Pliers of U.S. Aid

Even before now, many people in the Egyptian opposition described U.S. aid as a means to weaken Egypt, not the contrary. What’s more, neutral Egyptian economists reiterated that it is first given to American farms and factories, then to Egypt in the form of specified projects, accompanied by American experts who are paid huge amounts of money.

Clearly, many people forgot that U.S. aid is conditional upon the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. What Mubarak’s regime tried to screen in the past has become known, because all secrets are now revealed!

Days ago, a research unit at the U.S. Congress issued a report. The report mentioned that the Congressional Subcommittee on Foreign Relations agreed on July 27 to pay Egypt $1.551 billion, of which, $1.3 billion is “conditional” military aid.

But what are their conditions? Firstly, Egypt has to abide by the peace treaty with Israel. The aid, as decision makers in Congress believe, must aim to “protect” borders with Israel. More clearly, these sums will indirectly be injected to Israel, because Washington wants us to protect Israel’s borders, build fences, close tunnels under the Gaza border, stop weapon smugglers from entering Israel and lay siege on Gaza, all for the benefit of Israel!

Another condition, yet strange enough, is that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Egypt is not to be ruled by any “terrorist” organization. This is strange and unclear. Is that supposed to mean that in case a majority of Muslim Brotherhood or Salafi members won in democratic elections, they will be terrorist organizations? Will they then be dealt with the same way America, Israel and Mubarak’s regime did with Hamas in Gaza?

Day in, day out, we become more certain that America, its ally Israel and all “absentee” regimes in the region lost a lot after the toppling of Mubarak’s regime.

As a matter of fact, and when making a linkage between these illogical conditions, Washington is trying to impose upon us in return for aid; while refusing to regulate the granting of aid upon Egyptian civil society organizations, we will find that many things need to be reviewed. While it gives orders to the Egyptian government regarding projects to be financed by its aid, the U.S. gives grants and aid to NGOs behind the back of the Egyptian government, even if they are not registered or legal, making of them a tool to be used against Egypt’s supreme interests.

As such, we are encountered by mere and suspicious contradictions, i.e. American aid is paid to the Egyptian government to let Israel’s hands free in the region, while grants and proposals are made to Egyptian NGOs to impose a set political agenda and support one trend at the expense of the other.

Actually, I am not raising doubts about the majority of Egyptian NGOs or their receiving grants on condition that they are in public and known how to be spent. Yet, I am absolutely suspicious about American intentions that seek to sow seeds of discord in the land of Egyptian political life — in other words, to win the loyalty of some personalities and trends to their financiers.

And if decision makers here in Egypt realize that our strategic enemy is Israel, they also have to know that if it were not for Washington, Israel would not have existed!

Finally, this is not to wage war against Israel or the U.S. I just want you all to think about how to face the real challenges of the post-stability era.

Washington and Tel Aviv will not give us a chance until we stabilize. They started their pressure early, so we have to be careful!