Mubarak in the second part of Word for History: It is our interest to make joint exercise with the West
Egypt, Politics, 4/27/2005

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said the Defresoir "Bulge" following the main battles of October 6,1973 was a counter-attack by the Israelis and a reaction to the shock of the sudden war and Egyptian troops crossing the Suez Canal.

In the second episode of the interview with media man Emad Eddin Adib President Mubarak spoke of the "Bulge" and the circumstances surrounding the siege.

He recalled that the "Bulge" happened on the day late President Sadat was addressing the People's Assembly on October 14.

The Israelis entered Defresoir where both the Egyptian and Israeli armies were looked in a small area.

President Mubarak went on to say that the Egyptian Forces mounted, despite the difficulties and despite the proximity of the two armies, several attacks on the Israelis.

We mounted three times the number of raids launched as of the alert of the war, President Mubarak said. The battle was fierce.

The Egyptians were ferociously fighting to repel the counterattacks, he said.

Mubarak recalled how an Egyptian pilot managed to raid the Israeli forces, even as Israelis and Egyptians were exchanging fire.

He accomplished his mission with high efficiency and returned safely to base, he said.

ÊÊÊ President Mubarak gave credit to the pilot who did not hesitate to raid such a dangerous area.

The "Bulge" in 1973 was a sort of counterattack by the Israelis, Mubarak said, adding that a mistake or shortcoming in the military strategy or plan was to blame.

President Mubarak recalled that during the war it was decided to try to alleviate the pressure along the Syrian front, President Sadat took a decision in this effect as (late) President Hafez Al Assad of Syria had asked for help, he said.

President Sadat's decision to reduce the pressure on Syria was not an emotional one. For Egypt and Syria were partners in a war of liberation. We had helped Syria as much as we could. We did our best. We gave them an entire squadron. There was no reluctance or any kind of shortfall on our part. President Sadat took the decision of reducing the pressure on Syria, in spite of the consequences that followed in Defrseoir.

The Israelis were quite aware of the difficulty of maintaining their siege. When they entered Suez City they were not sure they would be able to sustain a military presence there.

Suez is a city and an urban war was needed, President Mubarak said, noting that this kind of fighting was the most difficult one.

As for the "Bulge," various meetings were held and many gave their views.

Some said we should withdraw from the east, which could have been a deadly blow because as a commander of the Air Force, I do not have a plan to protect a withdrawal from the east. I was really afraid and I told (late) Field Marshal Ahmed Ismail to inform the President of my view, Mubarak said.

President Mubarak said that he was against the withdrawal as it would have had catastrophic consequences.

We would have been despised by everybody and no one would have helped us.

He recalled how late President Sadat had been adamant to fight on, unfazed by the Defreswar "Bulge" or siege.

The "Bulge" was meant to demoralize after their victory, he said.

Asked whether the Egyptian army could have ended the "Bulge" militarily, Mubarak answered in the positive, saying, however, losses on both sides would have been enormous, especially more so for the Israelis who were on alien territory.

Drawn on whether he had been shaken by the "Bulge" President Mubarak told his interviewer that he was always in control of himself, never showing any signs of fear in order not to panic others around him.

"Everything is possible, in my vocabulary the word "impossible" does not exist," he said.

He pointed out that the "Bulge" battle was run in the best way possible.

The battle was the result of the enemy seeing for themselves the Egyptian side's success east of the Suez Canal, where five divisions had already crossed using pontoon bridges.

A counterattack then followed and that explains the Defresoir "Bulge."

Asked about confrontation with Israel and whether the situation reflected lack of sufficient combat readiness, the President said it was mainly negligence on our part.

"We took the matter lightly and so we were surprised when the enemy struck all the airports.

The enemy understood our style and the fact that we used to fly once at dawn and that was it."

ÊÊÊ

ÊÊÊ He pointed out that the Egyptian side preferred to start the war at two o'clock in the afternoon instead of dawn before everyone woke up, saying very early in the morning you may find fog or anything else that could affect your fighting performance.

Asked about the US role in the "Bulge," the President said the United States was helping the Israelis withdraw from the area.

Talking about war games carried out with a number of countries like Britain, France and the US, the President said it is important to carry out such joint maneuvers in order to keep abreast of new tactics and state-of-the-art of war gear.

He referred to other exercises held with Saudi Arabia and several other countries as well.

