Wednesday August 23, 2012

I've Been Thinking:

Over the past few days I have been sounding the alarm warning that unless the United States quickly counters Iran's moves on Egypt, Egypt will be lost to the United States as a possible ally.

I pointed out that the new president of Egypt, Muhammad Morsy, accepted Iran's invite to visit Iran and participate in the Non-Aligned Movement conference hosted by Iran and taking place in Teheran on August 30 I wrote that by accepting the invitation Morsy is showing that he may be moving over to the Iranian sphere.

And now, a short while ago, Morsy's office confirmed that the new Egyptian president will be visiting Washington, DC on September 23, almost exactly one month after his trip to Iran.

Phew. This is the counter move by the United States. It is good, but must be played out carefully and delicately. The United States must, at the same time, be giving with and demanding of Egypt. In terms of giving, the United States is slated to continue providing Egypt with monetary aid to the tune of $1.3 billion.

This trip to Washington must come with the proviso that US support of Egypt is conditional - and then those conditions must be carefully spelled out. Those conditions must include Egypt's relationship with Israel and attitude toward democracy.
And then the United States must make sure that those conditions are met. It's the carrot and the stick. And Egypt will nibble from both Iran and from the United States until she decides which side tastes sweeter.

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