American criticism for Egypt over its attempts to own and develop its military arsenal
Egypt-USA, Politics, 6/18/2004

Israel's supporters at the foreign relations committee at the US house of representatives made use of a session dedicated to the future of the American- Egyptian relations to launch a campaign against Cairo. Several members of the committee accused Egypt of developing its armed forces on the assumption that Israel is the enemy.

Member of the committee Tom Lantos criticized what he called Egypt's attempts to modernize its naval fleets and its attempt to get mid- range missiles from North Korea and called for the abrogation of the American military aid to Egypt estimated at USD 1.3 billion annually.

Lantos said that Cairo continued developing its military capabilities relying on the American tax payers, besides these capabilities are developed on the ground that Israel is the presumed enemy. However, the committee's witnesses of the government's officials commended the close Egyptian cooperation with the US in the naval facilitation for the passage of ships through the Swiss canal and crossing of the Egyptian airspace by the American warplanes and the joint military maneuvers between the two countries.

They indicated that the US got Egyptian guarantees on how to deal with aids given to it, noting that these aids were working to enhancing peace between Egypt and Israel during the past 25 years and that these aids guarantee making Egypt an active partner in the war against what is called terrorism and enhancing the security of the US.

Some members of the committee called for pressuring the Egyptian government to eliminate the phenomenon of tunnels leading to Gaza, but the US under secretary of state for the Middle East affairs David Satter-field said that the tunnels are a problem for Egypt, the same it is for Israel and that the two sides are cooperating to withstand it, as he alleged.

Also many of the members criticized what they called the slowness of the Egyptian reforms in the fields of education, the media, job opportunities and the economy. Despite the fact that the session was dedicated to pressure Egypt, however the criticism of its members was alleviated following the recent Egyptian measures concerning the tunnels in Gaza.

Previous Stories:
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  Egyptian concern over Washington's policy in Palestine, Iraq; Mubarak welcomes Sharon's plan, criticizes Sharon's guarantees   (4/26/2004)
  Bush, Mubarak Discuss Reform, Peace Process, Terrorism   (4/13/2004)

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