Back on the "Bulge" President Mubarak told Adib that any decision on withdrawal should have been well-studied in order not to make a mistake.

Therefore, when the "Bulge" happened he informed Field Marshal Ahmed Ismail that he could not withdraw as the situation then would have been more dangerous than in 1967.

The army had many equipment and the Canal region was a wash with weapons, ammunition, missiles and tanks.

As soon as the withdrawal order was given, every commander and soldier would leave their equipment behind, and leave missile launchers unattended, and then who would protect the position? he wondered.

On Sadat's role in the operations theater, Mubarak said he came at the beginning of the operations to make sure that things were proceeding on the right track.

He stayed in Cairo but he would follow up events till midnight if necessary, as he was very keen that everything should run smoothly without problems.

But he did not interfere in technicalities nor in organizing battles, he added.

President Mubarak strongly denied allegations that Sadat was responsible for the "Bulge," through interfering with fighting operations, and said Sadat never imposed although he was well versed in fighting tactics.

He only enquired about any problems and how to tackle them, he said.

On claims that Sadat was devastated by the "Bulge," President Mubarak said he was upset but kept it to himself.

He refuted claims that Sadat was on the verge of collapse, and said whoever know Sadat well, would realize the man did not break down.

President Mubarak said the notion of national sovereignty in the minds of the Egyptian people is deep-rooted; referring to the fact that a 70-year British occupation of Egypt has made the people fear that any foreign troops on the country's soil would be an occupation.

ÊÊÊ He pointed out that the idea of accepting foreign bases on Egyptian soil was unacceptable by the people in the first place, adding that every country had its own particular circumstances and nature.

He asserted that each and every friend of Egypt in the West and in the United States knew that Egypt did not accept any military bases on its soil, pointing out that he heeded the will of the people and the safety and independence of the homeland in the first place.

"This is part of my national responsibilities," he said.

Asked about the characteristics of the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, the President said he should be able to take the right decision at the right time for the interests of the people.

He explained that when he escaped an assassination attempt on his life in Addis Ababa, some people were asking him to strike Sudan as punishment.

However, he said, when he thought it over, he came to a decision that it was inappropriate.

Any wrong decision by the leader can bring about a crisis to the entire country, he said.

He asserted the fact that throughout his life he never took any decision hastily, but usually after studying the whole situation and expecting all probabilities and sometimes asking others for advice.

The President and his interviewer moved to the operations theater of the Armed Forces General Command and stood before maps in the room continuing their dialogue.

The President said that the decision-making took a long time. First the General Command had to receive in-depth reports on everything on the front.

Then it took its decisions and made the assignments.

When this was done and assignments were set, preparations for carrying them out would start, he said.

It is a fact that the Air Force works in close coordination with the Electronic Defense Force and the General Command, he added.

Adib read out some details of the war plan on the map which illustrated the different assignments of Air Defense Force, Air elite troops, air supply units and the coordination of work between the Air Defense units and the Air Force.

The President said the whole process is a lengthy operation that involves many tasks.

He said that the plan of the entire operations on the ground has another map. When asked whether the map in the room was the one that they actually worked on, he said "yes" and showed him his signature at the bottom of the map.

Explaining the map, he said the color red means Egyptian jet fighters.

He said that in every strike, the target is set and then the number of fighters and their types are determined.

Mubarak said that it took from two to three months to make an initial vision of the entire operation.

He said that everything depended on the incoming reports, on evaluations and on the result of training.

He said that the map of the battlefield which carried the signature of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces illustrated everything, including the set targets.

President Mubarak said the plan was based on cooperation among the various troops.

However, the toughest was between the Air Force and the Air Defense Force because you are dealing with missiles.

He pointed out that the air strike was only the first step because it is the strike that paves the way for other operations throughout the war.

He added that each and everyone in the war had faith and as soon as they boarded their aircraft they forgot about everything else in the world.

The President explained how sad he felt when he learnt about the martyrdom of any of his students.

"This is the war, you get but you have to continue to restore the land and you must sacrifice," he said.

The President and his interviewer stepped out of the operations theater and resumed the interview, on the glorious day of his life, when late President Sadat addressed the Parliament and honored the Armed Forces.

"I can never forget President Sadat's words that day about the Air Forces.

It was a tribute to everyone not just myself."

ÊÊÊ He pointed out that he did not have political ambitions then, saying his life was all war.

