EGYPT REFUSES TO PROVIDE SPECIAL SECURITY IN SUEZ

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Egypt has rejected a U.S. request for special securitymeasures in the Suez Canal. U.S. officials said the regime of President Hosni Mubarak failed torespond to a U.S. appeal for Egyptian troops to protect the banks of theSuez Canal during passage by U.S. warships through the canal. They said theU.S. Defense Department asked for this and other measures in an effort toprevent an Al Qaida attack on U.S. warships that have been transportingsoldiersand weapons to the Persian Gulf.