Bush visit spotlights fraying U.S., Egypt relationship

President Bush’s brief stop in Egypt, near the end of his Middle East tour, says much about the fraying state of the U.S.-Egypt relationship, Reuters reported Monday.

“The real value of the U.S. aid package has been falling yearly, reducing U.S. leverage over the Cairo government,” the article says, adding later, “The United States provided about $2 billion a year to Egypt for years after it signed the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.”

It is also noted that “Egypt protested last year when U.S. lawmakers threatened to withhold $200 million in military funds, which help Cairo buy military hardware and finance U.S. military training.”

“The Mubaraks do not give a damn about the civilian part which has steadily declined,” said prominent Egyptian dissident and sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim, referring to President Hosni Mubarak, and his son – and, many say, eventual successor – Gamal. “But they went bananas when Congress put some mild conditional ties (on the military aid)... The regime is totally dependent on the army’s support.”

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