What can the United States do to influence Mubarak and the situation within Egypt?
American influence over President Hosni Mubarak and the situation in Egypt is often overstated. The dynamics at play in protests against the government are like an enormous storm and the United States can't do much to change its course.
That said, the U.S. provides about $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt, $1.2 billion of which goes to the military, which also has excellent relations with the U.S. defense establishment and Pentagon. Withdrawing the aid could harm the Israel-Egypt equation and diminish influence with the military.
While the United States cannot be seen as anit-democratic, Mubarak has been our biggest Arab ally in the War of Terror and there are some concerns as to what type of government will replace Mubarak's "fake democracy."
How involved should the United States be in the eventual creation of a "New Egypt"?
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ReplyDeleteThe United States should be involved in the creation of the "New Egypt," but only to a certain extent. While the United States has to greatly influence the current situation, and try to swing the outcome in their favor, it is a difficult proposition.
ReplyDeleteAmerica cannot let the rioting and tumult occurring in Egypt to get anymore out-of-hand then it is at the present moment. Already, violence and protests have been seen all across our own country. In major cities, such as Chicago, gatherings have been staged to show support for the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt. The situation in these cities could eventually develop into nationwide terror. In order to preserve the sanctity of our country, the United States must become more involved, somehow (whether it be politically, or halting the riots with military intervention), in the development of a "New Egypt."
America also has to preserve the safety of the innocent that inhabit Egypt. Being our greatest ally, the United States has to avoid a rival political party taking power in Egypt; and, most of all, removing their crucial support of our War on Terror. Without the backing of a strong Arab nation, such as Egypt, the United States could lose ground in the massive conflict in the Middle East, and prove to be detrimental to the future of it, as well. While the U.S. needs to be involved, we need to make sure not to overstep our boundaries in the situation.
The United States, I firmly believe, has to intervene in the current floodtide of bloodshed that has enveloped Egypt. However, America has to recognize the fine line between political intervention and complete governmental control. While it is necessary to quell the violence, the United States cannot make their presence known all that much. If this occurs, the people of Egypt could see this as a personal affront to their capability of controlling themselves, and revolt against the United States. In turn, this rebellion could spread to farther reaches of the world, and the United States could ascertain a great deal of (more) enemies as a result.
The United States must remain a prominent player in the formation of a "New Egypt." In fact, this is absolutely essential to the well-being of the Arab nation that is currently divided. However, it is also a key factor for the United States not to lose the pivotal support of Egypt in the War on Terror. In order to assure this balance between the nations, America must become involved in the rebuilding of Egypt, but always be sure not to cross the line, and spark adverse reactions.
Jake M.
After listening to different news reports and reading articles from the New York Times, it seems as though the U.S has said what they needed to say and they need to wait it out. The U.S cannot manage Egypt from thousands of miles away and should not have to do so. We have enforced our view of the situation in Egypt and stated that Mubarak does need to transfer his power peacefully and Obama has stated that he wants it to be done in a timely manner.
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't believe that having Mubarak step down at this moment in time would help. Mubarak has given 60 years of his life to serving Egypt and the people who are fighting against him are the younger generation who are approximately 30 years old. They have not seen what Mubarak has done for their country, they only see that they do not have jobs which is why they are angry to begin with.
Somewhere down the line, Mubarak does need to get out of office within the current months, hopefully before the elections in September. The Mubarak era is over and Egypt needs to figure out how they want to peacefully transfer their power, the U.S cannot make the decisions for them, but only say what they have already said. If the U.S creates more problems for Egypt then we could lose them as an ally and disrupt all of the peace that has been somewhat created in the Middle East.
Israel is in the center of large mess that has been playing out over the past weeks and they have the right to be anxious. Currently Israel has remained out of the situation and they really have no control over anything that goes on. Egypt is one of the few countries that Israel is surrounded by that they get along with and they can not afford to lose them as a friend. The U.S is also a strong ally with Israel and has to keep that in the back of their minds as they try to assist Egypt in their current situation.
I do agree with part of what Jake stated about the U.S maintaining a strong relationship with Egypt but not overstepping our boundaries. What the U.S has been doing is really all of what they can do. Stopping the demonstrators from thousands of miles away cannot be done. Whatever is going to happen in Egypt is going to happen, regardless of what the U.S says. The U.S cannot remain fixated on getting Mubarak out of office, the vice president of Egypt has already started to make plans to take over. Mubarak is going to leave no matter what, the only question is when and the U.S needs to stop focusing on it.
*30 years of service, my bad. Haha. And addition to all that, Mubarak needs to take initiative in this entire situation. He's led the country for so long and knows what is going on so he should know what is best for not only his country, but the surrounding Middle Eastern countries around him.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the United States has gotten themselves into a sticky situation with all of this. Although the United States is an ally with Egypt, the style of geovernment that Egypt has is directly against the morals of the U.S. Yet since they are allies, the U.S has to help them since the citizens are trying to overthrough their country. Even though if what the people are trying to accomplish is something that the United States would stand for.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, we should not be as involved in the crisis in Egypt. This is their problem, and they have a right themselves to fix it... either way it goes: toward Mubarak or against him.
ReplyDeleteWe do not have the right, in my opinion, to go in and interfere. On a global level, we should be concerned, but we should allow this quite grown-up country to solve their own problems. We're no one's big brother, and our intervention will probably cause more problems down the line.
If we were to go back to our own past: there was a lot of violence in the American Revolution, and we were able to fight our own battles. Egypt should be able to do the same.