Breaking the engagement

Egyptian and American diplomats have been playing down rumours of a reduction in US MFO forces, saying no decision on the matter is expected soon
According to senior Egyptian diplomats in Washington, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld has approached President Hosni Mubarak with a proposal to reduce the number of American peace-keeping troops deployed along the Egyptian-Israeli border as part of the unique unit known as the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO). Egypt has yet to give a response.
An Egyptian diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly that Egypt has not turned down the US proposal, mainly because the US has not offered a detailed explanation of how the reduction would be handled. The diplomat said that Egypt's first reaction was neither positive nor negative, although it is true that Egypt is hardly eager for a change that will add to its economic burdens. The $52 million cost of deploying the 1,900-man multinational force every year is shouldered equally by the three countries involved -- the United States, Egypt and Israel. It is not clear to Egypt whether this arrangement would change if the US decides to reduce its forces, or eliminate American participation in the peace-keeping force altogether.
Congress has made the limited US troop participation in the MFO to 1,200, but according to Pentagon officials, there are 865 American soldiers deployed in Sinai at present. American units are sent to the area for six months at a time. The infantry battalion will rotate next month and be replaced by another unit, the Pentagon confirmed. Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral Craig Quialey said that the possibility of reducing US troops "[is] in keeping with President Bush's campaign promise to examine US troop stationing around the world in a variety of scenarios; to take a look at where they might be reduced."
But Pentagon officials cautioned against any decision soon. Quialey said that the US National Security team had discussed the proposal, but said not to look for a decision on the near future. Any pullout, or reduction, must be agreed on by Egypt and Israel, and will be done in consultation with the other 11 nations providing troops to the MFO.
Egyptian officials confirmed that talk of a possible withdrawal or reduction of American troops from the MFO is an internal American issue, and has nothing to do with the peace process. Reports in the Israeli press, meanwhile, have portrayed the withdrawal as evidence of a US disengagement -- an idea Egyptian sources reject. "It's all about perceptions, and I don't think either country wants to give the perception that the US role is diminishing," said one Egyptian diplomat. Sources also dismissed claims that the timing of the news has any particular significance in relation to Egyptian-American relations.
"We're not sure who leaked the news, but [we believe] it's not in the Israeli lobby's favour to push US public opinion on this issue," said one inside source. "They [the lobby] have a stake too. It's to their advantage for the troops to remain as a buffer, so I don't think they'll push for a withdrawal." In fact, Egyptian officials suggest, it's unlikely that Israel would agree to a withdrawal, because they wouldn't want their top ally, the United States, replaced by a more neutral party.
Sources say that ever since the MFO's deployment in Sinai -- with the exception of a few minor incidents -- the peace-keeping troops have not been tested. Yet their symbolic value remains significant. Since the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, however, border violations have increased, especially from the Israeli side. These cases, like Israeli tanks crossing into Egyptian territory, have been rectified swiftly by the MFO -- perhaps a little too efficiently.
"Because they do their job so well, it seems like they are not needed," one official suggested. "They have become a victim of their efficiency and their low cost." The official noted that a replacement UN force, for instance, would have been far more expensive.
Israel, meanwhile, has not come out against a US reduction. According to the newspaper Haaretz, they don't want to be judged as "the bad boy" by Congress and the American public, should the Bush administration decide to pursue the possibility of a troop reduction further, so they are trying to appear cooperative. Egyptian sources indicated, however, that they are counting on the US to not make this kind of move unilaterally. "We feel that it's not an appropriate time for this move," said a senior Egyptian official, "and we've indicated that quite clearly to the Americans."
Egyptian officials confirm that the level of discussion that has taken place on the issue does not indicate that a withdrawal would occur anytime soon. The MFO is an outgrowth of the 1979 Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt, and US forces have been in the area since April 25, 1982. Israel had insisted at the time that supervision of the force be entrusted to the US, and refused a United Nations force, even though the framework for peace agreed at Camp David in September 1978, as well as the 1979 peace treaty stated that Egypt and Israel would agree on the formation of a UN force and observers, not including big power participation.
Commenting on reports that the US was not planning to withdraw from the force, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "There is an overall review being conducted by Secretary Rumsfeld at this point, and there is no particular suggestion for any particular recommendations that have come out of it."
By Hoda Tawfik in Washington, Dina Ezzat and Tarek Atia in Cairo
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