Egypt-US relations are strong
Regional-USA, Politics, 11/7/2001

US secretary of state Colin Powell, in an interview with the Egyptian Nile news channel, said that the US administration is fully satisfied with the support it gets from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the Mideast and the Gulf region regarding the Afghan issue.

Washington has received positive responses from the governments of these countries, he added.

There will always be people who criticise and ask for more, he noted, but stressed he is well satisfied with responses of the Egyptian government.

Powell further referred to the powerful statement made by President Hosni Mubarak in this regard and to his talks with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Maher.

Answering a question about any plans for a new US initiative on the ME, Powell said that the US has an excellent initiative supported by all parties concerned including Egypt, Jordan, the EU and the UN.

What is needed is putting an end to violence so that the Mitchell recommendations and Tenet understanding would be carried out.

As for the possibility of a visit by the US diplomat to the region, Powell said that he had visited Egypt twice since he assumed office.

On his description of the Palestinian Intifada as a continued campaign of violence, Powell said the Intifada reflected the Palestinians' feeling of frustration, but it would not, however, end such a feeling .

What we need is ending violence, and when this happens, he is sure there will be a response on the Israeli part, the U.S. top diplomat elaborated.

The violence we have witnessed over last year has not achieved its aim, and the Israeli response has not enabled us to move to reach a ceasefire, kick-start confidence-building measures and resume negotiations so as to settle this terrible conflict, Powell said.

The Secretary of State said Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Palestinian leadership should exert further efforts to curtail violence and start peace negotiations, he added.

Asked about the American attitude towards Iraq, Powell said his country was always concerned over Iraq as a country that produced weapons of mass-destruction for use, not only against the U.S., but also against the Iraqi people themselves.

Powell said the current stage of the fight against terrorism was not focused on Iraq, adding that there were no plans to launch military operations against any other countries.

On whether there was an evidence linking Iraq and the September 11 attacks or the current flow of anthrax-laced letters, Powell said "no .

There were contacts between Iraq and A1 Qaeda network at a certain point, but there is no evidence of a direct link between the country and the terror attacks or the anthrax letters, he noted.

Terrorism is plaguing many parts of the world, including Egypt whose former leader Anwar a1 Sadat was killed in a terrorist act, therefore, we must all unite in the war against terrorism, Powell added.

Settling the Middle East problem will not solve the issue of terrorism all over the world, he said, but added that it would be a very good example to shed violence, resume the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue and find a method for a peaceful co-existence between the two peoples.

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