I have traditionally been a supporter of the foreign aid that the United States gives to the Egyptian government, mainly on the premise that the soft authoritarianism of Hosni Mubarak’s government was the only alternative to an Islamist takeover which could throw the region into war. Following the 9/11 attacks and further reflection, however, I have come to the view that Mubarak’s stifling government and our close relationship with it breeds anti-Americanism, and furthermore acts as an incubator for militant Islamism because all non-Islamist civil society is snuffed out.

On Tuesday, Congress passed its $20 billion foreign aid budget which included the $2 billion which is annually given to Egypt. But whereas in the past this was essentially “hush money” to keep the Egyptian government stable and satisfied, this time Congress has voted to tie some of the aid to political openness and a smaller amount has been earmarked directly for pro-democracy opposition groups. And this vote came as Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice has given a speech in Egypt critical of the government. I think a policy change in this direction is overdue.

This is a brief description of Congress’ action from the Wall Street Journal:

The House Appropriations Committee approved a $20.4 billion foreign-aid budget that imposes new terms on economic aid to Egypt and inserts Congress into an Export-Import Bank fight dividing the semiconductor industry.

For the first time in many years, lawmakers would dictate specifically how Cairo must spend a portion of the annual economic aid it receives with Israel as part of the Mideast peace process. No less than $100 million of the $495 million in economic-support funds pledged to Egypt next year would be devoted to education and promotion of democracy and human rights. That includes an estimated $25 million to be distributed through nongovernmental entities to strengthen Egyptian civil organizations.

The action followed warnings this week from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Egypt must move more aggressively toward democracy. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D., Ill.) defended the Cairo government: “We must see Egypt as a partner and not a second-class ally.” Wisconsin Rep. David Obey, the ranking Democrat on the panel and a longtime supporter of the Camp David accords, was scathing.

“We have no obligation to support stupidity,” Mr. Obey said. “Is this country the same agent of change it was 20 years ago or is it stalling out?”…

This is a brief excerpt from Rice’s speech at the American University in Cairo:

…Now, here in Cairo, President Mubarak????????s decision to amend the country????????s constitution and hold multiparty elections is encouraging. President Mubarak has unlocked the door for change. Now, the Egyptian Government must put its faith in its own people. We are all concerned for the future of Egypt????????s reforms when peaceful supporters of democracy — men and women — are not free from violence. The day must come when the rule of law replaces emergency decrees — and when the independent judiciary replaces arbitrary justice.

The Egyptian Government must fulfill the promise it has made to its people — and to the entire world — by giving its citizens the freedom to choose. Egypt????????s elections, including the Parliamentary elections, must meet objective standards that define every free election.

Opposition groups must be free to assemble, and to participate, and to speak to the media. Voting should occur without violence or intimidation. And international election monitors and observers must have unrestricted access to do their jobs.

Those who would participate in elections, both supporters and opponents of the government, also have responsibilities. They must accept the rule of law, they must reject violence, they must respect the standards of free elections, and they must peacefully accept the results…

At the same time, Al-Ahram reports that the U.S. State Department is opposing a separate attempt to reduce the military element of U.S. aid to Egypt. State often acts as a lobbying firm for authoritarian governments like that of Egypt, so this is not surprising, but I hope this doesn’t mean that President Bush is compromising the demand for reform.

I suspect that Al-Ahram highlighted this article – it is second from the top on their website homepage – in order to obscure the significance of the other events described here. There is nothing on the site about Rice’s speech (that I can see), and this article only mentions Rice once near the bottom in order to quote a denial by State that she met with the Muslim Brotherhood during her visit. I have read elsewhere that she did meet with non-Islamist opposition leaders, which is good, because the Al-Ahram article omits this fact as well.

For background on the situation in Egypt, here are some recent posts:
Egypt Clamps Down on the Muslim Brotherhood
Mubarak’s Smackdown: How Bad the Vote Violence in Egypt?
Egypt’s Rubber Stamp Parliament Exposed

Contributed by Kirk H. Sowell at Window on the Arab World, and More!