The US has provided Egypt with $1.3 billion a year in military aid since 1979, and an average of $815 million a year in economic assistance. All told, Egypt has received over $50 billion in US largesse since 1975. So far the return on this investment has been lousy. Here are two examples:
Hostile anti American propaganda is being broadcast across the Arab world by Nilesat, a satellite provider answerable to the Egyptian government. Nilesat airs the channel called Al-Zawraa, an Iraqi station that features non-stop scenes of US troops being picked off by snipers, blown up by roadside bombs and targeted by missiles. Bottom line: An arm of the anti-American Iraqi insurgency transmitting from the capital of one of America's strongest Arab allies. "The failure of US officials to get the Egyptians to pull the plug on Al-Zawraa underlines the complicated nature of the US-Egyptian relationship and the limits of American influence in the new regional equation. It is also another example of the emerging Cold War between Iran and Sunni Arab powers in the region," writes Lawrence Pintak.
Now look at the report from MEMRI: On the cover of its January 6, 2007 issue, the "mainstream" Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef featured a manipulated photo of Saddam Hussein's execution, in which Saddam's head was replaced with that of U.S. President George W. Bush. The photo was titled "Bush's Execution." Inside the issue was an article of the same title, by Shafiq Ahmad 'Ali, accompanied by the photo and calling on the Americans to execute their president for the murder of Iraqi civilians and "as a true measure of justice, revenge and democracy."
The Egyptian government controlled media has been one of the most poisonous in the Middle East. It does little to promote democracy and economic reforms and it regularly infects Egypt's hearts and minds with antisemitic and anti-American propaganda. The least we can expect from Egypt is to stop using its "free media" weapon against us. President Bush: please hold the next check.
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