The U.S. pressure on Egypt

The block U.S. aid to the Egyptian government , is considered by the executive in Cairo a serious mistake, especially with a view to combating terrorism. One of the reasons why the army overthrew the legitimately elected government of Mursi , was the excessive characterization of sectarian Islamic imprint , that the winning parties , especially the Muslim Brotherhood , had given the country . The contiguity that was developing with extremist movements , encouraged the setting of the state, threatened to create an Islamic theocracy in Egypt , Sunni type , which , due to its location on the border with Israel , could seriously jeopardize the balance the Middle East region . Using this factor the overthrow of the Egyptian government , which took place in a manner similar to a coup, albeit shared by a large part of the population, had not been received unfavorably by Western governments , although the ways in which it was taken power imposed some caution facade . This attitude had joined the registrars of the Western countries, with the exception of Israel, which had welcomed with enthusiasm, for obvious reasons , the change of course . From the political point of view this appeasement of the West has given strength to the behavior of the Egyptian military , which followed the seizure of power . An intense repressive activity , favored by the non-cooperation of Islamist parties , which have assumed an attitude of total closure towards the new government , has marked the line of the army, trespassing in brutality worthy of the worst regimes . The reprimands U.S. for this behavior , there have been , but were mild and have , perhaps, encouraged a turn even more illiberal , which has outlawed Muslim Brotherhood . In the face of world public opinion the behavior of the Egyptian military , which has always allied with the U.S., has forced Obama to intensify criticism, to implement that approach soft , who wants to be the main characterization of the new American foreign policy. To convince the Egyptian military to a different approach following a methodology similar to the pressure of sanctions to penalize only that the army in Cairo has reduced mainly military aid , but also economic , planned for Egypt. If the verbal condemnations were not followed practical acts , probably the Egyptian military would have understood that the United States would have reached a tacit consent to the repressive campaign implementation . Concretely, the cutting of U.S. aid should cover , out of a total of $ 1,500 million , $ 260 million in aid , $ 300 million in loan guarantees and blockage of the supply of military equipment , such as Apache helicopters and missile systems . It is not insignificant amounts in an economy blocked by political instability , which can not count on the availability of raw materials and sees the rich induced tourism practically at a standstill . The reaction of the military , of course unfortunate , it was to focus on the danger of the growth of terrorism, a reason still valid , but not enough to give the Obama administration by its resolutions and especially to explicitly request the acceleration of the process of transition to an executive less affected by the armed forces , within a framework of constitutional reform , as a prelude to new legislative and presidential elections . However, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood , will deprive the elections of a secure protagonist, with the risk that the elections are deserted by a large number of voters. For Washington, the priority remains , however, that for Egypt to leave the state of deep tension and embrace democracy as much as possible free from constraints confessional . Only these conditions will allow full recovery of the aid. This does not mean that the military will lose their importance and their role in front of the USA , the rest of the state that are building can not do without their support , if not long-term . The process of democratization of Egypt is still in its infancy and it is said that eliminated religious variables do not show other forms of disturbance , even from within the army itself , but an authoritarian , albeit a secular , does not guarantee American interests , just as an evolution of the Egyptian state in the confessional sense . For Washington, it is important to be able to count on a reliable ally , but also presentable to the world and this interest is also functional to allow democratic development in the whole area of the southern Mediterranean , thanks to the enormous influence enjoyed by the country in the Egyptian Arab countries of north Africa. It includes as well the pressures that the U.S. is exerting on Egypt .