Source: Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Author(s): Jonathan Schanzer
Original Link: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2019/01/31/midterm-assessment-egypt/
The Trump administration has adopted a policy of restoring America’s strategic partnership with Egypt after five tense years under the previous administration, which did not support the 2013 military coup that toppled the Muslim Brotherhood-led government of President Mohammed Morsi. Under President Trump, security cooperation is once again the cornerstone of bilateral ties, with an emphasis on countering Islamist militant groups and addressing common regional security challenges. The administration has clearly deemphasized human rights and democratic governance in what some critics charge is a shortsighted abandonment of American values.
Trump has so far met five times with his counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and their personal relationship appears warm. Sisi’s official visit to the White House in April 2017 was the clearest sign that the administration sought to reverse the policies of Barack Obama, who never invited the Egyptian president to Washington. The administration has pledged support to Egypt’s ongoing fight against terrorism as well as its economic reform program, while raising only intermittent concerns about its disregard for the rule of law and civil liberties
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