" [American diplomats] raises the issue of human rights and suggests that Egypt's government might ease up on political dissent, allow more press freedoms and stop jailing intellectuals. Mubarak tenses up and snaps, "If I were to do what you ask, the fundamentalists will take over Egypt. Is that what you want?" The diplomat demurs and the conversation moves back to the latest twist in the peace process.
Over the last decade Americans and Arabs have had many such exchanges. When President Bill Clinton urged Yasir Arafat to sign on to the Camp David peace plan in July 2001, Arafat is reported to have responded with words to the effect, "If I do what you want, Hamas will be in power tomorrow." The Saudi monarchy's most articulate spokesman, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, often reminds American officials that if they press his government too hard, the likely alternative to the regime is not Jeffersonian democracy but Islamic theocracy."
Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 24-12-2001
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