July 04, 2005

Egyptian Ambassador Taken Hostage; Israel Blamed

The first Arab ambassador to Iraq is abducted and taken hostage. The types of demands made for his release will depend on which group took the Egyptian ambassador.

The fact that it was the Egyptian ambassador increases the probability that the terrorist group responsible is a nationalist one rather than a Salafist Islamist one. Why? Because Egypt is run by an Arab Socialist party with strong ties to the Baathism of Saddam Hussein and Syria.

It should be remembered that the short-lived great Baathist experiment of a unified greater Arab nation was the unification of Syria and Egypt under the banner of the UAR between 1958-1961. That Egypt would be the first Arab nation to upgrade its diplomatic mission in Iraq to sending a full ambassador may be seen as a betrayal of one Arab Socialist state against another.

If such is the case, there is a chance that Ihab Sherif will be found alive. On the other hand, if one of the Islamist terror organizations such as Ansar al-Sunna (not likely since the group rarely operates in Baghdad), al Qaeda in Iraq (possibly), or The Islamic Army in Iraq (possibly) then there is close to zero chance for his survival. In either case, we should see a hostage video soon.

Of course, to the warped minds in the Islamic lands this could only be the work of the Zionists.

Islam Online:

The abduction of the head of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Baghdad sends a strong message from Iraqi resistance groups to Arab countries set to follow the Egyptian lead by sending ambassadors to occupied Iraq, Egyptian experts have said.

“Sending an ambassador to an unstable Iraq was a wrong decision that prompted resistance groups to kidnap Ihab El-Sherif as a warning shot for willing Arab countries,� Abdallah El-Ashaal, a former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, told IslamOnline.net.

Egyptian and Iraqi officials said Monday that Kidnappers who seized Sherif on Saturday, July 2, have not yet contacted authorities or presented any demands.

The envoy, a father of two, was cornered by gunmen in cars while on a short trip to buy a newspaper near his home and had not been heard from since.

His white four-wheel vehicle was found undamaged near a newspaper stand...

Iraq announced last week that Egypt would become the first Arab country to give its Baghdad envoy the full title of ambassador since US forces toppled Saddam Hussein more than two years ago....

But former Egyptian ambassador to Afghanistan Ahmad El-Ghamrawi offered a different version of the abduction.

“Iraq has become an open arena for intelligence services and there is a strong possibility that Sherif was kidnapped by a foreign body to pit the Egyptians and the Iraqis against one another,� he told IOL.

He said Sherif’s latest post as Egyptian charges d’affaires in Tel Aviv substantiate the theory that he might have been abducted by the Israeli intelligence services Mossad.

“Sherif has come to know a lot about Israel,� Ghamrawi said.

“Israel also wants to tarnish the image of the Iraqi resistance in the eyes of the Egyptian people,� he added.

The retired diplomat did not rule out a possible collaboration between the Mossad and the US occupation authorities to deprive the Iraqi resistance of the sympathy and solidarity of the Egyptian people.