Egyptian-American Tension?

Egyptian-American relations have entered a state of extreme tension that heralds a deterioration of the relationship of a scale not seen since former president Richard Nixon announced a nuclear alert for American forces in Europe on Oct. 20, after the Egyptian army crossed the Suez canal in 1973. This deterioration stems from the serious misunderstanding between the Egyptian ruler’s interpretation of the concept of national sovereignty and the U.S. leadership’s concept of support for democracy in friendly countries.

National sovereignty, as Egypt’s military establishment understands it, rests on the principle that any form of interference in domestic matters under any name is unacceptable, and considering any moral or material support for any organizations to be a clear violation of this sacred principle. Washington, however, sees support for civil society organizations as a traditional and legal activity in keeping with the conditions of legislative power, which connects America’s foreign aid programs with the spread of democracy. In a recent statement, the U.S. ambassador to Cairo said that the United States had not violated any Egyptian laws, that this type of work — giving donations, support and training to organizations — is something Washington has done in countries around the world for many years, that the Egyptian authorities have been notified of this and that these public activities are far from secrecy or a conspiracy. There are reports that an Egyptian military delegation, which came to Washington recently to heal the effects of changes in Egyptian and American personnel, was canceled when the charges were formally released. It’s also reported that the indictment is 100 pages long and lists 76 charges against these organizations.

So we are facing both Egypt’s threat to escalate the legal situation against the organizations and the Americans, among whom is the son of the secretary of transportation, Ray LaHood, and also America’s threat to freeze their aid programs. If the 44 Egyptians and Americans accused are convicted in the Egyptian courts they face a sentence of up to 5 years in prison! Are both parties just employing brinkmanship before they reach a settlement, meaning aid versus preserving the legal case? Or are we facing a real clash that could cause a huge rift in relations?

Some believe the recent visit of General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Cairo and the start of German mediation could lessen the chance of a clash. As all of this happens there are fears of further deterioration in the domestic situation in Egypt, beginning with strikes, open sit-ins and calls for civil disobedience, in which the Egyptian authorities claim foreign hands are playing a part. In this case, all possibilities are open, and the situation is both extremely dangerous and very fluid.