Osama al-Baz

From AICbackground

Osama Al-Baz

Chief Advisor to the President of Egypt

"Egypt is very concerned with the Pan-Arab issue, the Palestinian issue, and with Arab security and solidarity. Egypt's aim is to enable the Arabs to deal with the outside world from a position of strength."

"We believe the present situation between Egypt and Syria is a temporary situation which has no roots, and which does not reflect any strategic differences or contradictions. We believe that the fraternal Syria and Egypt have common interests."

Your position in the Egyptian government is two-fold: you are both the First Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry and President of Mubarak's Office of Political Affairs. One of your main responsibilities is to advise President Mubarak on decisions concerning foreign relations with Western countries and regional powers. You also are bound as his private envoy to open informal talks with countries and parties that do not have formal political relations with Egypt.

You are a career diplomat, which is an enviable position because you will never have any opposition from within Egypt as long as you retain your other positions. You began your high level political career under the late President Anwar Sadat. Since 1976, you have attended every Middle East peace conference and have become very well acquainted with the leaders of the Middle East and major world powers. Born in 1931, you earned your Ph.D. in law in the United States, at which time you learned to speak fluent English and gained a broad understanding of the American people and their government. You have been described as a very amiable person, approachable, and easy to get along with, which is very useful for someone in your position. Your law background has made you most eloquent in diplomatic affairs.

Physically you are not very imposing, standing just five feet six inches tall. You live with your wife and child in Cairo, though you are rarely home, as you constantly meet with other high level officials around the world. Your political party and stances are all a reflection of those of President Mubarak. Relations with Israel are your primary concern. On a personal level you have had some dialogue with Israeli leaders and find it difficult to speak of Israel strictly in terms of Egyptian attitudes, as you are striving for a policy which is representative of all of the Arab community's views.

You have been a very close personal friend of Mr. Arafat, the leader of the PLO, since 1970. In fact, in 1974 he entrusted you with writing the text of his speech to the Arab League. He has great faith in you and you will do all that you can to promote the PLO's best interests in conjunction with Egypt's and the rest of the Arab community. You believe that "no one can ask the PLO to recognize Israel in the absence of a reciprocal Israeli recognition of the people's rights, particularly their right to self determination." Furthermore, you believe that Israel should recognize the Palestinian peoples' right to self determination and to the establishment of their state on their land. At the same time, you insist that the Palestinians recognize Israel. Otherwise, the concept of reciprocity, equilibrium, and equality will be absent.

Another issue which greatly concerns you is the present state of affairs with Syria. There now are many rumors about supposed meetings you have had with Syrian President Assad. With the economic and military aid that Egypt receives from major world powers, you cannot leave them out of the peace process. You do feel, however, that "Egypt's friendship with the United States should not mean Egypt will accept U.S. decisions or wishes or that Egypt will submit to U.S. views, because Egyptian will cannot be sold." The U.S. government's participation will be instrumental in creating a solution to the Palestinian problem, as well as in fostering cooperation between the PLO and the Israeli Government. In the past, such a policy of peaceful negotiation has proven successful for Egypt and you feel that continuing such a trend of peaceful negotiation will be in everybody's best interest. You believe that the chances for success are much greater now because "it can be said that there is a position which enjoys the support of the majority of Arabs."

Once the Arab community acts as a unit you feel that great gains can be made in the Middle East conflict. Essential to Mubarak's plan, which you advocate, are certain principles "including non-interference in one another's internal affairs, a diversity of views and opinions among nations, and a new understanding of what makes up common defense." These principles can be applied to many situations in the region today, including the presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon. This meddling in another Arab country's affairs is contrary to principles that you believe are essential for peace. If the Arab Israeli conflict is to be solved, then all Arabs must work together. You are determined to work for cooperation, and you are determined to promote the ideas of your president in all international affairs. This being the case, you should work closely with President Mubarak. You are one of the president's right-hand men, and the two of you are interdependent. You were integral as a middle man between Peres and Arafat during the ongoing peace talks.

Since the outbreak of the Intifada in 2000, you have been active in meeting and negotiating with the armed Palestinian resistance groups to implement a cease fire. You have been dismayed at the continuing violence and view it as a threat to the stability of Egypt, and the entire Middle East region. In addition, while you strongly condemn the Israeli military’s actions in the Palestinian territories, you realize that Egypt’s relationship with Israel is a strategically important one. You have harshly criticized the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and have repeatedly called for Israel to withdraw from Palestinian cities and to the 1967 border. You also have been critical of the violent methods used by Palestinian groups to advance the cause of a Palestinian state. While you assert that Israel is using absolutely disproportionate force, you believe that the violent Intifada has been unhelpful and harmed the overall aspirations of the Palestinian people. You believe that there is opportunity to break the cycle of violence by negotiating a ceasefire between the Israeli government and militant Palestinian factions. You see the chance to move forward with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel’s plan to withdraw Israel’s forces and settlements from the Gaza Strip and the Northern West Bank. To assist in the success of the disengagement plan that Sharon has called for to occur in mid-2005, Egypt has offered to play a security role in the Gaza Strip and continue to train Palestinian security forces.

You believe that it is in Egypt’s best interest to play a central role in achieving peace between the Palestinian people and Israel. You see it being beneficial for Egypt’s role as a leading Arab nation, in its relations with Israel and the USA, and diffusing the strong emotional convictions prevalent on the street and the anger of the Egyptian street at Egypt maintaining contact and security ties with Israel.