Enduring Relationship Withstands Conflict

Egypt has long been considered the heart of the Arab world, due to its location and the influence of its diplomatic efforts to resolve tension in the region. Today, it would be inconceivable for an American leader on a visit to the Middle East not to schedule a stop in Cairo. Such is the strength of the U.S.-Egyptian bilateral relationship, a partnership forged for the pursuit of peace.

Based on maintaining Middle East stability and sustaining the momentum of the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, the US-Egyptian bilateral relationship is central to U.S. Middle East policy. Twenty years of substantial American economic and military assistance has sought to boost Egypt’s position in the region and strengthen its influence among Arab, Islamic and other member nations of the developing world. Maintaining close ties with the U.S. is also of paramount importance to Egypt.

From the U.S. perspective, Egypt is a key strategic partner in the region. As Edward "Ned" Walker, Jr., former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt and current President of the Middle East Institute outlined, "Our strategic relationship with Egypt is founded on two premises: that Egypt will continue to adhere to the military aspects of its treaty with Israel and that Egypt will act as a partner in defense of the Gulf. It does so through providing U.S. forces unique access and support, and by preparing its forces for coalition war fighting with the U.S. These are both critical elements of the U.S. strategic posture in the region."

It was Egypt’s rejection of a close relationship with the Soviet Union in the early 1970s and the acceptance of a comprehensive peace treaty with Israel that paved the way for a significant flow of economic and military assistance from the United States to Egypt over the past 20 years.

To help cement the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Process and Egypt’s role as a moderate leader in the region, the U.S. ramped up aid to Egypt after 1979. From 1975 to the present day, economic assistance has averaged $815 million annually, and currently stands at nearly $2 billion (only Israel receives more U.S. aid, approximately $3 billion). Early funding was appropriated for food aid and infrastructure, however most aid now targets economic stabilization and modernization. A recent agreement between the U.S. and Egypt will see economic assistance reduced five percent annually over the next decade.

While this aid has helped ensure a strong bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Egypt, it is also seen as a reward for Egypt accepting peace with Israel. In terms of relations between Egypt and Israel, the peace forged at Camp David remains firmly intact. As Judith Kipper, Co-Director of the Middle East Program at the Center of Strategic and International Studies noted, "Egypt was the first country to have made peace with Israel and has an historic relationship, although it is a cold peace. This is an individual choice that Egypt has made…But the two countries have a solid peace treaty."

Bilateral military cooperation between the United States and Egypt has continually strengthened since the days of Anwar Sadat expelling Soviet military advisors. Over the past 15 years, the U.S. has provided $3.6 billion in military loans, $13 billion in military grants, and $20 million in military education and training funds – an average of $1.1 billion a year. Most recently, the Bush Administration has notified Congress that it plans to provide Egypt with $400 million in surface-to-surface missiles.

This strong partnership does not lack for controversy, however. From the left and the right in the U.S., criticism of Egypt has been vocal at times. From Egypt, there has been continuing frustration over perceptions that the U.S. has not lived up to its honest broker self-appellation, tilting too far towards Israel in regional negotiations, particularly in relation to Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.

On human rights, U.S. State Department reports have accused Egyptian police of gaining confessions through torture and holding suspects without charges being filed. Additional criticism has centered on concerns about freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. The fairness of military trials for Islamic militants has also been called into question. Still others have pointed to the prominent trial of Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim as symbolic of Egypt’s lack of democracy.

The Egyptian government has always maintained its need to take extraordinary measures in the face of domestic terrorist threats from religious fundamentalists. Government officials point to a pattern of violence traced from the assassination of former President Anwar Sadat, to attempts on President Hosni Mubarak’s life, to the murder of tourists in Luxor in 1997.

On religious issues, the U.S. State Department has stated that there has been no official policy of religious discrimination in Egypt. Nonetheless, the issue of the treatment of Coptic Christians by individual Egyptians in this predominantly Muslim country, has been a sensitive subject with some Christian groups in the United States.

