The US secretary of state John Kerry meets the then Egyptian defence minister Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Cairo on March 3, 2013. Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo
The US secretary of state John Kerry meets the then Egyptian defence minister Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Cairo on March 3, 2013. Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photo

US fears over Cairo’s security objectives hard to dispel



Washington // Egyptian officials and diplomats from the Arabian Gulf have spent the build-up to today’s presidential election trying to persuade the US to end its freeze on military aid to Cairo.

Washington froze most of the US$1.3 billion (Dh4.8bn) it gave to Egypt’s armed forces annually after the military, led by Abdel Fattah El Sisi, unseated Mohammed Morsi’s Islamist-led government last July.

Last month, the US government relaxed its position and said it would release $650 million in military financing after Secretary of State John Kerry certified that Egypt was continuing its peace treaty with Israel. It also announced that it would send Egypt 10 Apache helicopters to help it fight insurgents. But the restoration of some of the aid has since been placed a hold by senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, because of his concerns over Egypt’s human rights record.

Despite the diplomatic efforts from the Gulf and Egypt, the presidential election, which is expected to be won by Mr El Sisi, is unlikely to normalise Cairo’s relationship with Washington, analysts say.

While the US and GCC countries have a shared interest in helping Egypt revive its economy and fight a growing terrorism threat, they hold opposing views about its political transition.

Many in the Obama administration and Congress want to put the relationship with Egypt back on track, according to Arab officials in Washington.

“Over the past month, the United States and Egyptian governments have attempted to overcome the tensions that have characterised their bilateral relations since the July 2013 coup by refocusing the US-Egypt relationship on urgent mutual interests: counterterrorism first among them,” security analyst Zack Gold wrote on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website.

Saudi and Emirati diplomats have also pushed the US, Britain and France to support Egypt’s new leadership, the Egyptian analyst Emad Jad said.

But the continuing crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and liberal critics of the interim government, mass death sentences and the prosecution of journalists are forcing “a fundamental questioning of where this strategic relationship should go in coming years”, said Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation think tank in New York.

Even though restoring the military aid would only require the US to certify Egypt is taking “credible steps” towards democratic rule, “Egypt has simply not given the US the ... chance to even begin to implement a course correction, and that’s unlikely to change”, Mr Hanna said.

A victory by Mr El Sisi in an election widely expected to be free will not address the conflict at the heart of the troubled relationship between US and Egypt: divergent views of what a strategy of stabilisation, including counterterrorism, should be.

US officials, especially in the White House, view Mr El Sisi’s efforts to outlaw and destroy the Muslim Brotherhood as a mistake that will alienate many Egyptians and radicalise its supporters. Instead, they advocate some form of political role for the group.

The Egyptian government and its supporters within the GCC have a different understanding of the Brotherhood, which they see as a terrorist group that seeks the overthrow of their leaders. In their view, the US is dangerously naive about the group’s intentions.

Mr El Sisi has said the Brotherhood will be “finished” in Egypt if he is elected.

This position is behind the $12bn that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have provided to Egypt to stave off a balance of payments crisis and stabilise the economy in a country where poverty has been the root cause of upheaval since the 2011 revolution.

Egypt faces a terrorist threat from militant groups in the Sinai, led by Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, as well as a growing threat on its western border with Libya, where militant Islamists are entrenched and have access to high-powered weapons.

But Cairo also faces urban violence targeting security officials that it blames on the Brotherhood, and which it says justifies the continuing crackdown on the group.

US counterterrorism capabilities are crucial for Egypt’s efforts along its borders, and while assistance is continuing under an exemption to the US law that suspended aid, Washington is less likely to contribute its full resources for fear they would be used against the Brotherhood and other political opponents.

“US assistance to Egypt to address terrorism will be greatly enhanced if Egyptian authorities ease up on the political opposition,” Mr Gold wrote.

Regardless, the US will continue to cooperate with Egypt on security.

An Arab official in Washington said the attempts to release the military aid was prompted more by a desire to pay for pre-existing contracts with US arms firms than any change in the tone of relations with Egypt.

There is disagreement within the US administration about what course it should take with Egypt.

“There is not yet a clear sense of how to proceed because the bigger picture in Egypt is so unclear,” said Amy Hawthorne, a former state department official who worked on US policy after the 2011 Arab uprisings.

“Some in the US might hope Sisi will stabilise the country and take charge of the economy, [while] some within the administration are far more skeptical that Egypt will turn the corner under Sisi.”

There are different views in the administration about how to engage with Mr El Sisi’s government and how to encourage an economic reform agenda, while others argue for limited engagement based on shared security interests “but not make a huge effort beyond that”, said Ms Hawthorne, who is now with the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.

If the confusion in Washington persists, cooperation with Gulf states to stabilise Egypt will be hampered, and this “would be catastrophic for all”, wrote Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

The US and its Gulf allies have “complementary tools at their disposal”, with the latter possessing financial resources that Washington cannot match, and the former having counterterrorism expertise and diplomatic sway internationally.

It is “hard to imagine how Egypt can be successful without the assets that both sides – the Gulf monarchies and the United States – bring to the table”, Mr Alterman said.

tkhan@thentional.ae

* Additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.

The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

PROFILE OF STARZPLAY

Date started: 2014

Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand

Number of employees: 125

Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog

Place of birth: Kalba

Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren

Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken

Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah

Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”

Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.

Replacements: Tolu Latu, Allan Alaalatoa, Taniela Tupou, Rob Simmons, Pete Samu, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Jack Maddocks.

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

RESULT

Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')

Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)

One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia

When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start

Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1

Tickets: Admission is free

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle

Fixtures

Wednesday

4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)

5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)

6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)

8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Brief scores

Barcelona 2

Pique 36', Alena 87'

Villarreal 0

UAE Team Emirates

Valerio Conti (ITA)
Alessandro Covi (ITA)
Joe Dombrowski (USA)
Davide Formolo (ITA)
Fernando Gaviria (COL)
Sebastian Molano (COL)
Maximiliano Richeze (ARG)
Diego Ulissi (ITAS)

Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
  • Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
  • Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
  • Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
  • Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
  • 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
  • Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
The National selections

Al Ain

5pm: Bolereau
5.30pm: Rich And Famous
6pm: Duc De Faust
6.30pm: Al Thoura​​​​​​​
7pm: AF Arrab​​​​​​​
7.30pm: Al Jazi​​​​​​​
8pm: Futoon

Jebel Ali

1.45pm: AF Kal Noor​​​​​​​
2.15pm: Galaxy Road
2.45pm: Dark Thunder
3.15pm: Inverleigh​​​​​​​
3.45pm: Bawaasil​​​​​​​
4.15pm: Initial
4.45pm: Tafaakhor

Second Test

In Dubai

Pakistan 418-5 (declared)
New Zealand 90 and 131-2 (follow on)

Day 3: New Zealand trail by 197 runs with 8 wickets remaining

The 100 Best Novels in Translation
Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press

GROUP RESULTS

Group A
Results

Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs

Group B
Results

Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets

Dubai World Cup Carnival card

6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m

7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m

8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m

The National selections:

6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir

South and West: From a Notebook
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate