MUBARAK MILITARY CITY, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian and American soldiers ended desert maneuvers Thursday after two weeks of sharing techniques and tactics. The issue of the American-led attacks on Afghanistan seldom came up. (Read photo caption below)
Egyptian Capt. Hamdi, who declined to give his surname, said Egyptian troops were ``following instructions'' not to discuss the Afghanistan campaign.
The Bright Star drills around this base in the northwestern desert were 200 miles from the universities in Cairo where students have staged regular protests against the U.S. airstrikes on Afghanistan.
Washington opened the campaign Oct. 7, the day before the maneuvers started, to destroy Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist bases in Afghanistan and the military of the Taliban government.
The commander of U.S. forces in the Afghan campaign, Gen. Tommy Franks, met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak early Thursday before flying on to watch Bright Star with the Egyptian chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Magdi Hatata.
Egyptian Defense Minister, Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi, said the maneuvers were the largest military exercises in the world, bringing together 70,000 troops from 10 countries in land, sea and air operations.
On Friday, the games wind down to computer-simulated battles.
Egypt has backed the United States in its campaign against terrorism, but President Hosni Mubarak has tempered backing for airstrikes which are seen by many Muslims as an attack on their religion.
Demonstrators in Cairo and other Egyptian cities say innocent Afghans are being killed. They also claim the United States, to some extent, brought the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on itself through its support for Israel.
Apparently because of global turmoil after the terrorist attacks on the United States, Egyptian media outlets paid little attention to Bright Star 2001.
The exercises started in 1981, two years after Egypt signed the Camp David peace treaty with Israel. Other nations joined the games later.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Egyptian tanks advance during the combined arms live fire exercise at Mubarak Military City, 186 miles (300 kilometers) north of Cairo, Thursday, Oct. 25, 2001. The exercise was led by Egyptian forces and included participants from France, Greece, Italy, Kuwait and the United States. (AP Photo/E.M. Lee)