Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Nasrallah Is Trying to Generate in Egypt the Same Anarchy He Caused in Lebanon

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on January 2, 2009.

Interviewer: Egypt is the largest Arab state, and there is a clear conflict between you and Iran.

Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Very clear.

Interviewer: What would you do regarding the war that you said was declared on Egypt?

Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Yes, Sheik Nasrallah declared war on Egypt. He addressed the Egyptian army and people, and told them to generate the same anarchy that he caused in Lebanon. So I say to him: You made a big mistake, and that mistake has led the Egyptian people to express its total rejection of what you said. The Egyptian people reject this.

Interviewer: Even the Muslim Brotherhood?

Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Yes. The Muslim Brotherhood said that they have their view, and we have ours. Of course, they are under pressure because of these things that were said. The Egyptian army and the armed forces in Egypt are sacred, and nobody in the Arab world or elsewhere should imagine that this army can be manipulated by...

Interviewer: He addressed the army, but didn’t criticize it.

Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit: Anybody who listens to what he said understands full well that he insulted the Egyptian army.