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Egyptians are Pro-Democracy, Anti-U.S., Ripe for Change

(Chicago Tribune) Evan Osnos - Politician Ayman Nour, part of the anti-government Kifaya (Enough) movement who seeks to be Egypt's first freely elected president, told a Cairo crowd: "We can be for democracy and against the United States." Nour and others like him pose a distinct new challenge for the U.S., calling into question President Bush's contention that a flowering of democracy in the Middle East would create stronger alliances with Washington. "Most Egyptians and Arabs look at Bush as a dictator and a criminal," said newspaper editor Abdel-Halim Qandil, vice chairman of the movement. "Bush imagines freedom will go hand in hand with peace for Israel. But in reality, freedom will mean more resistance to American policies in the region," Qandil said. "Normalization [with Israel] was an insult to our dignity. I don't expect Egypt would move toward new wars, but it would definitely challenge the American occupation of Iraq, and support the Palestinian struggle, even by arms, by supporting the Palestinian resistance and the Iraqi resistance."
2005-05-02 00:00:00
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