In October 2013, the US administration suspended delivering 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt. The minister of defence at that time, Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi commented that, “the US has turned its back to Egypt.” Nabil Fahmi, minister of foreign affairs, said: “It is a wrong decision coming at the wrong time.” It was indeed a wrong time as Egypt was engaged in fighting terrorism in Sinai. It was faced also with the US administration suspending another parts of its military assistance; in response Egypt designed a new strategy to diversify the sources of its military requirements as well as its international relations. The Egyptian minister of defence and the minister of foreign affairs visited Moscow on 16 September 2013 where the military dimension was clear during the visit. Throughout the last 10 months, American-Egyptian relations were labelled as “troubled”. The process was followed by a reconsideration of the administration's policy towards Egypt. Within this reconsideration, it was clear that there were two approaches: the first advocated by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry regarding cooperation with Egypt as important for the US's interests in the Middle East, particularly that Egypt since 2011 has maintained its peace treaty with Israel. The second school stuck to what they called “US moral values”: human rights, freedom of speech, etc. As the US administration was conducting the reassessment, the provisional regime in Egypt was implementing its roadmap to the future, drafting the new constitution approved by an overwhelming popular majority. Parallel to that, the Muslim Brotherhood was escalating its violence. In this context, radical groups were escalating their terrorist attacks against police and army personnel as well as tourists. In the process, new regional factors emerged when number of Gulf States — Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain — declared their support for the 30 June Revolution and all its consequences, support that included financial aid that was much needed by the Egyptian economy. They even went further to help Egypt confront the suspension of US military assistance. The abovementioned developments in Egypt and the region were certainly considered in the US reconsideration process and culminated in the decision to deliver the 10 Apache helicopters to Egypt. On 22 April 2014, State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki announced that, “today, Secretary Kerry spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Fahmi to inform him that he is certifying to Congress that Egypt is sustaining the strategic relationship with the United States — including by countering transnational threats such as terrorism and weapons proliferation — and that Egypt is upholding its obligations under the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty. He reaffirmed that Egypt remains, as it has been for decades, an important strategic partner for the United States. The secretary noted that he is not yet able to certify that Egypt is taking steps to support a democratic transition. He urged Egypt to follow through on its commitment to transition to democracy — including by conducting free, fair and transparent elections, and easing restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and the media — as Egypt will be more secure and prosperous if it respects the universal rights of its citizens.” The same message was delivered by Hagel to his Egyptian counterpart. The release of the Apache helicopters was followed by Psaki's statement that the US administration would ask Congress to agree on releasing $650 million from the original $1.5 billion allocated to Egypt in the year 2014. This positive development coincided with a visit to Washington by Fahmi. The visit was expected to focus on a number of issues: - That the Egyptian government insists on fulfilling the roadmap, conducting free and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections. - That Egypt is interested in smooth and correct relations and cooperation with the US, both bilaterally and regionally. - If Egypt is diversifying its international relations this will not be at the expense of its relations with the US. The foreign minister equally was expected to explain to the US administration the “new reality” in Egypt, and Muslim Brotherhood violence and terrorism. The police reaction was a response to this violence and to protect innocent people. Does the American step signal the beginning of return to relations different from the troubled period that prevailed after 30 June 2013? John Kerry's testimony that the administration cannot verify that Egypt is on the road to democracy will remain a source of irritation in those relations. The stability of relations will depend to a large extent on the fulfilment of the remaining components of the roadmap: presidential and parliamentary elections and whether they are conducted in an open, free and transparent way. But the serious irritant in the relations will remain the US concept of “inclusiveness” that means including the Brotherhood in the national political fabric and institutions, which will depend mainly on how the Brotherhood evolves: whether they develop their thinking towards abandoning violence and accepting the new reality, or they will remain committed to violence and resistance to the new regime. The writer is executive director of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.
