It seems absurd that a person worth hundreds of millions of dollars can be allowed to stand trial, let alone be convicted and sentenced when no political offence was committed. We in Egypt are slightly puzzled. We have been following the Martha Stewart trial for some time and cannot understand why the lady is in trouble. We realise that she has done a bit of insider trading using information not available to the general public. We are also aware that she misled some investigators; some would go as far as to claim she lied to them. We are amazed, nonetheless, that such frivolous charges could stir up a hornet’s nest and we honestly smell a rat.

In our view those charges are mere technicalities. There must be more to it than meets the eye. It is obvious that she must have crossed some red line and was set up. Someone must have tapped her phone and overheard a disparaging remark about President Bush or his family. We are confident President Bush is grooming one of his daughters to take over after his second term; Mrs. Stewart found out and talked to someone about the conspiracy. Someone from the C.I.A. got wind and informed Condoleezza, who advised the president. Mr. Bush decided to act before it was too late and instructed Mr. Ashcroft to pin something on her. After much research, it was decided to pursue the trading channel. Other avenues such as raiding her home to search for pornographic movies or unregistered fire arms were deemed impractical.

Our security forces out here believe the Americans did not handle this the smart way. They even allowed the ungrateful woman access to a lawyer. Had they asked for some advice on planting some additional charges, we have a full course on that in our police academy. We could have sent some experts to coax a few American officials into confessing that they were bribed by Mrs. Stewart. We believe, if the charge of being disrespectful to President Bush proves true, that she got off very lightly. In view of the extremely lenient sentence she received, others might be induced to follow suit. Then there will be chaos in the U.S. and the Islamists can take over.

The only plausible reason for going after Mrs. Stewart is national security. Yes, we know what we’re talking about. You allow a threat like that to go unpunished and you open the door to Al-Qaeda and what have you. This is a time of national crisis in the United States and rational heads must prevail. As our recently ousted prime minister declared after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. must learn from us and not listen to nonsense such as human rights when dealing with terrorists.

You must be firm in dealing with the likes of Martha Stewart and send a clear message that insurgency will not be tolerated.

Here in Egypt we are certain that Mrs. Stewart is opposed to the invasion of Iraq and a supporter of the Palestinians. It is clear that President Bush has been advised not to look weak with dissenters. Otherwise, how on earth can a person with so much wealth and influence suffer such indignities? Couldn’t she have used a couple of million to pay off the prosecutor or the judge? Those people were most certainly under instructions from high up to go for her in order to send a message to anyone contemplating something similar.

We are confident the American administration will one day see the wisdom of our ways and crack down on opposition ruthlessly and with no mercy. National security is not an area in which you have the luxury of being able to fool around. Look how stable we are here in Egypt and learn from us. Don’t be stubborn and, above all, do not allow such petty obstacles as respect for the law to get in the way of what is good for your country.

Good luck.

17 July, 2004