On 8 June President-elect Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi was sworn as the new President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. After the swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Constitutional Court, an official luncheon was held to host the distinguished foreign dignitaries that received official invitations to participate in the inauguration of the president . The representation of countries varied according to the positions they adopted towards the June Revolution of last year. The Arab World, and particularly, the Gulf countries, was represented at the highest level, save Qatar. Jordan and Palestine were represented by their respective heads of state. Morocco and Algeria were represented by the foreign minster and the president of the National Assembly respectively. The same goes for the African continent. Before the ceremony, the interrogation marks around representation have centered on who would represent the United States of America and whom the European Union would designate to participate on its behalf in the inauguration ceremony. As for the former, the adviser to the secretary of state represented the American government. The European ambassadors to Egypt, including the Ambassador of the European Union in Cairo attended on behalf of their respective countries and the European Commission. Obviously, there has been coordination between the Americans and the Europeans to downplay their official presence in the inauguration of the President-elect Al-Sisi. Frankly speaking, I am not sure it is a wise decision on their part. But the message they are sending is clear enough, namely, our relations with the West will be tested in the next few months. On the other hand, we could interpret the message as a harbinger of things to come in the context of those relations. And this brings me to the title of this article Egypt at West Point. On Wednesday, 28 May, the US president delivered a speech at the Military Academy at West Point. The speech was about the future directions of American foreign policy, or what I would rather call “the Obama Doctrine”. The key to understand the whole thrust of this doctrine is the affirmation that the 21st century would be an American century, and that the United States is determined to lead. The question is: How to lead? In this context, the US president outlined four basic elements in American foreign policy in the years to come. The first is that the United States will not hesitate to use military force “unilaterally if necessary, when our core interests demand it — when our people are threatened, when our livelihoods are at stake, when the security of our allies is in danger”. The second element relates to terrorism. According to the Obama Doctrine, the most direct threat to American interests is terrorism, for the foreseeable future. In this respect, he called for shifting American counter-terrorism strategy to “more effectively partner with countries where terrorist networks seek a foothold”. The third element of the Obama Doctrine relates to American efforts “to strengthen and enforce international order”. This refers to international economic and financial institutions as well as the United Nations, and even the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The American president said that working to “evolve these international institutions must be a critical part of American leadership”. The fourth and the final element of the Obama Doctrine is the most relevant to future American policy towards Egypt. It will be used either to intimidate or to threaten the new Egyptian leadership, and to provide an excuse for the US administration to interfere in Egypt's internal affairs. He called it “our willingness to act on behalf of human dignity”. Aside from the question of who delegated Obama or the United States to act on behalf of human dignity, the most important question as far as Egyptian-American relations are concerned relates to how this will translate itself in terms of policies. The US president had the answer in his West Point speech. He dedicated one paragraph in this speech to Egypt. Here is what he said, which I consider threatening and unacceptable from an Egyptian point of view. “In countries like Egypt, we acknowledge that our relationship is anchored in security interests — from peace treaties with Israel, to shared efforts against violent extremism. So we have not cut off cooperation with the new government, but we can and will persistently press for reforms that the Egyptian people have demanded.” This is what I call American arrogance of power. I doubt very much if the Egyptian people have delegated the American president to speak on their behalf. And similarly the Egyptian people will never accept any meddling in their affairs. The most alarming part in the paragraphs dedicated to explaining the fourth element in the Obama Doctrine, and it is a first in international relations, is the sentence: “ … we should not expect change to happen overnight. That's why we form alliances not just with governments, but also with ordinary people.” Those ordinary people that the American president talked about are called traitors in Egypt and I do not think any sane Egyptian will ever venture to work, either publicly — he will not dare — or indirectly , or partner with the Americans. In this context, I have a story to tell to whoever is willing to listen to the American side. The other day, a friend of mine who is quite well off and lives in an upscale neighborhood in Cairo where there is a residence for Americans, took me by complete surprise when he told me that he had come across some Americans in the street whom he did not know and told them to go home after asking them what were they still doing in Egypt? I was startled. I know the ill feelings that most Egyptians have developed towards American policies in Egypt after the June Revolution, but did not ever imagine that it would reach such an extent. We have usually limited our opposition to American policies to official circles and this opposition never, so far, manifested itself against ordinary Americans who have worked and lived in Egypt. I guess Egyptian-American relations will be headed towards very rough waters if the Obama Administration will carry out its veiled threat of acting in the name of the Egyptian people in seeking what it calls reforms. The statement of the White House in the wake of the election of President Al-Sisi leaves no doubt that the American Administration is headed in the wrong direction, let alone the undiplomatic character of the statement. One simple message from Cairo to western capitals, please no more meddling in our internal affairs whatever is the alibi. We have already refused to sign agreements with the European Union that stipulated that money would be earmarked for non-governmental organisations without any oversight from the Egyptian government. No, thank you, Brussels. I hope the message will be heard in Washington, too. Mr Obama please take note that we are proud of our national definition of human dignity and we do not need lessons from anywhere in the world on assuring the human dignity of Egyptians. We are very proud people. Do not ever forget this. The writer is former assistant to the foreign minister.
