Madina Newspaper When Alfred Atherton, the then US ambassador to Egypt, invited me and some Egyptian journalists to a dinner organized for Michael Stone, director of the US aid program in Cairo, Stone posed a question: “How can the US win the hearts of Egyptians just as the Soviets did when they helped Egypt build the High Dam?” Before the envoy could answer the question, Stone added: “We've done a lot for Egypt, we have built power stations and schools, but Egyptians still look at us with suspicion.” The ambassador looked at our faces, looking for an answer. Some journalists suggested that the US should provide a food program, others suggested building a highway linking the north and south of the country. Some, including me, suggested that the US should exert genuine efforts to bring peace to the Middle East, peace that restores the rights of Palestinians to have their own land. He was disappointed by the suggestions. I remembered this incident while following the latest news from Washington about some US congressmen calling for cutting off US aid to Egypt after Egyptian authorities raided the offices of human rights organizations. The authorities arrested 19 Americans, including Sam LaHood, a son of the US minister for transport. I wondered whether US aid should be considered as price for a deal between America and Egypt and whether Egyptians really benefited from this aid. When Hosni Mubarak delivered a speech on behalf of the late Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, after Arafat was denied a US visa during the time of US President Ronald Reagan, a pro-Israeli journalist asked the White House spokesman: “How can you allow Mubarak to speak on behalf of that terrorist Arafat at the White House.” The spokesman replied: “Mubarak is not a president of a banana republic. It's not logical to ask him to show us his speech before he delivers it.” The journalist retorted: “But you give Egypt $2 billion a year in aid.” The spokesman said: “Our enmity with Egypt costs us over $40 billion a year.” The question that arises is whether Mubarak had realized that he was offering services to the US that enabled Washington to save $40 billion a year. Going back to the raids on the offices of human rights organizations in Egypt, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the release of the arrested Americans and for allowing them to leave. She warned that US-Egypt relations would suffer if the Americans are not freed and allowed to go home. Some American congressmen called for the suspension of US aid given to Egypt when a delegation of Egyptian military officers went to Washington on a routine visit in keeping with the two countries military cooperation. Egypt has received $54 billion in yearly aid from the US since 1982, according to US sources. Of that amount, $24 billion was for economic aid while the rest was for military purposes. This aid helped enhance US strategic goals in the region by allowing US military aircraft to use Egyptian skies and US warships to pass through the Suez Canal between 2001 and 2005. Egyptians feel no concern at the call of some US congressmen to cut US aid to Egypt. Some Egyptians even suggest that Egypt should stop accepting any aid from the US. The US threat to cut off aid might turn against America and it might regret it if Egypt retaliates. The aid card is not a good bargaining chip and cutting off aid might even boost the popularity of the military rulers. They know this and that is why they have insisted on making the arrested Americans stand trial because it will help boost their sagging popularity with the Egyptian people. __
