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The U.S. Should Not Suspend Aid to Egypt's Army

(Foreign Policy) Aaron David Miller - Beginning in the early 1980s, the U.S. cut a devil's bargain with Hosni Mubarak's (or Anwar Sadat's) Egypt. In exchange for Egypt's continuing its peace treaty with Israel and supporting other U.S. policies in the region, the U.S. gave Mubarak a broad pass on human rights and political reform and solidified the deal with aid. And now, when Egypt has a real chance to build a better political system over time, should the U.S. get tough with the only institution in Egypt that can guarantee some measure of stability during a critical moment? No matter how you try to rationalize it away, the Egyptian military removed a democratically elected government. But there's also an Egyptian reality that matters more. This coup was energized not by a clique of power-crazed generals eager to govern Egypt, but by a wave of popular anger against the incompetent, exclusive Muslim Brotherhood, which was taking the country in the wrong direction. The military was following, not leading, the people's desire for a do-over. The very last thing the U.S. needs right now is to be seen as punishing the Egyptian Army, because many Egyptians see its actions as an expression and agent of the popular will. By pressing the military, the U.S. is in effect opposing the public's mandate. The writer is a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
2013-07-16 00:00:00
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