The amphibious assault ship, USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) transits the Suez Canal behind the guided missile destroyer USS Gonzalez (DDG 66). The Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group is on a scheduled deployment in support of the Global War on Terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Christopher J. Newsome (April 22, 2005)
America's True Stake in Egypt -- Greg Scoblete, The Compass/Real Clear World
As Egypt unravels, it has naturally called into question whether the U.S. should continue subsidizing the Egyptian Army. The basic premise of U.S. aid has been unchanged since the 1970s and was summed up nicely by a U.S. embassy cable released by WikiLeaks:
President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion in annual FMF as "untouchable compensation" for making and maintaining peace with Israel. The tangible benefits to our mil-mil relationship are clear: Egypt remains at peace with Israel, and the U.S. military enjoys priority access to the Suez Canal and Egyptian airspace.
Leave aside whether it's really necessary to keep bribing Egypt's Army to stop it from doing what it is very unlikely to do in the first (start a new war with Israel) and focus on the only benefit directly related to American security and economic interests: passage through Suez.
Is that worth $1.5 billion a year and the enmity of some of the Egyptian people?
That's a tough call and one the Obama administration is undoubtedly wrestling with.
Read more ....
My Comment: Because we are dependent on Middle Eastern oil .... I will have to say that it is worth it. But if the West should wean itself away from this dependency .... that will change everything.
do you see any possibility of that happening within the next 10-20 years
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