Features of American Media

Calls to Resume Military Aid to Egypt…and a Strategic Shift Towards Asia

Are there reservations about the Obama administration’s decision to resume military aid to Egypt? How did Obama assuage his Russian counterpart on the issue of the missile shield? What about the development of Washington’s military relations in Asia and Australia? To what degree has popular support for the war in Afghanistan declined? We answer these questions in our weekly reading of American news outlets.

Aid, but..

“The New York Times” published an editorial two days ago under the title “Enabling Egypt’s Military Rulers that claimed that the U.S. has built its relationship with Egypt around the Egyptian army which received more than $39 billion over the past three decades. But the pro-democracy Egyptian revolution last year gave Washington a chance to alter its relationship with Egypt and support civil society. The paper said that the Obama administration made a serious mistake when it failed to take advantage of this opportunity. Worse than that, the American administration justified its position on the grounds of protecting American arms manufacturers that produce arms sent to Egypt. It was noted that last Friday the American Secretary of State decided to resume military aid to Egypt which was valued at $1.3 billion. These funds have been held up since last October because of a new law that requires the American administration to certify the progress Egypt has made in ensuring basic freedoms. The American Secretary of State did not certify that Egypt had met the required criteria that Congress set. Instead, she waived the condition which freed military aid to Egypt in the form of F-16 fighters and Abrams M1A1 tanks. While progress has been made towards a democratic system in Egypt with the formation of a new parliament, the ruling military council has not done away with the emergency laws which have been used to detain and try thousands of protesters. According to the newspaper, many Egyptians doubt that the army will hand over power to an elected civilian leadership, but there are still a number of logical reasons for the Americans to continue working with the Egyptian army, including the peace treaty with Israel, cooperation in the war on terrorism, and talks with Iran. However, the decision to resume aid to the Egyptian Army seems to be politically motivated as the arms are American-made, which prompted some officials to claim that holding up the aid would cost Americans jobs. The newspaper said that the Obama administration has to find a way to postpone at least a part of the aid to demonstrate their commitment to the democratic process. Throughout the period between March and the first of July, the Egyptian constitution will be re-drafted and a new president will be elected and Egyptians need to be assured that America supports the democratic transition. But freeing up military aid sends the wrong message.

Microphone Leaks

In their coverage of the nuclear summit in the South Korean capital, Anne Gearan and Charles Babington wrote a report two days ago in the “Christian Science Monitor” entitled “Obama Tells Russia That Election Will Bring ‘Flexibility’ on Missile Defense.” This information came to light when the American president and his Russian counterpart exchanged words without knowing that the microphones were recording their conversation. Obama said that there would be more flexibility the coming November after the presidential elections. Obama’s Republican opponents seized the opportunity saying that Obama has a hidden agenda involving concessions in regards to the missile shield he hopes to implement if he wins the coming elections. According to the report, Obama indicated that this was his last election, after which he would have more flexibility. Medvedev responded that he understood the situation and would pass it along to Vladimir Putin. The White House responded to Obama’s statements saying that they reflected the reality that domestic political concerns in both the U.S. and Russia this year would make it difficult to fully address their long-standing differences over the contentious issue of missile defense. Deputy National Security Advisor for the White House Ben Rhodes added that the 2012 elections in both countries made any progress unlikely this year. Putin drew some attention earlier this month when he noted that Washington’s refusal to offer Moscow written guarantees that its missile defense system would not be aimed against Russia deepened its concerns.

Cooperation with Australia

Yesterday “The Washington Post” ran an article under the title “The US and Australia Broaden Military Relationship” in which it was written that Washington and Canberra plan extensive developments in their military relationship including UAV flights and permitting the American Navy access to Australian ports as the Pentagon shifts U.S. forces closer to Southeast Asia. These moves are still under discussion, but have drawn strong interest from both parties, and would come after an agreement last November to deploy 2500 U.S. Marines to Darwin in Northeastern Australia. This is another indicator of the strategic shift the Obama administration is making towards Asia at a time when Washington is trying to cover the exorbitant costs of a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. On another level, according to the Washington Post, the American government secured an agreement with Singapore regarding the deployment of four warships just as it opened negotiations with the Philippines regarding an increased military presence there. The Pentagon hopes to develop military relations with Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Brunei.

Declining Support

Last Monday, “The New York Times” devoted one of its reports to the declining popular support for the war in Afghanistan. Elisabeth Bumiller and Allison Kopicki noted that after a wave of violent setbacks American support for the war has sharply declined among Democrats and Republicans alike, according to a poll conducted by the “Times” in cooperation with “SBC News Network.” The poll, which was conducted from March 21-25 and included 986 American participants, showed that 69 percent of those polled believed that America did not have to wage this war. It should be noted that the percentage that believed America should not continue this war last month was only 53 percent. In regards to their impressions on the progress of the war, 68 percent felt that the fighting was progressing poorly and very poorly while those who held similar views last November numbered only 42 percent.