Open Letter From a Field Marshall to Obama
Published in Al Messa
(Egypt) on 13 February 2012
by Momen al-Habbaa (link to original)
Mr. President and dear friend, Barack Obama
The President of the United States of America
Respectful greeting,
I was very pleased with the visit of our friend Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of America, and his entourage to our country. I am sure that you know that deep and frank discussions were conducted with the goal of containing the tension between our two friendly countries caused by the problem of American organizations working on our land without authorization and American money supporting certain people with the goal of influencing politics in our country. With this slow freezing of relations between our countries, I have decided that it was necessary to send you this letter to clarify any ambiguity that some people see in our situation, so as to continue the friendly relationship between our countries and our peoples.
You and your friends in Congress, Mr. President, know very well that Egypt changed a lot after the glorious revolution of Jan. 25. The people have realized that they gained control of the reins of their own administration and that they are finally united as owners of their own country. They, like everybody else, enjoy freedom, pride and dignity. It had been the duty of the authorities that supervised and funded these dynamic and controversial American organizations to accommodate the numerous letters that originated from our country in this regard. The people also realize very well that the time of Mubarak is completely over, and it is impossible to reproduce the Mubarak era in another form or to wear a thawb again.
Mubarak’s command has seriously ended, and the Egyptian people will not accept the imposition upon them of any conditions to which they do not assent. I have told you this repeatedly and frequently because I care about continuing our country’s relationship in the right way and about avoiding clashes and bumps that would not be at all to our advantage. But it is clear that the supervising authorities of these organizations and their funding were insisting on retaining their old approach, without recognizing the changes and without interest in the desires of the Egyptians.
And this is the truth: We, who are alerted to the necessity of adhering to the change that occurred in Egypt after the revolution and the opening of the doors of freedom for our people, are not alone. I still remember an article written by the famous Thomas Friedman in the New York Times, in which he said that it is no longer possible for Washington to effectively manage its relationship with Egypt over the telephone, talking with any one person.
I still remember the advice of the American professor Dr. William I. Robinson, whose work I read but whom I have never, unfortunately, met. He said that, “among the greatest mistakes that it is possible, in the future, to pin on the United States is that of seeking to reproduce the reign of Mubarak in Egypt, just without Mubarak himself.”*
I sincerely hope, Mr. President, that you will take this threat seriously and that you will trust Robinson’s advice and all the letters that say to you that the Mubarak model has fallen forever. I hope you will realize that you need to change your approach to Egypt to ensure the continuation and stabilization of the relationship between our countries.
Yes, there is a broad cross-section of our society that is looking forward to a strong, trusting relationship with the American people, but in a framework of equality and equilibrium, without dictates or dependence. This part of our society is not happy with your country. There is also another section of our society — a wide one — that is despairing and frustrated because America’s positions are always biased toward Israel. This section does not believe in any healthy and balanced relationship with America. It does not see any possibility of this. We would like to win over this first section together, but indications of any response up to this point do not inspire optimism.
Some among you imagine that your military aid will be able to forcibly tame the Egyptian people in accordance with your desire, but this is a strategic error threatening the future of the relationship between our countries. Some of us show you that the political money that you generously gave is able to help change the trends in public opinion in Egypt to make it follow your positions and your convictions. Perhaps you agree that the democratic experience of recent elections in Egypt revealed that this perception was false. These people received your funding and presented themselves as an alternative Egyptian state, ultimately winding up as a miserable minority in the first free and fair parliamentary elections. They are without any effect on the Egyptian street, and they will end all the attempts in which they are currently pushing our national journey toward failure, since the Egyptian people are aware of what they think.
Legal authorities will reveal who controlled the money and the maps to divide our country. They are currently monitoring mosques and churches, and there are units of our army concentrated in the headquarters of American organizations in Cairo so that we do not widen the silence that has left the political sphere to the judicial sphere. We, together as a country, are being respectful and waiting for the judiciary’s words, so that all American citizens will learn of the great dignity of Egypt’s honorable judiciary.