He rarely went home and most of his life he was staying with army units.

He wanted to stay with his family after all such enormous efforts and time spent in military barracks and in the sand.

Asked to comment on reports that the "73 war was a steering and liberation war" meaning that the United States gave the green light through a backstage channel between Sadat and the Americans to steer the military situation to set the stage for peace negotiations between Egypt and Israel, President Mubarak was dismissive of such a scenario.

The President pointed out that some people said it was a charade, but in fact it was war, and "it is illogical to launch a fake war and sacrifice human life and equipment. This is absolutely groundless."

The President explained how he was surprised when President Sadat informed him of his selection for the post of Vice- President, saying he invited him over dinner and afterwards Sadat told him he was thinking about choosing a Vice-President and he never thought at all that he was then on his mind.

"I was taken by surprise. I was silent for a long time and then I asked him when this would be in a year or two..But he said "No."Meet me on Saturday."

ÊÊÊ "To me it was a shock and it was never on my mind and I was not prepared for this.

My children, Alaa and Gamal, were very angry that I was leaving the Air Force."

ÊÊÊ Asked about his students in the Air Force, he said "this was a problem."

"I told Suzanne as well and she did not say a word.

I did not sleep that night and was thinking what I would do and how I would act."

ÊÊÊ "Any post needs a lot of work and I decided to exert all efforts. There are posts you work hard to reach and others come to you unexpectedly.

What should you do then?" President Mubarak said whenever late President Sadat praised him, he felt shy... "I never wanted anyone to say that I was a good man."

Asked if he could decide hypocrites, he said it is very obvious.

"If anyone tries to butter me up I can tell, and sometimes I even laugh about it and I tell that person they should pull another trick on me."

ÊÊÊ He said his lifetime experience and the fact that he worked all day long with soldiers and other people gave him the ability to figure out whether the person talking to him was telling the truth or not.

He asserted the importance of the spirit of teamwork in the Air Force, especially in cases of emergency when someone had to return home to check on a sick parent or something.

" I had to stay for two weeks without taking leave once to give an example as their commander," he said, recalling how once he filled in for a member of his team, who had to see his sick mother, after all other colleagues had opted out.

"I wanted to teach them a lesson by staying there myself."

ÊÊÊ The President spoke about his days as Vice-President and the fact that he had so many powers given to him by the President at the time.

"I was almost responsible for everything related to the presidential affairs and I also had to review some issues.

President Sadat gave me more authorities than necessary to the extent that some were talking about me behind my back and hatching up political tricks on me."

ÊÊÊ Mubarak spoke about one mission to resolve a Polisario crisis and the great experience he had derived from this difficult assignment.

He said that at the time he kept shuttling between Algeria and Morocco for days until he was able to reach a settlement between then Algerian President Houari Boumedienne and the Moroccan King Al-Hassan.

I tried to keep neutral and unprovoked until the end and till I reached a breakthrough, he said.

He said that he intervened between the two sides once more when things flagged up again and, this time too, he managed to contain the crisis.

The President said it is his calm nature and his ability to keep his temper and control his anger that helped him succeed on this mission and in many other future problems, including in negotiations with the Israelis and in face of many provocations that have met him in the political field whether at the internal, regional or international levels.

The President spoke about the differences between the political and military lives.

He said that the name of the game in both was discipline. In the army one has to gather all the information needed and consult with experts to be able to decide on future steps.

The same applies to the political theater.

And discipline and coordinated work is what turns a plan into reality, he said.

President Mubarak said that he had never felt uneasy about dealing with any particular kind of person, especially if that person would serve a national cause.

He cited his decision to late oppositionist Wahid Raafat, a legal expert, the man in charge of defending Egypt's rightful claims to Taba before the international arbitration panel.

Taba and Egypt's struggle to free it from Israeli occupation was a national case and I was sure that Raafat, may God rest his soul, was the best man for the job, he said.

And he readily proved to be up to it, he added. Egyptians are Egyptians and I do not mind whether they are of my party or not.

What matters to me is that they are loyal to their country and wish for its best.

Previous Stories:
  Mubarak in 'Word for History': Success of the air force strike in October 1973 was the happiest moment in my life   (4/26/2005)
  Al-Akhbar: Mubarak-Putin summit enhances bilateral relations   (4/26/2005)
  Mubarak: Egypt will not live in isolation from the main issues of the region   (4/25/2005)

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