Former CIA Chief Hayden: Our Assessment on Middle East Turned Out to Be More Accurate than Mubarak’s

Following are excerpts from an interview with former director of the C.I.A. and the N.S.A., Michael Hayden, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on March 19, 2013:

Michael Hayden: During my last trip to the Middle East, I met former [Egyptian] President Mubarak. Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman asked me to stay another day in order to meet with Mubarak. So I stayed there on Friday and went to meet the president on Saturday in his palace. For 90 minutes, the former Egyptian president spoke to me harshly about U.S. policies, saying that we Americans did not understand what was going on in Egypt and in the Arab world, and did not understand the Muslim Brotherhood and other issues.

Time has shown, however, that our estimate was more accurate than President Mubarak’s. I believe that in the long run, we all realize that what we are seeing now is a necessary stage of transition from the autocracies of the Arab world to a better future. The change is essential, although perhaps not enjoyable or guaranteed. If I were in the government today, I would encourage the politicians and the American public opinion to exercise a little patience with regard to these events. There will be difficulties, but this is worth the effort and the support.

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