The Egyptian Army Still Considers Israel the Enemy

President Hosni Mubarak cannot believe his eyes as they scan the streets of Cairo and the cities of Egypt — cities both large and small. Nor can he believe that what he wove throughout 30 years in semi-absolute power can fall in 30 days, or fewer. In his insistence on saying that Egypt is not Tunisia or Lebanon, there is a reflection of his firm personal conviction that the meek Egyptian populace is unable to change his general outlook overnight. And the popular Egyptian revolution reverberated immediately in a great number of countries worldwide, and protests denouncing the regime of Hosni Mubarak went out, demanding him to step down. There was not a single protest afoot in any place on the globe in support and defense of this government. President Mubarak released a set of promises and covenants to the protestors in the isolated statement he addressed to the Egyptian people, as he did in the past, when the people believed his words — or pretended to — and kept quiet.

The good humor of the security apparatus slipped from President Hosni Mubarak’s hands today, but he is still banking on other international actors, especially the United States, to reaffirm his grip on the army. The purpose of the recent appointments he made is to state that the army is headed in this direction. The era of President Mubarak’s long rule has failed in many areas, among them the degradation of living standards and economic conditions, because of the malicious corruption exercised by the ruling class and those close to Mubarak. Another failed practice is the repression of universal freedoms and human rights. Yet, the greatest failure was his inability to accomplish what the American administration demanded in return for aid packages and political support to the Mubarak government. This imperative was the normalization of relations with Israel. Mubarak failed to realize this goal on the popular level, since Egypt still considers Israel the enemy, despite the peace treaty. And Hosni Mubarak knows this. He never traveled to Israel throughout his long reign, so as not to provoke the people toward an explosion.

President Mubarak also failed in normalizing the Egyptian military’s philosophy and transforming Israel from an enemy into a friend. This reality is a hugely reprehensible American trait, to the disadvantage of Mubarak. The latest secret documents from WikiLeaks revealed that America was disturbed by the Egyptian army’s persistence in considering Israel the basic enemy, despite the three decades that have passed since the signing of the peace treaty. The Egyptian People’s Guard is headed in this direction, which explains the popular sympathy for the army. Another document, sent at the end of December 2008 to the previous American Army Central Command leader, David Petraeus, upon his visit to Cairo, disclosed direct American criticisms of Egyptian military leaders. According to this document, Field Marshal Muhammad Hussein Tantawi — the universal leader of the Egyptian armed forces who has served in this role since 1991, having reached the age of 77 in 2008 — was capable of remaining in his position for years to come, thanks to his relationship with Mubarak. Yet, the American administration was pressuring for change in the leadership of the Egyptian army. And what angered the American administration more was that, in 2009, the Egyptian army conducted wide-ranging maneuvers to fend off hypothetical Israeli attacks in Sinai with the participation of air and ground forces!

Everyone is convinced, inside and out, that the time has come to leave, and the matter rests with President Mubarak and when he is convinced of that.