Rice meets Mubarak

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice today concluded her meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia.

Iran, Iraq and the recently sworn-in Hamas-led Palestinian government were high on the agenda.

Ms. Rice thanked Mr Mubarak for his part in trying to persuade Iran to co-operate with the UN over its nuclear programme. Journalists asked why Israel had not been questioned over its nuclear programme, and whether or not the U.S. would attack Iran.

One journalist described the situation in Iraq as a "democracy of torture," to which Ms. Rice responded that "there will be a democracy that is for Iraq...because democracy is the only form of government in which human beings truly get to express themselves."

The Bush administration had undoubtedly hoped for a consensus among its allies about how to deal with Hamas, but Ahmed Abul Gheit, Egypt's foreign minister, told Ms. Rice that it was premature to freeze financial aid to Hamas before the seeing how the organization would "develop and evolve."

Regarding Egyptian domestic politics, Ms. Rice praised last year's presidential election, which she said was a step towards democratization. (Last year saw Egypt's first multi-candidate election; Mubarak still won by an overwhelming majority.) She received criticism from academics and editors, however, over the refusal of the U.S. to deal with al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin (the Muslim Brotherhood), which they saw as undemocratic. The Brotherhood, which was outlawed in the 1950s, is Egypt's largest opposition group; it was not allowed to participate in last year's "democratic" election.

Egypt receives $2 billion a year from the U.S. in military and financial aid. It has long been under pressure from the U.S. to implement political and economic reform. As the most populous Arab Muslim country, Egypt is seen as an important ally in the 'war on terror,' as well as a mediator for the U.S. in the Middle East.