WE ARE ALL UNILATERALIST NOW:

Mubarak challenged (Boston Globe, March 2, 2005)

He was preparing for a fifth term when President Bush chose the fostering of democracy in the Arab world as leitmotif for his administration. Falling back on tried and true techniques for placating Washington, Mubarak took on an admirably active role in helping Israelis and Palestinians conduct a dialogue leading to a cease-fire and an agreement on security forces in Gaza after the planned withdrawal of Israeli troops this summer.

But playing the peacemaker was not enough. At a time when 8 million Iraqis were braving Islamist and Ba'athist killers to cast ballots, when Palestinians suffering under Israeli occupation were casting votes for Mahmoud Abbas, who campaigned against both violence and corruption, and when Muslim, Christian, and Druze Lebanese were taking to the streets to demand free and fair parliamentary elections this spring and an end to Syrian occupation, it would have been inconsistent for Bush to exempt Mubarak from this wave of reform.

The pressure on Mubarak came in two forms. Most evident was a decision by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to cancel a planned trip to Cairo this week after Mubarak had the liberal reformer and would-be presidential candidate Ayman Nour arrested for allegedly forging signatures on his petition to form a political party. Less obvious but no less effective was the administration's withholding of substantial US aid funds earmarked for banking reforms in Egypt and for nongovernmental civic organizations.