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Interview: Glenn Kessler Discusses Condoleezza Rice's Middle East Visits
Morning Edition: June 20, 2005
Rice Calls for Open Elections on Egypt Visit
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Egypt today. She's been meeting with Egyptian leaders, but is also prodding them on questions about democracy. Rice delivered what was described as a major foreign policy speech at the American University in Cairo. She said this year's elections in Egypt must meet objective standards for fairness, and she said the fear of free choices can no longer justify the denial of liberty. We're gonna talk more about this now with Glenn Kessler. He's a reporter for The Washington Post, and he's been traveling with Secretary Rice.
Glenn, welcome to the program.
Mr. GLENN KESSLER (The Washington Post): Glad to be with you.
INSKEEP: So as you have watched Secretary Rice perform here, how is she balancing the demands for greater democracy in Egypt with these meetings with Egyptian leaders?
Mr. KESSLER: Well, it is a very careful balancing act where she mixes praise for Egypt--its accomplishments in the past and of the leadership role it has played in various things such as Middle East peace--with not necessarily demands but urgings that they pursue a path of democratic reform, starting with these elections which, you know, most experts say are probably a bit of a sham. But she has said she wants them to be free and fair and transparent, and there are certain principles she's laid out for them and says that they should follow through on that. And they seem to be looking forward, also, to parliamentary elections as the next step where even greater openness can take place.
INSKEEP: Really delicate moment for this administration, is it not? Because President Bush has put such an emphasis on spreading democracy, and yet here is a critical ally that is not democratic.
Mr. KESSLER: That's right. And what--you can see a part of the delicate moment was--has to do with a group called the Muslim Brotherhood, which is really the largest party in Egypt, but it's banned because it is Islamic party. They don't allow any Islamic parties in Egypt. She will be meeting later today with members of civil society, including an opposition candidate to Mr. Mubarak, but she will not meet with the Muslim Brotherhood. And she was asked about this after the speech, and she said she will not do that because it is officially banned by the Egyptian government.
INSKEEP: Mr. Kessler, over the weekend Secretary Rice was in both Israel and the West Bank discussing plans for Israel to pull out of the Gaza Strip. Did she move the parties forward in that discussion at all?
Mr. KESSLER: Yes, she did. She emerged from two days of meetings with the president of the Palestinian Authority, as well as the prime minister of Israel, and got them to agree to a set of principles that will guide their discussions on the withdrawal from Gaza. Before that point, the two sides really had not been communicating at all and had just simply been pointing fingers to each other.
INSKEEP: And what is the agreement exactly?
Mr. KESSLER: They will cooperate on security. They reached an agreement on dismantling the settlers' homes. Israel had wanted to dismantle the homes, but they did not want to have to clear the debris, 'cause that would leave their military soldiers to attack for a large period of time. So Israel will dismantle the homes, the Palestinian Authority will receive payment to actually clear away the debris and figure out what they want to do with that large part of the Gaza Strip, about 20 percent, that can be use for high rises for the Palestinians now living in rather squalid conditions.
INSKEEP: One other question. The last few days on this program, we've heard a lot about the image of the United States in the Arab world, the way it's being portrayed in the media. How, overall, is Secretary Rice being received and commented upon as she moves from country to country?
Mr. KESSLER: Well, it was interesting at the speech today she received no applause during the speech, and when she took the questions from the audience, one of the questions that received a tremendous amount of applause was when someone asked, `Isn't it about time that someone apologized for the desecration of the Koran?' That's about the reports that prisoners guarding the detainees in Guantanamo had mistreated the Koran in various ways. And she didn't actually apologize, but she did give a very long and detailed explanation as to what went on there and how the United States values the religion of Islam.
It will be very interesting to see how this speech is received, and it'll be interesting to see how she is received in Saudi Arabia, where she goes later today, 'cause she had some pretty tough criticism of the Saudi government in her speech as well.
INSKEEP: Glenn Kessler is a reporter for The Washington Post. Thanks very much.
Mr. KESSLER: You're welcome.
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