A prominent Egyptian politician who thought he was in a secret meeting was caught on live television referring to the United States as an enemy, just weeks after Egypt received $1.3 billion in new American aid.
The "open mic" incident came at a meeting convened by President Mohamed Morsi to discuss an Ethiopian plan to build a dam on the Nile River, which some at the gathering asserted was a secret American and Israeli plot to undermine Egypt,
The New York Times reported.
A state-owned television channel picked up Magdi Hussein, leader of the Islamic Labor Party, saying:
"I'm very fond of battles. With the enemies, of course, with America and Israel, but this battle must be waged with maximum judiciousness and calm. Even though this is a secret meeting we must all take an oath not to leak anything to the media. ...
"Our battle is with America and Israel, not with Ethiopia."
Morsi interrupted him: "This meeting is being aired live on TV."
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