-Caveat Lector-
"Libya's Moammar Gaddafi, denounced in the West as a sponsor of
terrorism, delivered a lengthy diatribe against the United States.
``I am against Operation Bright Star,' he said, 'because it poses a
threat to the independence of Egypt and other Arab countries.'"
Egyptian Officers Aboard Flight 990
By JOHN SOLOMON
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 30 Egyptian military officers who were in the
United States for training, including at least one brigadier general, were
killed in the crash of the EgyptAir jetliner, Clinton administration
officials said Monday.
The officials said the officers were returning home after routine training in
the United States that is part of the extensive military exchanges the United
States arranges each year with Egypt, a key Middle East ally.
Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said some of the officers were visiting
defense contractors, and others were involved in a variety of training
programs, including some pilots associated with a U.S. helicopter program.
Bacon said he did not have exact ranks for the officers.
But two administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said
there were a handful of ``senior-level'' officers among the group, including
at least one general.
U.S. diplomats and National Transportation Safety Board officials were
working with the Egyptian government to sort out discrepancies about the
ranks of some of the higher-level officers, the officials said.
``We're working to correct discrepancies that might exist between the ranks
listed on the manifest and their actual ranks,'' an official said. ``But we
have confirmed at least one brigadier general.''
Bacon said U.S. officials believed the contingent numbered about 33 and were
mostly pilots.
Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, behind Israel, and
it has extensive interaction with the U.S. military.
In Cairo, EgyptAir deputy chairman Mohammed Shaheen said, ``We do not ask the
passengers their jobs. ... Our knowledge never includes their work.''
_____________________________________________
French defence minister visits Egypt, Bright Star
CAIRO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - French Defence Minister Alain Richard arrived in
Cairo early on Saturday on an official two-day visit coinciding with the
Bright Star giant multi-national military manoeuvres, airport sources said.
Richard is due to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and
Egyptian Defence Minister Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
Richard told reporters at the airport that he would discuss bilateral defence
cooperation and defence strategy issues with his Egyptian counterpart. He
said the defence policies of the two countries were the same.
He will attend part of the Bright Star exercises and visit the participating
French military. Troops from 11 countries are taking part in this year's
manoeuvres at sea and in the desert east of Alexandria on Egypt's northern
coast from October 10 to November 1.
________________________________________
Libya's Gaddafi says Arabs must fight imperialists
By Mahmoud Kassem
CAIRO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday decried
``imperialist powers'' in the Middle East and said Arabs must fight their
military presence with force.
``The Arab world has been colonised, and it needs to be liberated once more
with the rifle...like before the First World War,'' Gaddafi said in an
interview on the London-based MBC satellite station monitored by Reuters in
Cairo on Friday.
``Military imperialism is back now...it's a real imperialism with tanks and
guns and soldiers which needs to be fought.''
Gaddafi, 57, in power since 1969 but marginalised in the Arab world and
denounced in the West as a sponsor of terrorism, delivered a lengthy diatribe
against the United States and other Western military powers involved in the
region.
``I am against Operation Bright Star (and other military operations) because
they pose a threat to the independence of Egypt, Libya and the Arab
countries,'' he said, adding that the United States was increasingly
encroaching on the Arab world with 20,000 soldiers based there.
About 73,000 troops from 11 countries took part last week in the Operation
Bright Star manoeuvres, the largest gathering of coalition troops since the
1991 Gulf War, waged to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi forces.
U.S. Defence Secretary William Cohen had said of the countries taking part:
``These are nations committed to cooperation and consultation, not
confrontation.''
``We (Arabs) take orders from America like a soldier...The Arab world is
great, we have oil and gas, and a big market and strategic capabilities,''
Gaddafi said.
``How does America make the Arab world kneel down when it should be the other
way round?''
``But the Arabs are not ready to (make Americans kneel down to them),'' he
added.
Since failing to rally fellow Arab leaders to calls for a united Arab nation,
Gaddafi has taken up the banner of African unity.
He said his other dream of a United States of Africa would restore dignity to
countries despoiled by colonialism, and he urged other Arab countries, which
he said were part of Africa, to share his vision.
``I have faith in Africa, we have to create a United States of Africa. A
United States of Africa is stronger than the United States of America,'' he
said.
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