Please accept my affection and respect,
Momen al-Habbaa
*Editor's note: The quote, although accurately translated, could not be verified in English.
The President of the United States of America
Respectful greeting,
I was very pleased with the visit of our friend Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of America, and his entourage to our country. I am sure that you know that deep and frank discussions were conducted with the goal of containing the tension between our two friendly countries caused by the problem of American organizations working on our land without authorization and American money supporting certain people with the goal of influencing politics in our country. With this slow freezing of relations between our countries, I have decided that it was necessary to send you this letter to clarify any ambiguity that some people see in our situation, so as to continue the friendly relationship between our countries and our peoples.
You and your friends in Congress, Mr. President, know very well that Egypt changed a lot after the glorious revolution of Jan. 25. The people have realized that they gained control of the reins of their own administration and that they are finally united as owners of their own country. They, like everybody else, enjoy freedom, pride and dignity. It had been the duty of the authorities that supervised and funded these dynamic and controversial American organizations to accommodate the numerous letters that originated from our country in this regard. The people also realize very well that the time of Mubarak is completely over, and it is impossible to reproduce the Mubarak era in another form or to wear a thawb again.
Mubarak’s command has seriously ended, and the Egyptian people will not accept the imposition upon them of any conditions to which they do not assent. I have told you this repeatedly and frequently because I care about continuing our country’s relationship in the right way and about avoiding clashes and bumps that would not be at all to our advantage. But it is clear that the supervising authorities of these organizations and their funding were insisting on retaining their old approach, without recognizing the changes and without interest in the desires of the Egyptians.
And this is the truth: We, who are alerted to the necessity of adhering to the change that occurred in Egypt after the revolution and the opening of the doors of freedom for our people, are not alone. I still remember an article written by the famous Thomas Friedman in the New York Times, in which he said that it is no longer possible for Washington to effectively manage its relationship with Egypt over the telephone, talking with any one person.
I still remember the advice of the American professor Dr. William I. Robinson, whose work I read but whom I have never, unfortunately, met. He said that, “among the greatest mistakes that it is possible, in the future, to pin on the United States is that of seeking to reproduce the reign of Mubarak in Egypt, just without Mubarak himself.”*
I sincerely hope, Mr. President, that you will take this threat seriously and that you will trust Robinson’s advice and all the letters that say to you that the Mubarak model has fallen forever. I hope you will realize that you need to change your approach to Egypt to ensure the continuation and stabilization of the relationship between our countries.
Yes, there is a broad cross-section of our society that is looking forward to a strong, trusting relationship with the American people, but in a framework of equality and equilibrium, without dictates or dependence. This part of our society is not happy with your country. There is also another section of our society — a wide one — that is despairing and frustrated because America’s positions are always biased toward Israel. This section does not believe in any healthy and balanced relationship with America. It does not see any possibility of this. We would like to win over this first section together, but indications of any response up to this point do not inspire optimism.
Some among you imagine that your military aid will be able to forcibly tame the Egyptian people in accordance with your desire, but this is a strategic error threatening the future of the relationship between our countries. Some of us show you that the political money that you generously gave is able to help change the trends in public opinion in Egypt to make it follow your positions and your convictions. Perhaps you agree that the democratic experience of recent elections in Egypt revealed that this perception was false. These people received your funding and presented themselves as an alternative Egyptian state, ultimately winding up as a miserable minority in the first free and fair parliamentary elections. They are without any effect on the Egyptian street, and they will end all the attempts in which they are currently pushing our national journey toward failure, since the Egyptian people are aware of what they think.
Legal authorities will reveal who controlled the money and the maps to divide our country. They are currently monitoring mosques and churches, and there are units of our army concentrated in the headquarters of American organizations in Cairo so that we do not widen the silence that has left the political sphere to the judicial sphere. We, together as a country, are being respectful and waiting for the judiciary’s words, so that all American citizens will learn of the great dignity of Egypt’s honorable judiciary.
Please accept my affection and respect,
Momen al-Habbaa
*Editor's note: The quote, although accurately translated, could not be verified in English.