Mubarak: The Early Days

Hosni Mubarak was Anwar Sadat's "very active alter-ego," according to a secret State Department assessment just days after Sadat's assassination and Mubarak's rise to the presidency of Egypt.

The diplomatic cable, obtained by INTELWIRE through the Freedom of Information Act, offers a glimpse of the promise U.S. policymakers once saw in the Egyptian president, who now faces the final act of his 30-year presidency.

"Sadat has groomed him for six years to instill in him the requisite political skills for just such an evenuality," the cable states.

"Mubarak is popular with the Air Force and other armed services," the cable says. "The armed forces are led by men personally loyal to him."

The cable outlines Mubarak's leadership qualities in words that that now seem ironic.

"Mubarak is a tough, determined leader who, we are confident, will not permit the situation to drift dangerously or allow events to escape his control."

Full text of cable

Labels: Anwar-Sadat, Egypt, Hosni-Mubarak

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