U.S. claim to teach others what democracy is? Does this not
fundamentally contradict the idea of democracy?”(3)
Endnotes
(1) Al-Ahram (Egypt), October 19, 2001.
(2) Al-Akhbar (Egypt), October 18, 2001.
(3) Al-Akhbar (Egypt), October 16, 2001.
