In fact, Mubarak’s Libya policy was driven largely by economic and security concerns, and rarely took US interests into consideration. More than one million Egyptians worked in Libya, which was also a large export market. And Qaddafi was eager to help Mubarak subdue Islamist threats to the Egyptian regime. Unlike neighboring Sudan, which harbored Egyptian radicals, like al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who were bent on destabilizing the country, Libya turned them over to Mubarak.
De son côté, Kadhafi était prêt à aider Moubarak à contrecarrer la menace posée par les extrémistes islamiques au régime égyptien. Contrairement au Soudan voisin qui abritait des extrémistes égyptiens, comme le numéro deux d’Al Qaïda Ayman al-Zawahiri, qui cherchaient à déstabiliser le pays, la Libye les livrait à Moubarak.