Strikingly, there are many objections raised by Egyptian opposition forces against the use of aid as a pressure card on the Egyptian government. Moreover, Egyptian political parties and opposition forces vied for opposing the US president’s statements and then the decision of the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on the US aid to Egypt. This seems logical. The prevailing feelings in the Egyptian street are always against American policies, which the majority of Egyptians believe to be against Arabs and Muslims. Opposition newspapers also adopt a theory based on the fact that the US demands for reform do not reflect principled attitudes, but are rather used when the Egyptian government refrains from meeting a particular demand.
Salah on US aid to Egypt
Al Hayat’s Muhammad Salah on Congress’ threat to withhold military funding from Egypt:
This is really a rambling, pointless article. Not one interview. Just broad assertions about How Arabs Feel. Which lead one to suspect that we’re really hearing how Mo feels. Which is fine, but I wish he’d had the guts to lay it out clearly and without resort to circuitous read-between-the-lines BS.
No one here wants to be on record as supporting this bill. That’s a stark red line. Some are playing politics, tacitly supporting the aid cut while attacking the sincerity of the US administration’s commitment to democracy and rights in the Middle East. Others support the cut under the guise of attacking it for not going far enough on a nationalist, “let’s get rid of foreign interference” platform. Which of course no one can argue with.
I just wish we could have an open, honest conversation about this.
Have to agree with Tim. All parties involved are simply pandering to the opinions of the uninformed masses.
The Egyptian opposition sees that dispensing with US aid is inevitable to spare Egypt the evil of pressures and blackmail
Exactly what I wrote would happen if Congress proposed using aid as a leverage. The U.S. is both accused of propping up the Mubarak regime because of the money it provides to support the country, and of attempted blackmail if it tries to make such aid conditional. That’s why I maintain that it’s up to Egyptians to restore their Republic, and not employ the hoary excuse that “the U.S. stands behind Mubarak.”
I’m not sure that I understand why imposing political conditions on aid is “blackmail.” Foreign aid, economic and military, is always used as a lever to advance foreign policy interests–Egypt is hardly an exception, and the US is hardly the only country that uses aid in this way! The US has provided aid to Egypt for several decades to advance a fairly consistent set of interests. One can disagree with those interests, and call them deeply misguided, but the US has always been fairly transparent about its goals with respect to Egypt, whereas “blackmail” suggests something hidden and secretive. Now, new issues and calculations are entering into the relationship, on both sides, as both the US and Egypt are changing. Some in Congress (a minority) want to use part of the aid to recast the relationship on new terms. The administration disagrees. A debate is taking place here and in Egypt. What’s wrong with that?
I read between the lines an inherent dichotmous attitude that the appropriate engagement of the US by Egypt should be
1. Use the infidel nation
2. Ignore the infidel nation
but never, never engage the infidel nation in a authentic, even way.
I agree with Amy completely. There are already lots of unsavoury conditionalities attached to US military aid to Egypt, spoken and unspoken (renditions being just one visible aspect), and why shouldn’t the US attach positive conditions for a change? The Egyptian regime only starts howling about interference in its domestic affairs when it’s asked to do something it doesn’t want to in exchange for the money, like democratise, but it’s quite happy to accept that ‘interference’ on shared interests.
Some are playing politics, tacitly supporting the aid cut while attacking the sincerity of the US administration’s commitment to democracy and rights in the Middle East.
How is that not open and sincere? My congressman is leading the charge to cut aid and all statements mirror this reasoning which is identical to my own. Can I pause for a brief moment and appreciate American democracy at work?
Ahmed, what I suspect is that some congresspeople are backing this with the full knowledge that it won’t happen — but it allows them to seem “courageous” on democracy issues at little cost.
Surely you do not chant “down with mubarak” expecting him to step out into talat harb and resign.