"Mubarak to press Obama for Israeli settlement freeze" by Michael Slackman, New York Times | August 17, 2009
CAIRO - In many ways, Mubarak’s visit to Washington signals a new beginning to an old script: As Arabs and Israelis argue which side should go first, Arab states revert to their old roles in the region, and the United States tempers its criticism of Egypt’s political and human rights record in return for Egypt’s regional cooperation.
During the Bush years, the region’s more radical forces, those against the peace process, had the upper hand, including Iran, Syria, and Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip. But while the dynamics of the region are always fluid, the tone, at the moment, appears to favor those in the peace camp, regional analysts said.
That shift has been attributed in part to Iran being distracted by the internal political tumult over its disputed presidential election, and Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world, especially his speech in Cairo.
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WOW! Was that pure 100% Zionist propaganda!
Of course, you wonder why the Times didn't mention Mubarek's frailness in a background paragraph -- or do you anymore, readers?
CAIRO - Who would succeed him as head of the Arab world’s most populous nation, an American ally that plays a critical role in issues ranging from Mideast peace efforts to curbing Islamic militancy?
Those most often cited are his son, Gamal Mubarak, and his intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman. But because Mubarak has no vice president, even the mechanism of succession is unclear, leaving the choice to backroom machinations among the ruling party, the security services, and billionaire businessmen.
Betting on Omar Suleiman, the intelligence chief and a former military man. Suleiman is Mubarak’s point man in discussions with Israel and the Palestinians, and in relations with the United States he also is the enforcer of the president’s orders, making him government’s effective number two.
Gamal Mubarak, 45, is the party deputy head with a powerful role in domestic policy and is surrounded by an inner circle of influential and wealthy businessmen-politicians. Older party veterans are believed to be skeptical about the son, however.
If Mubarak seems less lively than usual, it may be the effect of losing his 12-year-old grandson to an undisclosed illness in May.
Awwww, the poor dictator.
How many Palestinians have died while he keeps the Rafah crossing sealed for Israel? They average 14 a day!
Many diplomats and Egyptian political observers believe Mubarak’s health took a downturn. He no longer gives the impromptu news conferences at which he would joke with reporters he knew.
They have to be the most self-absorbed people on the planet!
In mid-July, several independent papers ran a front-page photo of Mubarak being helped up the stairs in Italy during the G-8 summit. State newspapers didn’t print the picture.
So what's the Globe's excuse for so many transgressions?
Later in July, Mubarak appeared tired while addressing a Non-Aligned Summit at an Egyptian resort. When Obama visited in June, Mubarak didn’t greet him at the airport or sit in on his speech to the Muslim world at Cairo University. When they finally did meet, Egyptians were quick to spot the contrast.
“He looked so old when Obama stood next to him,’’ said Ahmad Morsi Ahmad, a tax collector in his late 60s, talking with friends at a Cairo coffee shop.
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