Jewish leaders in America have been increasingly critical of anti-Semitic statements and cartoons in the Egyptian press, and point out that many of these news sources are government owned. Egyptian government officials say they oppose these opinions but do not control the press any more than American officials do in the U.S. Quietly, they say that the newspapers reflect Egyptian popular frustration with a stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Publicly, they also point to adverse portrayal of Muslims in the American press to demonstrate the by product of a free press.

It may be that the focus on international terrorism in the wake of September 11th, and Egypt’s continuing crucial role, mutes criticism of Egypt—particularly from the United States. However, in the United States Senate on October 11th, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky launched a blistering attack on Egypt:

"While America finds itself at a critical moment in history, so does Egypt. A major recipient of United States assistance to the tune of nearly $2 billion, stretching back to 1979, Egypt must today unequivocally prove it is a full partner in our war against terrorism. It is not acceptable for President Mubarak and his Foreign Minister to obfuscate the assault against freedom with their not-so-hidden agenda to propagate Arab hatred against Israel and to muzzle democracy and civil society in Egypt."

Senator McConnell withdrew an amendment to cut U.S. assistance to Egypt only after Secretary of State Powell had written a public letter requesting the Senator to do so.

McConnell’s views may not approach the majority sentiment in Congress, but they do reflect a slightly changing landscape in Congressional views on Egypt. No longer can Egypt automatically count on unanimous support from Congress. Some in Congress have talked about reducing Egyptian military aid as a stick to more greatly influence Egypt in the near term. Ned Walker said of that suggestion, "Curtailing military aid to Egypt would be an extremely shortsighted and counterproductive move…Certainly it would hurt the United States more than it would hurt Egypt, which does have other options for procuring its military supplies. Provoking Egypt might well lead to Egypt curtailing U.S. military access to the Gulf, Egyptian encouragement of Arab reluctance to support certain key aspects of the war on terrorism, and Egyptian lethargy in supporting U.S. efforts to bring an end to Palestinian-Israeli violence – a pretty steep price for curtailing our military aid."

The new emphasis on terrorism may quiet these criticisms, or Egypt may find itself in the same situation as the United States in conducting a delicate balance between taking strong anti-terrorism actions while risking international and domestic criticism.

Secretary of State Powell’s November 19, 2001 address at Louisville University signaled a potentially newly revived role for the Bush Administration in the Middle East Peace Process. Although this step was perhaps inevitable after September 11th, if carried through it will be a welcome development for the Egyptian government. Egypt’s international stature, its economic growth, and relationship with the United States over the past 20 years are closely connected to peace in the region. A stagnating peace process deals strong complications to Egypt on numerous fronts.

Egypt will face serious economic challenges over the next months, stemming from regional uncertainty and a drop in tourism that has already emerged in the aftermath of September 11. The need to find a new catalyst for growth has revived interest, particularly on the Egyptian side, of a bilateral free trade agreement between the United States and Egypt. Most recently, the Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade, headed by Youssef Boutros Ghali, was dissolved to form the Ministry of Foreign Trade. It remains to be seen how much the government will continue the progressive economic policies of Boutros Ghali, who now has become Minister of Foreign Trade.

For the United States, stability in the Middle East has grown beyond energy security issues to encompass day-by-day national security issues stemming from the threat of international terrorism. Egypt’s continuing centrality to this crucial region keeps it front and center of U.S. foreign policy. With so much political and economic capital invested in the relationship over the past twenty years, both Egypt and the United States should find themselves engaged in an intense partnership for the foreseeable future.

Said former Congressman Sam Gejdenson (D-CT), a twenty-year veteran of Middle East politics on the U.S. House International Relations Committee, “Egypt’s location, its commitment to peace, its contributions to regional security, and -- most of all – its people, are all invaluable resources for the U.S. - Egyptian relationship. This is a partnership that has endured and will endure.”—