US relations received another blow this month when Egypt's International Cooperation Minister Faiza Abou El-Naga accused the United States of funding nonprofit organizations to create chaos in the country following the January uprising that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Last week, Egypt referred 43 employees of these organization, many of them Americans, to a criminal court for trial and banned them from leaving the country. The case riled the US, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, seemed disappointed with the results of his talks with the military rulers who decided to go ahead with the case There are several explanations for the Egyptian action. Some analysts consider it to be a bid by the military rulers to improve their public image which deteriorated following the military crackdown of protesters demanding that they should hand over the reins of power to a civilian government. Others see it as a normal reaction to the continued meddling of foreign powers in Egyptian affairs. In any case, I believe that Egyptian-US bilateral relations are strong enough to overcome this challenge. The problem though lies in the growing clamor by prominent Egyptian religious figures to put an end to the annual $1.5 billion US aid. Amid this clamor, an initiative to raise funds to offset the loss has been launched and is gaining momentum. The prime movers of the initiative claim that the US aid prevents Egypt from playing its natural role in the Middle East. “To eliminate such dependency, US aid should be stopped,” says Salafist Sheikh Mohammed Hassan, the initiative's promoter. The growing public discontent over US aid is a big challenge to the US. The public discontent is more important, in my opinion, than what is happening on the political landscape. I am against cancelling US aid for the time being while the Egyptian economy is facing difficulties. The initiative to collect money from public contributions is risky and does not appear to a stable long-term solution. I believe that, with increasing coordination between the two governments, the issue can be resolved. It is important to explain to the Egyptian people the purpose of the aid and its impact on the economy, the military and on citizens, particularly the poor. Many Egyptians do not know about the positive impact of US aid because the former regime hid the facts and used the aid to stay in power. The political price should also be discussed openly in the media and other forums. Egyption-US relations should remain strong. Cooperation between the two countries is needed, more than ever. America needs Egypt as political leverage in the Middle East and it should work hard to forge peace in the region to make its positive presence felt by the Arabs. Egypt, on the other hand, needs America to help it set up a democratic government for the sake of its people. I advise the Americans to consider the new power of street politics in Egypt, and I advise the Egyptians to look at US aid as a tool to help reconstruct their economy rather than a scourge aimed at undermining the country's sovereignty and national pride. (Hatem Y. Ezz Eldin is a political researcher based in Jeddah. He can be reached at: [email protected]) __
