ABSTRACT
The US investigators hinted to the press that the EgyptAir Jet, which crashed in the sea off New York in November 1999, was deliberately wrecked by its co-pilot. The Egyptian media argued that this was probably to cover up for a mechanical failure by Boeing or that the aircraft had been deliberately shot down by the United States because it was carrying a number of highly trained Egyptian pilots. On the Egyptian side there was an opposite preference to see the disaster as a product of the United States rather than Egyptian failures. Because of the history of Western intervention in Egypt’s affairs and indeed in the Arab world in general, there was also a widespread suspicion of Western actions. On 20 December 1989, the United States invaded Panama following minor incidents between US citizens and Panamanian forces. Any brief survey of recent events suggests that historical and cultural differences are a pervasive cause or justification for international tensions.
