US defends choice of pro-Mubarak Egypt envoy

Washington wants Cairo to uphold international treaties as Obama sees 'progress' in Egypt.

Middle East Online

Frank Wisner 'was uniquely positioned' WASHINGTON - The United States on Monday defended the choice of veteran diplomat Frank Wisner to head a mission to Egypt even though he works for a firm with past work for President Hosni Mubarak's government. Wisner was at the center of controversy Saturday when he suggested that Mubarak should stay in power during a democratic transition in the protest-hit nation. President Barack Obama's administration quickly distanced itself. The retired diplomat has served as ambassador to Egypt, India and other nations. He has worked since 2009 for Patton Boggs, a US law firm that represented interests of Egypt and several other Arab states in the past. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said that the administration knew of Wisner's employment with Patton Boggs but believed he was a "distinguished diplomat" who knew Egypt. "We felt that he was uniquely positioned to have the kind of conversation that we felt needed to be done in Egypt," Crowley told reporters. Asked about Wisner, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the State Department "selected him based on his experience with Egyptian policy." Ed Newberry, a spokesman for Patton Boggs, said that the firm represented Egyptian interests until the mid-1990s, well before Wisner joined. Asked about the criticism, Newberry said: "It's all based on the premise that we represent the government of Egypt, which is incorrect." Wisner's role came under fire Monday from Robert Fisk, a veteran correspondent for the British newspaper The Independent who is often critical of US policy in the Middle East. "Why on earth was he sent to talk to Mubarak, who is in effect a client of Mr Wisner's current employers?" wrote Fisk, who said that Wisner's actions shocked Egypt's democratic opposition and raised questions on Obama's judgment. Despite distancing itself from Wisner's call for Mubarak to stay for now, the Obama administration has agreed that it would be difficult to organize free elections on a tight deadline and called for an "orderly transition." A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested that Wisner was selected because he could deliver a "candid" message as current US diplomats may not have. "He has a longstanding relationship with President Mubarak. We thought it was beneficial for him to be able to deliver the message," the official said. Meanwhile, the United States led pressure Monday on Egypt's future leaders to honor existing treaties, alluding to the peace process as the Muslim Brotherhood joined talks on the Arab nation's political transition. Washington "will be a partner" to an Egyptian government, Gibbs vowed. But he warned: "We would expect that that partner would uphold particularly the treaties and the obligations that the government of Egypt, and ultimately the people of Egypt, have entered into." Egypt has played a key role in the Middle East peace process, becoming the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel with a peace treaty signed in 1979. But the historic accord has been sharply criticized by the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman Sunday tried to appease days of anti-government protests by inviting several opposition groups to join him on a panel to pilot democratic reform. Opposition parties, including the powerful Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, repeated their demand that beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak must stand down or immediately delegate his powers to Suleiman. US President Barack Obama said Monday he believed progress was being made amid all the upheaval in Egypt. "Obviously, Egypt has to negotiate a path and they're making progress," he told journalists. Gibbs stressed, however, the Obama administration has not been in contact with the Muslim Brotherhood, noting significant disagreements with the powerful Islamist movement that has long been officially banned from Egyptian politics. "We have many disagreements with the rhetoric of some of the leaders in that organization," he told reporters. "The anti-American rhetoric... that goes very counter to the very regional peace and stability that I spoke of is, of course, not something that is supported by the United States," Gibbs added. Gibbs said the US administration has had "conversations with a whole host of players throughout the Egyptian government, and it's important that the leadership Egypt is not going to be determined by us. Among those in contact with the Egyptians was Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who spoke by telephone over the weekend with Egyptian armed forces chief of staff, General Sami Enan, a US defense official said. A leaked 2008 US diplomatic cable, published by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks Monday, suggested Suleiman, spelt Soliman in some cables, had good ties with Israel's military. In the memo, leaked to the British newspaper the Telegraph by WikiLeaks, David Hacham, an adviser at the Israeli ministry of defence (MoD), told US officials the Israelis expected Suleiman, spelt Soliman in some cables, to take over. "Hacham was full of praise for Soliman, however, and noted that a 'hot line' set up between the MoD and Egyptian General Intelligence Service is now in daily use," the cable sent from the US embassy in Tel Aviv said. "Hacham noted that the Israelis believe Soliman is likely to serve as at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated. "We defer to Embassy Cairo for analysis of Egyptian succession scenarios, but there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of Omar Soliman," the August 2008 memo cited US diplomats as saying. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Saturday backed Suleiman as the best candidate to lead a "transition" government as the embattled Mubarak continues to cling to power. The document also disclosed that Suleiman explored the idea of allowing Israeli troops into the Egyptian border area of Philadelphi in a bid to stop arms being smuggled to Palestinian militants in Gaza. "In their moments of greatest frustration, (Egypt Defence Minister) Tantawi and Soliman each have claimed that the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) would be 'welcome' to re-invade Philadelphi, if the IDF thought that would stop the smuggling," the cable said. The memo later revealed that Suleiman wanted Gaza to "go hungry but not starve" and for Hamas to be "isolated." Elsewhere, the in the cable, Hacham is quoted as being "shocked" by Mubarak's "aged appearance and slurred speech."