Let America Cut Off Aid to Egypt

Relations between the U.S. and Egypt are entering a real crisis after all official American attempts and communications failed to rectify it until now. There doesn’t seem to be any indication otherwise, and it is not unlikely that things will only continue to get worse in the next few weeks and months.

The crisis is most pronounced among non-governmental organizations that receive U.S. aid, but this issue is only the tip of the iceberg that began with the Egyptian revolution that gradually overthrew the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. The U.S. was never in favor of the Egyptian revolution succeeding, as is reflected in the current picture, nor was it ever satisfied when the Egyptian army sided with the Egyptian people and their legitimate demands for change. The U.S. forced President Mubarak to resign and concede power to the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) under the leadership of Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.

Tony Blair, the former British prime minister and proponent of a theory of new Western colonialism, summarized the position of the U.S. and the Western world towards the Arab Revolutions with his statement that any change should only be in accordance with Western economic and strategic interests. With an eye on a liberated Egypt, Blair’s statement serves as the basis for U.S. foreign policy in the region.

Western strategy in the region revolves around two basic ideas: A strong Israel and the flow of cheap oil. The Mubarak regime played an important role in strengthening this strategy by participating in and supporting all of America’s wars and occupations in Iraq and the Gulf (the Liberation of Kuwait) and the War on Terror in Afghanistan, adhering to the Camp David Accords by imposing normalized relations with Israel, and especially by protecting the Israeli Border in the Sinai.

The American administration wants the Military Council to continue performing the same role, with Major General Omar Suleiman, former Chief of Security, serving as Mubarak’s successor. However, the Council tried and failed to institute Suleiman as successor, and was forced to bend to the desires of the people, who refused Major General Suleiman as but an embodiment an extension of the hated Mubarak regime.

The powerful weapon in the hand of America is the military aid that it gives to the Egyptian army in the amount of $1.1 billion; it is expected that this aid will be cut off if relations continue to deteriorate between the two countries. And we’ve heard from many voices in the U.S. Congress that is dominated by supporters of Israel.

The SCAF is building a council that faces a lot of challenges, but its spokespeople announced that it won’t submit to American pressure to cut off military aid, and it will continue prosecuting some of the NGOs funded by America. These threats were strengthened by the discovery of a document in one of these organizations talking about dividing Egypt into four states in addition to maps defining locations of churches and military barracks.

Egypt should not submit to this U.S. pressure, and the cessation of military aid may actually be beneficial because it liberates Egypt from this heavy game and restores its sovereignty, independence and its leadership role in the region and world away from American guardianship.