- CAIRO (MENL) - Egypt has
warned the United States that the Israeli military offensive against the
Palestinian Authority could spread into a confrontation with the Arab world.
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- The warning came as Egyptian defense chiefs asserted
that the military is prepared for any slide into regional war.
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- Egyptian diplomats and government-aligned analysts said
President Hosni Mubarak has told Washington it will not tolerate the Israeli
destruction of the regime of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. The diplomats said
Mubarak has repeatedly pledged to Arafat that the Egyptian president would
preserve the PA.
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- Mubarak spoke by telephone with Bush on Thursday and
called for an end to the Israeli military campaign. Earlier, Mubarak warned
in an interview with the Beirut-based A-Safir that Israel would be the
main victim of any regional conflict.
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- At the same time, Egypt's defense chiefs said the nation
is prepared for war. "The recent developments require the Egyptian
armed forces to preserve a high level of preparedness and readiness to
confront any challenge and threat," Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein
Tantawi said.
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- http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2001/december/12_09_2.html
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