Hosni Mubarak

However, there have been repeated reports that Sadat was assassinated by a plot in which Mubarak was complicit. Most of these assertions have come from Sadat's daughter. A recently published historical novel, "The Search for the Lost Army: The National Geographic and Harvard University Expedition," by Gary S. Chafetz, presents somewhat compelling circumstantial evidence that Mubarak was indeed involved. Although adored by the West, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and honored as "Man of the Year" on the cover of "Time" magazine, Sadat was perhaps the most hated man in Egypt and the Middle East for having signed the Camp David Accords—the peace treaty with Israel. It was considered "Sadat's peace," not Egypt's. This led to strikes and bread riots. The always tenuous Egyptian economy was soon in free fall. Muslim fundamentalists became more vocal and popular. Over 1,300 opposition politicians were jailed by Sadat as a precaution. Not only did trade with neighboring Arab countries suffer, but Egypt was expelled from the Arab League and all Arab ambassadors were recalled from Cairo. The country seemed headed toward destabilization and chaos. To make matters worse, Israel quickly and flagrantly exploited the hated peace treaty with impunity by annexing East Jerusalem, feverishly constructing West-Bank settlements, and bombing Iraq's nuclear facilities, further infuriating the Muslim World. The Shah of Iran had just fallen two years earlier, with catastrophic results for the West—the United States and Israel, in particular—and for Iran's power elite, who were summarily executed or had to flee the country. Read Less