Rice Cancels Egypt Trip as Rift Grows Over Reform
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled an official visit to Cairo on Friday amid growing tensions between the United States and Egypt over what the Bush administration views as Egypt's resistance to democratic reform.
Richard Boucher, the chief State Department spokesman, said Rice would talk to Egyptian and other Arab diplomats at a meeting on Palestinian reform in London next week and, rather than continuing on to Egypt, would "visit the region, I think
But some lawmakers, foreign diplomats and other observers said they believed that the change in plans was prompted by friction over reform-related issues, including Egypt's January jailing of opposition leader Ayman Nour. Rice said two weeks ago that she was "very concerned" about the imprisonment of the ailing Nour, who began a hunger strike Tuesday.
"I'm glad Secretary Rice has reconsidered her trip," said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), a member of the House International Relations Committee. "I hope it will send a message to President [Hosni] Mubarak that the days when we will ignore the suppression of democracy are over."
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Rice had recently discussed reform and other issues with the Egyptians and wanted to give them time to make progress before a visit.
The administration has been pressing Mubarak's government to accelerate reform for several years, and President Bush prodded Cairo during his State of the Union speech in January. Administration officials believe that Cairo has resisted demands for change.
American and Egyptian officials clashed recently over Egypt's plans to hold a meeting of the G-8 leading industrialized nations and the Arab League to advance reform.
U.S. officials told the Egyptians that they believed the agenda did not have enough substance, foreign diplomats said. Last weekend, Egypt canceled the meeting, saying it would be held at a later date. The cancellation followed the criticism from Rice over Nour's arrest.
Cairo accused Nour of forging nearly all of the signatures collected to form the opposition party he heads. His supporters dismiss the case as a pretext to arrest him.
There has been debate within the State Department over whether, in light of the Nour arrest, Rice should go to the G-8/Arab League meeting, one U.S. official said.
