Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Amer Sultan
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Mubarak told Thatcher King Hussain did not have the courage to curb Islamists’ influence after remarkable election gains, British documents reveal
Hosni Mubarak told the UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that the King Hussain didn’t have enough courage to deny the Islamists –including the Muslim Brotherhood- the ability to widen their influence in Jordan, according to British documents. The declassified documents, accessed by MEMO to in the National Archives, reveal the…
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Ethiopia refused to negotiate with Mubarak’s regime over water, believing no one could stop its projects on the Nile – British Documents
Ethiopia refused to negotiate with Hosni Mubarak’s regime over the Nile water issue, believing that no one could stop it from pursuing its projects on the river’s source, according to declassified British documents. The documents also reveal that the UK had predicted, 36 years ago, that Egypt would face water…
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UK ignored Israeli pressure to rescue Mubarak during Egypt’s worst economic crisis despite warnings of instability in the Middle East, declassified documents reveal
The UK rejected Israeli pressure to assist Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during Egypt’s worst economic crises, nearly five years after he took office, according to newly revealed British documents. In mid-July 1986, Mubarak embarked on a last-minute European tour of the UK, France, and Germany to seek support for Egypt’s…
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The US delayed a resolution removing equating Zionism with racism to avoid ‘damaging clash’ with Arabs, UK docs reveal
Newly uncovered British documents have revealed that the United States delayed its efforts to overturn a United Nations resolution equating Zionism with racism for two years to avoid a “highly damaging clash” with Arab nations. The documents show that the US and the UK were concerned about the diplomatic fallout…
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Israel launched a campaign against Kissinger after he blamed it for the breakdown of negotiations with Egypt in 1975, British documents reveal
Israel launched a campaign against former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger after he blamed the Israelis for the breakdown of his mission to achieve an interim agreement with Egypt following the 1973 war, according to declassified British documents The documents, unearthed by MEMO in the British National Archives, showed…
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Saddam ‘used’ Jordan’s King Hussein against Egypt ahead of Kuwait invasion, UK documents show
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak informed the UK that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein “used” King Hussein of Jordan to persuade Egypt to join a trilateral military force to intervene in the Gulf a year before Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, newly found British documents reveal. The documents, unearthed by MEMO in…
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Sheikh Zayed lacked faith in US protection of allied Arab leaders during difficult times, British documents reveal
Newly unearthed British documents reveal that Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and late president of the United Arab Emirates, believed the United States would abandon its Arab allies if they faced popular uprisings. Sheikh Zayid and his nephew and Chief of Staff, Sheikh Surour, expressed these concerns…
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Sheikh Zayed sought US intervention to curb Saudi territorial claims against Gulf states, UK documents reveal
Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan was so “suspicious” of Saudi Arabia that he asked the United States to intervene and stop the Saudi leadership from making territorial claims against its Gulf allies, declassified British documents show. Since the foundation of the UAE in 1971, the Gulf state has been…
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King Faisal ‘threatened the US to reuse the oil weapon’ over Israel’s intransigence after the 1973 embargo, UK documents show
King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud warned the United States that Arab states would use oil as a political weapon once again unless Israel agreed to a settlement with the Arab nations two years after the oil embargo of 1973, British documents reveal. In response to US and European support…
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Thatcher rejected Mubarak’s offer to mediate between Gaddafi and the UK
Hosni Mubarak told the UK government led by Margaret Thatcher that he was spying on the activities of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and was prepared to share intelligence with Westminster, newly-released British documents reveal. However, Thatcher’s government declined Mubarak’s offer to mediate between London and Gaddafi 34 years ago. During…
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Gazan refugees warned the West 70 years ago: Palestinians would undermine any alliance with Arabs formed at their expense, British documents reveal
The leaders of Palestinian refugees in Gaza warned the UK 70 years ago of the serious consequences of any plans to resettle Palestinians in Sinai or elsewhere out of Palestine, according to British documents. The Foreign Office files, unearthed by MEMO in the British National Archives, reveal that the UK…
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UK intelligence warned of Hamas-Iran ties but ruled out Tehran’s influence on the Palestinian group’s policies over 30 years ago
More than 30 years ago, UK intelligence predicted that relations between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Iran would grow. However, they ruled out the possibility that Tehran would influence Hamas’s policies, according to recently released British documents. Since Hamas and other resistance groups in Gaza launched the Al-Aqsa Flood…
