From the headline, it seems that Egypt is pulling out of Iraq. This quote seems to point in the same direction:
Saad Mohammed Ridha, head of Iraq's diplomatic mission in Cairo, said Egypt's Foreign Ministry told him late yesterday that the Egyptian mission in Baghdad will close temporarily and the staff is being recalled.
"We are very sorry about this decision," Ridha said. "We are as sad as they are. It (al-Sherif's killing) was a horrible act."
I'm going to wait a bit to decide what Egypt plans on doing here. This article has a little more detail.
Cairo is an ally of the US and Iraqi governments.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said his government will not be deterred from supporting Iraq.
...
Egypt's foreign minister said the reduction of the diplomatic staff would take place because of the "given current circumstances and for a set period of time".
"The Egyptian flag will remain, the buildings will remain and the embassy too," Mr Aboul Gheit said.
I wonder if this is a double appeasement. Cater to al-Qaida by backing down, while stringing along the US by flying the flag and keeping the embassy "open." With no staff, who raises and lowers the flag? I wonder how long before that flag is in tatters. I'm going to file this one under "wait and see."
Hat Tip: upyernoz
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