A top US general arrived in Egypt on Wednesday on a surprise visit that follows a decision by President Joe Biden’s administration to withhold $130 million in military aid to Cairo over human rights concerns.
On his flight to Cairo, Gen Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command, sought to play down the significance of the cut and emphasised the “robust” military ties between the two countries, which have been close allies for decades.
“Compared to the amount of other money that's in play, it's a very small amount. But I think it's intended to be a signal,” Gen McKenzie said. “We still have a very robust weapons programme with Egypt and we're still very heavily engaged with them.”
Since the late 1970s, Egypt has received billions of dollars in US military aid, which stands at $1.3 billion a year.
The aid, along with economic assistance, is partially a reward for Egypt becoming the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. It also serves as an incentive for Egypt to continue its close co-operation and intelligence-sharing on terrorism with Washington.
These close ties have allowed the US military to use Egyptian airspace for overflights and for its navy ships to be given priority when passing through the Suez Canal.
The January 28 decision by Mr Biden’s administration to cut military aid was a rare censure of Egypt. It followed what US officials say is Cairo’s failure to address human rights-related issues, which have never been publicised by Washington.
Activists have said those conditions included the release of people considered to be political prisoners.
Gen McKenzie is the top American military commander in the Middle East region. He is a frequent visitor to Cairo, where he consistently praises co-operation with Egypt’s military.
He said that he did not plan to shy away from the US's human rights concerns in his talks with Egyptian leaders.
“At the [military] level, we need to be honest with each other about factors that can influence the relationship. Clearly that's a factor that can influence the relationship.”
Egypt did not respond publicly to the Biden administration’s decision as it has done on similar moves in the past, said Michael Hanna, director of the US Programme in the International Crisis Group.
“The Egyptians have not made a huge fuss like they did in the past. They’ve handled the decision with greater restraint,” he told The National from New York.
That restraint, he said, might have had something to do with a better understanding in Cairo of how the US government functions, as well as the mixed message Washington was sending.
Rights groups welcomed the announcement of the aid cut, but some considered it as just a slap on the wrist since it closely followed US approval of an arms package worth more than $2.5bn for air defence radars and C-130 Super Hercules planes.
That deal, Mr Hanna said, was partly financed from unspent military aid accumulated over several years and partly from Egyptian national funds.
“The deal covers items the US wants Egypt to have to serve the interests of both countries,” he said.
Mr Hanna said that while the State Department had been in the habit of speaking against Egypt’s human rights record, the Pentagon and the military tended to be more cautious on the subject so as not to jeopardise their valuable co-operation with the Egyptian military.
Under President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Egypt has become one of the world’s biggest arms buyers, seeking to diversify its arsenal of US and Soviet-era weapons with cutting-edge new weapons and equipment from Russia, France, Germany and Italy.
Cairo’s shift on arms procurement came after the Obama administration suspended some military aid to Egypt in 2013.
The Egyptian government at the time said the suspension hurt its counter-terrorism operations against militants in the northern region of the Sinai Peninsula and accused the Obama administration of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
The aid suspension was in response to the removal by the military, then led by Mr El Sisi, of president Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, amid a wave of street protests against his one-year rule.
