The “Promised Land” memoirs of “Obama” … reveal scenes from his visit to Cairo in 2009 (1)

In his memoirs released this week titled “The Promised Land,” former US President Barack Obama spoke about scenes from his visit to Egypt in 2009 and his famous speech at Cairo University.

Obama recounted the finer details he saw on his historic visit to Cairo, saying: “At the time, the Egyptian capital, Cairo, contained more than 16 million people, but we didn’t see any of them as we drove from the airport. “.

He continued: “The streets famous for always being crowded were empty of people for miles, with the exception of policemen scattered everywhere, a scene that reflects the extraordinary security check of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in his country, and the fact that the president of the United States was a tempting target and a valuable catch for local extremist groups at the time. .

Then Obama turned to a historical description of Egypt, from his point of view, he spoke a little about the history of the relations of the United States of America with Egypt during the government of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Obama said that Nasser: “He fought in a losing war against the Israelis and helped form the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Arab League. He became a member of the Charter of the Non-Aligned Movement and apparently refused to side with any party in the Cold War, but aroused suspicion and anger in Washington, in part because Nasser was accepting economic and military aid from the Soviet Union, and also cracked down on opposition and the formation of political parties. Competing in Egypt, targeting in particular the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that sought to form an Islamic government through popular political mobilization and charitable work, but which also included members who sometimes resorted to violence.

Obama wrote that Mubarak “followed the same method of ruling (with one notable difference). Sadat’s signing of a peace agreement with Israel made Egypt an ally of the United States, prompting successive US administrations to go through high the government of the regime of increasing corruption and deteriorating human rights record, And anti-Semitism at times.

Obama described the late Egyptian President Mubarak as “did not bother to reform his country’s stagnant economy, which has now left a generation of disgruntled young Egyptians unable to find work.” He attributed it to: “Aid flows not only from the United States, but also from the Saudis and other Gulf countries. Rich in oil.”

Returning to the day of the visit, Obama wrote: “Our caravan arrived at the Palace Dome, and after the welcoming ceremony, Mubarak invited me to his office for an hour-long discussion.”

Obama described Mubarak as “he was 81 years old, but still broad-shouldered and strong, with a Roman nose, dark hair slicked back and eyes full of lids.”

He said: “After I spoke to him about the Egyptian economy and asked him for proposals on how to revitalize the Arab-Israeli peace process, I raised the issue of human rights and suggested steps he could take to free political prisoners and alleviate restrictions on the press … Mubarak spoke in English with an Egyptian accent, but it is acceptable, but he dismissed my concerns. He politely and insisted that his security services target only Islamic extremists and that the Egyptian people strongly support his firm approach.

He said: “It made an impression on my dealings with the old despots who locked themselves in palaces, all their dealings through the surly servants around them. The favoritism and commercial interests that kept them in power.

Regarding his speech at Cairo University, Obama said: “What a contradiction between empty streets and going to the great hall of Cairo University that is crowded with people.”

She continued: “We lobbied the government to deliver my speech in front of a large segment of Egyptian society, and that segment of 3,000 people who attended included university students, journalists, academics, leaders of women’s organizations, activists and even some prominent clergy and symbols of the Muslim Brotherhood, and this diversity helped make the event unique and reach a wide global audience through television. “

Everyone remembers the greeting Obama gave at that time, “Peace be with you.” The former president says: “As soon as I stepped onto the podium and gave the Islamic salute, the audience responded, I was eager to make it clear that no speech would solve the entrenched problems … But with the continued cheering, applause and support for my talk On democracy, human rights, women’s rights, religious tolerance, and the need for real and lasting peace between a secure Israel and an independent Palestinian state, I could imagine the beginnings of a new Middle East at that time.

That was the moment when Obama predicted something akin to the Arab Spring, and says in his memoirs: “At that time, it was not difficult to imagine an alternate reality in which the young people in that room would establish projects and build new schools, lead governments. responsive and effective, and they would begin to reimagine their faith. “Perhaps the high-ranking government officials who sat in the third row, smiling, could also imagine the image he had.”

Obama says the first person to look for him after he left the stage was Ben Rhodes (his speechwriter and adviser on national security and foreign policy). To see whatever speech he had helped write and instead, hidden in some back room, he clicks on his BlackBerry.

Obama says, “Ben was grinning from ear to ear … I said, ‘I think this worked,’ and he said, ‘It was historic.’

According to Obama, the speech was a weapon against him after several years, since critics and even supporters of the former president criticized him for not being able to achieve his optimistic vision that came in the speech.

Obama wrote: “In the following years, critics and even some of my supporters have been comparing my optimistic rhetoric in the Cairo speech with the horrible events that occurred in the Middle East during my tenure … For others, the problem It was not the vision in the speech, but what they considered my failure to make that vision a reality with effective and determined action.

Obama continued: “I was inclined to answer that there is no single discourse that can solve the region’s long-standing challenges … In the end, what happened happened and I was left with nothing but the same set of questions that I had for first time, for example, what good is it to describe how the world should be. When are the efforts made to achieve this world doomed to failure? “

Obama notes that he has these doubts even now, even after he left office, and says: “So far I still have doubts about the many forces that have rallied against what I hoped to do … How did the high enthusiasm in Does the speech change my ideas about the tasks that await me in my country? Did rising expectations make Egyptians frustrated? “