Egyptian Prez: Arabs Hate U.S.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a major Arab ally of the United States, said in published remarks Tuesday that hatred of Americans in the Arab world was stronger now than ever because of the war in Iraq.

Mubarak also said Arab opinion of the United States had grown more negative because of Washington's continuing support for Israel.

"At the start, some believed that the Americans were helping them," Mubarak said in comments published Tuesday by French daily Le Monde. "There wasn't any hatred toward the Americans."

"After what has happened in Iraq, there is an unprecedented hatred and the Americans know it," he added. "There exists today a hatred never equaled in the region."

Mubarak, whose country is among the biggest beneficiaries of U.S. foreign aid, said U.S. missteps in Iraq had made the situation worse.

"In Iraq, they said: 'We are not going to allow the creation of an Islamic state.' Result: people are attached even more to the idea of religion," Mubarak said.

Many Arabs feel a sense of "injustice" in the way the United States has offered strong backing for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mubarak said.

"What's more - they see Sharon act as he wants, without the Americans saying anything," Mubarak said.

The Egyptian leader met with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on Monday, on his way home from a trip to the United States to meet with President Bush at his Texas ranch.

Also Tuesday, King Abdullah II of Jordan - another Arab ally of the United States - postponed a White House meeting with Bush this week, citing questions about the U.S. commitment to the Mideast peace process.

Mubarak also denied reports that he is grooming his son Gamal to succeed him.

"We are not a kingdom. We have a constitution," he said.

Mubarak took over after Egypt's last president, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated in 1981. He has never appointed a vice president.

Gamal Mubarak heads the ruling National Democratic Party's policy-making committee.