Three Ex-Presidents Travel to Egypt
Anwar Sadat was the President of Egypt from October 15, 1970, until his death on October 6, 1981, when he was assassinated. Sadat had angered many in the Arab world when on November 19, 1977, he became the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and spoke before the Knesset in Jerusalem about his views on how to achieve a comprehensive peace to the Arab–Israeli conflict. In 1978, he and Begin would meet with President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland, to conclude a series of agreements known as the Camp David Accords. Both Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing about the treaty.
On October 6, 1981, a victory parade was held in Cairo to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal. As Egyptian Air Force Mirage jets flew overhead, distracting the crowd, Egyptian Army soldiers and troop trucks towing artillery paraded by. One truck contained the assassination squad, led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli. As it passed the tribune, Islambouli forced the driver at gunpoint to stop. From there, the assassins dismounted and Islambouli approached Sadat with three hand grenades concealed under his helmet. Sadat stood to receive his salute, thinking that his assassins were part of the ceremony. Instead, these men approached the stands and Islambouli threw all his grenades at Sadat. Only one of which exploded but fell short of the intended target, Additional assassins rose from the truck, firing AK-47 assault rifles into the stands until they ran out of ammunition and then attempted to flee. Sadat was hit by one of these bullets and fell to the ground. Sadat and eleven other people were killed, including the Cuban ambassador to Egypt, an Omani general, and a Coptic Orthodox bishop. Twenty-eight others were wounded, including Vice President (and future Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak, Irish Defence Minister James Tully, and four US military liaison officers. Sadat was airlifted to a military hospital, where eleven doctors operated on him. He died nearly two hours after he was taken to the hospital.
President Ronald Reagan did not attend Sadat's funeral. His spokesman, White House Communications Director David Gergen, said that it was with "great regret" that Reagan decided to remain in the United States on the advice of US security advisers. (Reagan had been been shot by attempted assassin John W. Hinckley earlier in the year on March 30th). Instead, he sent a delegation composed of three former US Presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Also included in the US delegation were Secretary of State Alexander Haig, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, US Army Chief of Staff General Edward C. Meyer, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former special envoy Sol Linowitz, Senators Strom Thurmond, Charles Percy, Claiborne Pell, Representatives Jim Wright, Clem Zablocki, and William Broomfield, Sam Brown (a 14-year-old boy who once visited Egypt as Mr. Sadat's guest) singer Stevie Wonder and former CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite.
The three former presidents traveled together to attend the funeral, which was held on October 10. A Time magazine article described the presidents as traveling in the "relatively cramped tail section" of the plane, Special Air Mission or "SAM 26000". Carter later wrote that the three felt "somewhat ill at ease," as they flew to the funeral. Just five years earlier Carter had delivered a stinging election defeat to the GOP's Ford. Tension also ran high among staffers aboard the flight. They endured long waits to use the lavatories and got upset about who received bigger cuts of steak at dinner, according to author Ronald Kessler. According to Carter, it was Nixon who eased the tension with "courtesy, eloquence and charm."
Following the funeral, a dinner was held that evening for all members of the American delegation and the American Embassy. All three former presidents spoke at the dinner. Nixon spoke first as the senior ex-president. Nixon had traveled to Egypt as President in 1974, just a few weeks prior to his resignation. Nixon spoke in praise of Sadat, but in his remarks he paid a tribute to the embassy personnel and the men and women of the Foreign Service, and was the only former president to do so. Gerald Ford recalled his association with Sadat and his part in the peace process. Carter's remarks were the most personal, as he recalled his special relationship with Sadat, and about the relationship between the Carter and the Sadat families. After the dinner all of the presidents agreed to have their pictures taken various members of the staff.
On October 6, 1981, a victory parade was held in Cairo to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal. As Egyptian Air Force Mirage jets flew overhead, distracting the crowd, Egyptian Army soldiers and troop trucks towing artillery paraded by. One truck contained the assassination squad, led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli. As it passed the tribune, Islambouli forced the driver at gunpoint to stop. From there, the assassins dismounted and Islambouli approached Sadat with three hand grenades concealed under his helmet. Sadat stood to receive his salute, thinking that his assassins were part of the ceremony. Instead, these men approached the stands and Islambouli threw all his grenades at Sadat. Only one of which exploded but fell short of the intended target, Additional assassins rose from the truck, firing AK-47 assault rifles into the stands until they ran out of ammunition and then attempted to flee. Sadat was hit by one of these bullets and fell to the ground. Sadat and eleven other people were killed, including the Cuban ambassador to Egypt, an Omani general, and a Coptic Orthodox bishop. Twenty-eight others were wounded, including Vice President (and future Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak, Irish Defence Minister James Tully, and four US military liaison officers. Sadat was airlifted to a military hospital, where eleven doctors operated on him. He died nearly two hours after he was taken to the hospital.
President Ronald Reagan did not attend Sadat's funeral. His spokesman, White House Communications Director David Gergen, said that it was with "great regret" that Reagan decided to remain in the United States on the advice of US security advisers. (Reagan had been been shot by attempted assassin John W. Hinckley earlier in the year on March 30th). Instead, he sent a delegation composed of three former US Presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Also included in the US delegation were Secretary of State Alexander Haig, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, US Army Chief of Staff General Edward C. Meyer, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former special envoy Sol Linowitz, Senators Strom Thurmond, Charles Percy, Claiborne Pell, Representatives Jim Wright, Clem Zablocki, and William Broomfield, Sam Brown (a 14-year-old boy who once visited Egypt as Mr. Sadat's guest) singer Stevie Wonder and former CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite.
The three former presidents traveled together to attend the funeral, which was held on October 10. A Time magazine article described the presidents as traveling in the "relatively cramped tail section" of the plane, Special Air Mission or "SAM 26000". Carter later wrote that the three felt "somewhat ill at ease," as they flew to the funeral. Just five years earlier Carter had delivered a stinging election defeat to the GOP's Ford. Tension also ran high among staffers aboard the flight. They endured long waits to use the lavatories and got upset about who received bigger cuts of steak at dinner, according to author Ronald Kessler. According to Carter, it was Nixon who eased the tension with "courtesy, eloquence and charm."
Following the funeral, a dinner was held that evening for all members of the American delegation and the American Embassy. All three former presidents spoke at the dinner. Nixon spoke first as the senior ex-president. Nixon had traveled to Egypt as President in 1974, just a few weeks prior to his resignation. Nixon spoke in praise of Sadat, but in his remarks he paid a tribute to the embassy personnel and the men and women of the Foreign Service, and was the only former president to do so. Gerald Ford recalled his association with Sadat and his part in the peace process. Carter's remarks were the most personal, as he recalled his special relationship with Sadat, and about the relationship between the Carter and the Sadat families. After the dinner all of the presidents agreed to have their pictures taken various members of the staff.