Sunday , 16 September , 2001
Mubarak urges against hasty
conclusions on US attacks
PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak has urged against jumping to conclusions about those responsible for last week's terrorist attacks in the US. He told the CNN that when the FBI investigators together with police were entering houses inhabited by Arabs, people thought that those Arabs were involved in the attacks. Hijacked commercial planes on Tuesday reduced New York's World Trade Center to rubble and slammed into the Pentagon outside Washington.
Mubarak recalled the 1995 massive blast at an Oklahoma City building which was first blamed on Arabs but later proved to be a home-grown work. Disgruntled army veteran Timothy McVeigh was executed in July after convicted of carrying out the blast.
Mubarak said that the assaults were unbelievable , noting that the culprits must have been thoroughly trained. He added that no intelligence service had expected that a commercial plane with passengers aboard would be used in slamming into towers. He said that when he first advised against the perils of terrorism in 1991, his advice was not taken seriously. In the early 1990s, Mubarak suggested a UN-sponsored international summit against terrorism.
Mubarak told CNN that Egyptians were shocked at Tuesday's attacks . Egyptians feel sad because innocent people were killed in the attacks, he added.
In another interview, the Egyptian leader renewed his call for convening an international anti-terror conference, saying that the battle against terrorism was requiring cooperation of the whole world.
In the early 1990s, the Egyptian leader launched a call for a UN-sponsored summit against terrorism.
Speaking to the NBC, he elaborated that the proposed conference should lead to resolutions that would be firmly enforced. Commenting on Tuesday's deadly attacks in the US, he said the culprits had to be punished for their acts, but urged that revenge should be based on thorough calculations.
Mubarak warned that the war against terrorism would not be fought overnight, saying it was a long war that called for cooperation of the whole international community. All countries without exception should cooperate against terrorism, he urged.
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