Source: Carnegie Endowment
Author(s): Michele Dunne
Original Link: http://carnegieendowment.org/2017/04/25/united-states-assistance-for-egypt-pub-68756
Chairman Graham, Ranking Member Leahy, Subcommittee members, thank you for this opportunity to address the subcommittee.
The problem for United States’ assistance to Egypt is precisely this: how can the United States best support an important country and longtime regional ally when its government adopts policies that promise chronic instability? The United States has an interest in supporting a stable Egypt, at peace with its neighbors and itself. The Egyptian-Israeli peace is well established on the military and intelligence levels, although lamentably cold on the civilian and citizen level. While the United States will always do what it can to encourage closer and more multifaceted ties, at this point the relationship has its own dynamic. At the same time, there is much to be concerned about regarding what is happening inside Egypt, where security, economic, and political conditions have deteriorated since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took control in 2013. With $77 billion in American taxpayer dollars invested since 1948 in security and economic assistance to Egypt,1 it is time for the United States to reconsider its approach.
While President Sisi is fond of presenting Egypt as a bastion of stability in a troubled region, in reality the country is at best limping along and is likely headed for unrest within a few years…
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