Relations between the USA and Egypt
Diplomacy is the means of implementation of foreign policy of the states, representing a set of practical actions, ways and methods applied taking into account specific conditions and a character of solved tasks; official activities of the heads of state and government, special bodies of external relations for the implementation of the purposes and problems of foreign policy of the states, and also of the protection of the interests of these states. In the international relations the concept of diplomacy is connected with negotiations art for prevention or settlement of the conflicts, searches for consent and mutually acceptable decisions, expansions and deepening of the international cooperation. Diplomacy is the management through dialogue and negotiation of relations between governments and peoples in support of vital national interests.
For the last six decades the analytics in Washington steadily considered the relations of the USA with Egypt as the most important element of the Middle Eastern policy. The role of Egypt in Middle Eastern strategy of Washington was determined, first of all, by its unique geopolitical situation and also leadership in the Arab world by the indicators of a military power and political influence.
U.S. policymakers have long confronted difficulties in balancing the pursuit of U.S. national security interests vis-à-vis Egypt and the promotion of American values and universal human rights. Such tensions, which are common in foreign policy, are likely to continue and perhaps increase in the post-Mubarak era (Sharp, 2012).
The intensity in the relations between the USA and Egypt, which was splashed out in the conditions of proceeding anti-American protests in Cairo, generates the assumptions that two friends face uncertainty as a result of deep changes in their relationship. The latest events forced the American administration to face the truth - a heat of a situation can lead to the tragic consequences and a long confrontation. Obama faced the consequences of own policy on the support of the Arab revolutions, the Arab spring in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. It seemed that everything would be good and the liberals and democrats would come to the power after leaving of secular authoritative modes, people who professed the democratic values would come and resolve the issues by means of negotiations. In reality people, who rely on the right of force, came. There was a murder of the American ambassador in Libya, the attempts to capture the American Embassy in Egypt, disorders in Libya in such degree that it was necessary to use the ships of the USA. The USA wanted the Arabic democracy; they received Islamic modes which, naturally, negatively belong both to Israel and to the USA.
The president Obama said that Egypt with its new Islamic leaders is “an ongoing work”, thereby having expressed the doubts of Washington since June elections when Mohammed Morsi, connected with “Muslim Brotherhood”, won. Obama thinks that the USA considers Egypt neither ally nor enemy. Morsi tried to keep a delicate balance between the pressures from inside, directed at the strengthening of the position of Egypt in relation to the USA, and the strategic reality that that Egypt depends on America. Morsi cannot afford to move away from the US; at the same time he would like to weaken the communications of Egypt with America and to make the American-Egyptian relations less special.
Another important role in the relations between the USA and Egypt is played by a new US Secretary of State John Kerry. The transition between Clinton and Kerry will impact the course of the relations between the USA and Egypt. John Kerry will meet the Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi. They will discuss the issues of the Egyptian-Israeli cooperation and regulation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The Islamists managed to establish a total control over the country which has been considered a key partner of Washington for two years ago owning to Obama’s policy. Initially, the USA supported the actions against the president Hosni Mubarak, and then they made everything that the army, their only ally, delegated the power to the civil structures.
The paradox is in the fact that Egypt is on the partial American supply for a quite long time. It means that the American government supports the defensive programs of Egypt. This help reaches several billion dollars a year. It is quite a big figure for such a poor country. At present, this money is in doubt. The allied relations with Egypt, as well as with Libya and other young “Arab democracies”, are in doubt. It is a huge challenge.
Some American officials and experts in Egypt hope that over time Morsi will feel rather strong in the new role to construct firmer relations with the USA. Their idea is that the USA has to be patient with the new government which still adapts to the role after the decades of stay in the oppositional circles. The USA carries on negotiations with Cairo concerning writing-off of debts, and officials say that the USA also insists the International Monetary Fund to provide a multi-billion loan to Egypt. Besides, the US Chamber of Commerce in Egypt has carried out the congress, in which more than hundred business representatives in Cairo initiated to make Egypt a fertile soil for investments.
Judging by these efforts, the US administration understands that America plays a key role in strengthening of the Egyptian economy and in creating workplaces for the same young people who damned America and burnt its flags down. However, considering all this, Obama’s cool statement concerning Egypt indicates the “check” period in the relations, necessary to define, how close partner the Middle Eastern country will become for the USA.
Apparently, the USA tries to pass to a new model of partnership in the relations with Egypt. Washington expects to interact pragmatically both with a team of the president-Islamist, and with the army top, the role of which is limited generally to safety questions. In a long perspective, in case of the preservation of elective procedures, more desired political forces for Washington can come to the power in Egypt, namely - secular political parties of the European type.
As for the president-Islamist Mohammed Morsi, Washington thinks that certain instruments of impact on it remain not only at the USA, but also at their allies in the region – the conservative Arab monarchy of the Persian Gulf. Thus, the threat of the entrance of Egypt out of the limits of the existing regional political and strategic unions in the foreseeable future is estimated by Americans as a rather low. The strategists of Obama’s administration consider that the new government and new political elite of Egypt will fit into the existing regional alliances, adapting own ideological beliefs under these purposes.
