Western Ambiguity

As of yet, Western countries have not officially expressed either support or opposition regarding the Egypt debacle. America has not welcomed or acknowledged the coup d’état. According to Obama, America is still evaluating the situation.

But Western neutrality cannot hide underlying intentions: Egypt and America have a tacit understanding of American military support, and their control over Egypt goes without saying. Al Jazeera explains that the U.S. State Department’s project, which the American government calls “democracy assistance,” is really just part of the Obama administration’s plan to curb Islamic forces in the Middle East. America believes the rise of Islamic forces will seriously harm U.S. interests in the region. According to a broadcast by Al Jazeera on July 10, a study done at the University of California at Berkeley examined the U.S. State Department program to promote democracy in the Middle East. Those who received American funding include an exiled Egyptian police officer, an anti-Islamist politician who advocated closing mosques and a group demanding the removal of Morsi from office. Furthermore, since the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, America has been a main supporter of the Egyptian military. Currently, American aid to the Egyptian military amounts to about $1.3 billion annually. No position has yet been taken on whether this aid will continue. These are all indisputable facts.

According to the Western ideals of “freedom and democracy,” a military coup is “intolerable,” while an election by the people is “accepted.” Using this line of reasoning, a coup d’état that overthrows a democratically elected president is contrary to Western democratic ideals and should be strongly condemned, if not opposed by force. But America was rather quiet after the military overthrow of democratically elected Morsi. America and the West actually supported the Egyptian military that ousted Morsi; the military’s actions served Western interests. The dilemma between democratic ideals and foreign interests has put the West in an awkward position.

Some analysts believe that Western ambiguity in the face of unrest in Egypt is destroying the political ideals promoted by the West. The situation with Egypt has developed to the point where original promises and commitments as well as optimistic visions and plans have all fallen through. The Muslim Brotherhood and secularists alike have made anti-American slogans a “standard” during protests. The “universal values” of the West have come under fire; in the Middle East and the entire world, this is both a reminder and a warning.

Unrest in Egypt has hurt allies and benefited enemies. For foreign forces that seek to control Egypt and used it for their own global and regional hegemony, this unrest just might be a good thing; for peace-loving people of the world and for the citizens of Egypt, it is a serious disaster.

The author is a Professor of Arabic at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.