Bush stops in Egypt
Jan 16th, 2008 by MESH
From Michele Dunne
President Bush’s January 16 stop in Egypt was so short that the press kept forgetting to mention it in discussing the schedule for his Middle East trip, noting that he would spend the last two days in Saudi Arabia. President Mubarak found an opportunity to zing Bush early in their joint press conference, interjecting in reply to Bush’s compliment about the beauty of Sharm el-Sheikh that “you need much more days.” Bush laughed and acknowledged that Mubarak “wants me back”—but did not immediately accept the invitation, as the President did on the spot when the Israelis invited him to return in May.
Bush seemed to try to compensate for the shortness of his stop with the fullness of his public statement, a virtual tour d’horizon of the U.S.-Egyptian relationship. Repeatedly highlighting the strength of U.S.-Egyptian friendship and American respect for Egyptian history and culture, Bush thanked Mubarak for cooperation on counterterrorism, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and Lebanon. He then transitioned rather gracefully to nudging on democracy issues, noting “Egypt’s role in the world,” “vibrant civil society,” and the important role played by women. Bush praised the roles played by Egyptian “pioneering journalists,” bloggers, and “judges insisting on independence,” and voiced hope that the Egyptian government would “give the people of this pround nation a greater voice in your future.” Politely phrased, but the message undoubtedly got through.
Both the brevity of Bush’s stop and the content of his statement reflect the malaise that has afflicted U.S.-Egyptian relations for nearly a decade now, going back to the end of the Clinton administration, when Egypt received its share of the blame for the failed peace process. Mubarak has increasingly disliked the U.S. approach to the region since then, and U.S. leaders—in the Congress as well as the White House—have come to see Mubarak as an aging leader who is only minimally helpful on regional issues and a laggard when it comes to reform in his own country. The 30-year old U.S.-Egyptian partnership has always had two legs: strategic and diplomatic cooperation in the region, and U.S. support for liberalization (first economic, later political) inside Egypt. While the two countries’ regional goals are still reasonably in sync, the partnership will continue to suffer until there is better mutual agreement on where Egypt’s reform process is going and how the United States can support it.
On the broader issue of Bush’s apparent effort during this trip to revive his freedom agenda (on life support since mid-2006), the Egypt statement is the best he has done. His January 13 speech in Abu Dhabi had some bright spots—the new pairing of freedom and justice as central concepts is positive, though coming too late in this administration to do much good—but the UAE venue made it hard to take the speech seriously. Not only did Bush not breathe a word publicly in Saudi Arabia about the freedom agenda, but he made the mistake of praising Bahraini King Hamad for being “on the forefront of providing hope for people through democracy” and holding “two free elections since 2006.” One can imagine how the Bahraini liberals, cheated out of their parliamentary victories in the totally unmonitored 2006 elections, felt hearing that. Bush could certainly have praised Bahraini military cooperation while gently mentioning the importance of equal rights for citizens and a level political playing field. Even omitting the issue altogether would have been better than offering unqualified praise, which made the United States look either clueless or cynical about what goes on in Bahrain.
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2 Responses to “Bush stops in Egypt”
Michele Dunne has put her finger on two critical issues, one symbolic and one substantive. President Bush is the latest in a long line of American officials who have treated their visits to Egypt as afterthoughts, as brief whistle-stops. Despite knowing how sensitive Mubarak is on this question—he constantly implores visitors to extend their stays—U.S. officials have passed through the country in hours.
More substantively, President Bush’s words about the strength of U.S.-Egyptian relations will do little to calm the bilateral waters unless he accompanied those words with a private commitment to try to restore the full amount of military aid which Congress wants to reduce. Is Egypt still “worth the money?” This requires a more thoughtful discussion than a few lines of comment, but the short answer for now is “yes.” With such angst in the region about U.S. policy over the past few years, this is the wrong time to dump an old friend overboard.
Dan Kurtzer served as U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 1997 to 2001.
For many in the region, President Bush’s latest visit to the Middle East did not amount to more than a public relations tour. His public statements on Palestine, Iran, and democracy were viewed as dated, unhelpful, or untenable, reflecting policies out of sync with the expectations of the people of the region. Bush’s statement on a Palestinian state was not new, and was mitigated by his urging the Palestinians to accept geopolitical fait accomplis (the Separation Wall and illegal settlements) and compensation for the refugees. Instead of enlisting regional support for a multilateral solution and an honorable U.S. exit from Iraq, the President focused on Iran as a regional threat. In this, he failed to enlist the support of the Gulf states, including the United States’ strongest allies, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Bush’s visit to Egypt was yet another clear mishandling of the historic and strategic relationship between the two countries. It was seen as signaling the diminished strategic importance of Egypt to U.S. policies in the region. In the President’s first visit to the region in the seven years of his administration, he dedicated only five hours to Egypt, compared to two days in Saudi Arabia (where he appeared on Arab TV screens as “Bush of Arabia,” wearing the abaya—the traditional Saudi garment—and dancing the arda, a Saudi folkloric sword dance). Bush’s talk about furthering freedom and reform in Egypt was reminiscent of his strong 2005 stand on democracy, which Michele Dunne rightly sees to be “on life support.” The sudden revival of the reform agenda is viewed with suspicion, as a way to squeeze concessions from the Egyptian regime on regional issues.
Strains in the relationship are likely to continue until a new administration enters the White House.
Emad Shahin is visiting associate professor in the Department of Government, Harvard University.