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Bush makes brief stop in Egypt on Middle East tour

Their presidents hugged on the tarmac but the talks were kept brief -- another sign, perhaps, that relations between Egypt and the US have rarely been cooler. The strains with a longtime ally are affecting everything from Middle East peace hopes to foreign aid.

US President George W. Bush spent the night in each of the other five countries he visited on his eight-day Middle East tour -- including two nights in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. But his last stop in Egypt was the shortest -- a few hours in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.

Egypt historically has been a top US Middle Eastern ally. But growing frustration in the US over Egypt's lack of democratic reform and inability to prevent weapons from being smuggled via border tunnels to the Gaza Strip has soured the once chummy ties.

At the same time, Egypt's role as the key Middle East mediator has seen its status slip to another power player -- Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps the most bitter issue is Washington's move for the first time to put conditions on the US$2 billion in aid, including US$1.3 billion in military assistance, that Washington gives annually to Egypt, the second largest recipient of US aid after Israel.

US Congress and Bush -- who signed the bill into law last month -- agreed to withhold US$100 million from Egypt until it stops smuggling, implements judicial reforms and curbs police torture.

The pinning of conditions has angered Egyptian officials. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has accused Israel of stirring up US lawmakers against Cairo.

Mubarak, who generally publicly ignores US criticism, has struck a defiant tone in recent months. In a nationwide speech in October, he vowed Egypt would not bow to foreign pressure, clearly referring to the US.
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