Nukes Away – Egypt Independent

It was a very cold evening. A dull grey, with drizzling rain and horrific traffic.

As I arrived ten minutes late to my friend Ralph Denton’s home in Hampstead, north of London, I remembered I had not visited since my accident in Kenya in 2019.

I was greeted by Ralph’s butler, Alfred who has been with the Denton family for decades since I had met Ralph for the first time in 1983. Alfred took my overcoat, hat, scarf and gloves and gave me a warm but formal welcome.

In military style lockstep, Alfred took me through the vast entry lobby, all marble, through to a long corridor which I know led to the great hall.

Whilst Ralph has been retired since he turned 70 and made a bundle of money selling his real estate business that had operated in the US, UK, Romania, Belgium, Switzerland and the Baltic states, he has never sat still.

Ralph attended conferences around the world from security forums to art exhibitions and many more in between.

You could find him in Davos in January, in Munich in February, in Baku in March, in Singapore in April, in Palo Alto in May, and frankly I lost track, but he was very focused on AI, humanitarian causes and education.

Ralph was a tough but humane boss with a habit of educating his staff and enhancing their capabilities.

But I remember over the years he demanded loyalty, trust, precision, reliability and a dozen traits be outlined again and again. His team were quite amazing in their precision and achievements to the extent two ended up in the White House and one in Downing Street.

As I entered the great hall, a magnificent room with amazing paintings, sculptures and a ceiling of 12 feet or more. The size of the room was at least 5000 square meters and designed to have multiple seating areas. One was fully occupied by Ralph and about seven people, none of which I could recognize at first glance.

Ralph got up as he saw me and walked towards me and took me in a bear hug. It had been too long. Ralph then grabbed me by the arm and introduced me around.

There was Mohamed Soliman, a Saudi entrepreneur based in Zurich; Chantal Munoz a Spanish jeweler; Alexander Smirnoff, a Russian owner of a giant conglomerate, alcohol, steel and mining, and Brian Taylor, a British lawyer who is the Chairman of a British defense company.

Standing a couple of feet to the side were Jeff Moran and Ann Kennedy.

Jeff looked 20 but was in his late 30s. He was in casual dress, a black turtle neck black pullover, blue jeans and a leather jacket. He was a Palo Alto, Silicon Valley entrepreneur that has three startups focused on sensors, remote control systems and unmanned robots.

Ralph whispered to me that Jeff was involved in top secret projects within the defense sector.

Last but not least I was introduced to Ann Kennedy, who met me with a broad smile and a warm hello. Ann, like Jeff were both Americans, but Jeff hailed from the west coast while Ann came from the east coast.

Ann, a descendant from a famous family, was quite the humanitarian. She had an NGO with a rather interesting title – “Strategic Initiatives to Preserve Humanity”.

After the welcoming pleasures we sat in a circle and Ralph asked for my opinion about what was going on in the Middle East, which I summarized in bullet points.

I also discussed my peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which I first proposed on October 15, 2023, reminding everyone that Egypt had warned Netanyahu since 2006 about Hamas, whom he kept funding up until August 2023.

The discussion moved to Iran and Brian explained Iran’s nuclear ambitions and Mohamed discussed the Saudi-Pakistan joint defense agreement with Pakistan being a nuclear power.

Smirnoff was cynical of the fears the US and Israel had of Iran having a nuclear weapon. He explained that an Iranian nuclear weapon would be for Iran not to be bombed as a deterrent because if Iran ever used a nuclear weapon, it would be wiped off the face of earth.

Chantal and Ann went into detail about nuclear weapons. They explained that out of 200 countries, nine possess nuclear weapons and they are Russia, the US, China, France, UK, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.

They added that Russia had the most war heads (4,299) and North Korea the least (50).

Mohamed Soliman interrupted saying the total is 12,000 plus nuclear warheads if you add that to the worrisome developments in biotechnology the life span on earth of human beings at best is 50 years.

Ann responded, Mohamed you are an optimist.

Ralph looked at me and said what do you think? I responded that I know Ann Kennedy by reputation, and though she was a humanitarian however there is no political leadership with a humanist agenda but instead on holding power.

Jeff interrupted, stating that Shafik had a point.

I continued that even though Mohamed’s predictions are a serious one, there was an alternative scenario. There is no question power and ultimate power is aspired by the super countries but I foresee nuclear weapons going into total hibernation as AI rises.

I reminded all of what recently happened in Spain and Portugal. Remember I said for 36 hours Spain lost electricity, water, internet, total blackout of communication, no cell, no ATC, no fuel, no trains, no nothing.

It was total paralysis. If such a thing continued, it would be bend the knee time for whomever was under and victory time for whomever controls the AI tools. Everybody went grim, except for Jeff, who simply smiled.

Ralph got up, announcing dinner time, and said that it was good that nukes could go away, but not so good about the potential blackouts.

About the author

M. Shafik Gabr is a renowned leader in international business, innovation, investment and one of the world’s premier collectors of Orientalist art, and an accomplished philanthropist.

During his career, Gabr established over 25 companies plus three investment holding companies including ARTOC Group for Investment and Development which, established in 1971, is a multi-disciplined investment holding company with businesses in infrastructure, automotive, engineering, construction and real estate, over the past three years focusing on investment in technology and artificial intelligence.

Gabr is the Chairman and a founding member of Egypt’s International Economic Forum, a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, a Board Member of Stanhope Capital, an International Chairman of the Sadat Congressional Gold Medal Committee, and a Member of the Parliamentary Intelligence Security Forum.

Gabr is a Member of the Metropolitan Museum’s International Council and serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Financial Stability, the Advisory Board of The Middle East Institute, and the Global Advisory Council of the Mayo Clinic.

Through the Shafik Gabr Social Development Foundation, Gabr is helping to improve elementary-school education in Egypt, introducing students to arts and culture and promoting sports and physical fitness for youth. The Foundation has its first Medical and Social Development Center in Mokattam, Cairo, offering free medical and health services.

In 2012 Gabr established in the US the Shafik Gabr Foundation which supports educational and medical initiatives plus launched in November 2012 the ‘East-West: The Art of Dialogue initiative promoting exchanges between the US and Egypt with the purpose of cultural dialogue and bridge-building.

Gabr holds a BA in Economics and Management from the American University in Cairo and an MA in Economics from the University of London.