JANUARY 05 NEWSLETTER
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How Washington Views Cairo
Naiem A. Sherbiny

The US is not happy with Egypt according to three sources: George Bush inauguration address, Condolesa Rice’s remarks to Congress, and a recent Washington Post editorial. Cairo xenophobes may shrug those views, but it is not advisable. Washington tracks views of all capitals, which in turn reciprocate. Cairo should do the same. This is not ‘dependency’; it is interdependence.

Mr. Bush gave his vision of the world in old-fashion American terms: human freedom. “As long as whole regions of the world simmer in tyranny, violence will gather, and multiply in destructive power. The only force that can break the reign of resentment and expose the pretensions of tyrants is human freedom”. Bush knows that Egypt fits in that group, as breeding grounds for terrorism. Bush wants to encourage reform in other governments by linking US relations to progress on civil liberties. Referring to Arabs: “All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors”. Great vision, but no specific strategies to implement it!

Condy Rice is the national security advisor and close confidant of George Bush. He designated her as the new Secretary of State. In her Congressional confirmation hearings, she supported Bush’s vision to spread democracy in oppressive lands. She said the president had broken with the habit of “excusing and accommodating” the lack of democracy in the Middle East. She backs up Bush’s dream of democratic transformation in strategically important countries currently run by autocrats, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The influential Washington Post published an editorial on January 18th titled “Enough in Egypt” that was critical of Mubarak’s refusal to liberalize Egypt’s “political system that has brought decades of economic stagnation and rampant corruption while nourishing Islamic extremists, including many leaders of al Qaeda”. It was also critical of Mubarak’s nomination to run for a fifth term, “perpetuating the military dictatorship that has ruled Egypt for more than 50 years”. Should Mubarak run again, it “would be a serious blow to the Bush administration's project for promoting democratic change in the Middle East”. Mr. Mubarak has emerged as the most outspoken and uncompromising opponent of Mr. Bush's call for Arab liberalization. The Post was critical of “the fraudulent referendums with which Mr. Mubarak has ratified his rule”.

Washington supports calls for fundamental political reforms in Egypt: the lifting of emergency laws that restrict political activity, a multi-candidate election for president and constitutional changes to limit the next president's power. The Post put Mr. Bush on the spot by asking if he does not agree with such reforms.