Washington, January 29: This might be of use: a bit of statistical context that suggests just how important Egypt is to US foreign policy. Since the Israel-Egypt peace accord in 1979, these two countries have been the number one and two recipients of US foreign aid. (Excluding money spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.) This amounts to around one-third of total US foreign aid.
The homemade charts below use data from the US State department and the Federation of American Scientists, via this site. A look at the background budget documents confirms the figures for the last three years, give or take some rounding. But please take these as indicative rather than definitive. The 2011 numbers are requested figures — not actual sums.
This military-economic imbalance partly explains the attitudes towards the US that eye-witnesses are picking up on the streets of Cairo. A few dollars of aid per person has barely registered, according to the Carnegie Endowment, whereas knowledge of military support is of course ubiquitous.
This entry was posted by John McDermott on Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 18:45 and is filed under Capital markets. Tagged with egypt, foreign aid. Edit this entry.
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“As for U.S. security and military aid to Egypt, which is about $1.3 billion annually, it does not aim to strengthen Egyptian military power against any external threat, as this would be contrary to the declared U.S. objective of ensuring Israeli security and maintaining Israeli military supremacy over its Arab neighbors, including Egypt. Instead, this aid is devoted mainly to strengthening the regime’s domestic security and its ability to confront popular movements”
That explains those shiny new riot tanks in the streets of Cairo. Still, WikiLeaks© (NYSE:WKLK) cables today disclose long running efforts by American administrations to push for democratic reforms in Egypt, as well as deep contacts with major opposition groups.
So the US propaganda machine is roaring into gear, powered by WikiLeaks©, and may soon drown these uncomfortable facts. Still the weakness of America’s ‘pro-democratic’ hedge position does expose an intelligence community caught red handed by these developments.