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UK recognised Hamas’s right to armed resistance 32 years ago, British documents reveal
The United Kingdom not only engaged in direct dialogue with Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) 32 years ago, but also acknowledged the Palestinian group’s right to armed resistance, recently released British documents reveal. According to records I obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, British diplomats held secret discussions with Hamas…
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Mubarak predicted Jordan would lose its ‘int’l role’ after West Bank disengagement, British documents reveal
Hosni Mubarak predicted “disastrous effects” for Jordan due to its disengagement from the occupied West Bank almost four decades ago, British documents reveal. He also warned the late King Hussein that this move would result in the loss of his “international role.” The documents , unearthed by MEMO in the…
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The UK underestimated the impact of US economic pressure on Iran’s policy positions four decades ago, British document reveal
The UK underestimated the impact of US economic pressure on Iran’s policy positions during the first Gulf War, British documents reveal. The documents, unearthed by MEMO in the British National Archives, also show that the UK rejected US efforts to impose economic and trade sanctions on Iran and a military…
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Kissinger, Ford outraged by Israel humiliating the US in the eyes of Arabs, British documents reveal
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was deeply frustrated by Israel’s behaviour, which he saw as “blowing up” the American foreign policy and “humiliation” of the US, declassified British documents reveal. The documents, unearthed by MEMO in the British National Archives, also indicate that US President Gerald Ford shared…
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Blair offered to help Hafez Al-Assad groom Bashar as presidential heir, British documents reveal
Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, offered to help Syria’s late President, Hafez Al-Assad, grooms his son, Bashar, to inherit the presidency, newly-released British documents reveal. The documents, which I obtained from the UK Cabinet Office through a Freedom of Information request, also disclose that shortly after Bashar assumed power,…
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US, UK informed of Israel’s secret plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt more than 50 years ago, British documents reveal
Are Egyptians’ concerns about a potential Trump-backed plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt – particularly Sinai – after Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza justified? The simple answer is yes, British documents reveal. Files unearthed from the British National Archives confirm that Israel developed a secret plan over five…
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Mubarak accepted US request to settle Palestinians in Egypt, UK documents show
Donald Trump wasn’t the first US president to request that Egypt resettle Palestinians on its soil. More than four decades ago, Ronald Reagan’s administration made the same request to Hosni Mubarak, the late Egyptian president. Mubarak agreed to the proposal, British documents reveal. The documents confirm that Mubarak informed the…
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British inquiry clears Muslim Brotherhood of involvement in historical Cairo fire, documents reveal
A UK inquiry exonerated the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) from involvement in the historic Cairo fire and riots of 1952, according to British files. The files, unearthed by MEMO at the National Archives, showed that the inquiry instead held the Socialist Egypt Party and Egyptian authorities responsible for the events. On…
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UK knew about Israel’s brutal torture of Palestinian detainees 50 years ago, but refused to act, British documents reveal
Documents from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office show that Britain was aware that Israeli authorities were systematically torturing Palestinian and Arab detainees in mid-1977 but declined to pressure Israel to halt these practices. In June 1977, the Sunday Times published a shocking dossier exposing the brutal torture of Palestinian…
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US, UK disagreed on how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program, British documents reveal
The UK disagreed with the US on the impact of the Iranian role in Iraq, more than a year after the US-led coalition invaded the country, newly released British documents reveal. The UK Cabinet Office documents also showed that US policy makers were “impatient” with British insistence on engagement to…
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Gaddafi offered to give up WMDs in return for eased US pressure on human rights issues, UK documents reveal
Muammar Gaddafi’s regime offered to dismantle programmes of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to deter pressure over Libya’s human rights violations, newly released British documents reveal. The UK Cabinet Office documents, released by the British National Archives, also indicate that about 20 years ago, the UK government sought to convince…
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US, UK planned to prevent Hamas from achieving victory long before Israel’s ‘disengagement’, British documents reveal
A year and a half before Israel “disengagement” from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Palestinian Authority began collaborating closely on the ground to prevent the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, from gaining success, newly released British documents reveal. UK Cabinet Office files, released…