Egypt: Mini-Iran

Mitchell Bard questions the latest military aid that the US will be giving Egypt: $13 billion over the next 10 years. Aid like this for Egypt is nothing new--ever since the Israel-Egypt "peace." But the issue is more than just the money itself:

Today, Egypt has 450,000 soldiers and another 254,000 in reserve, compared to Israel’s standing force of 186,000 and 450,000 reserves. Egypt has approximately 3,000 tanks and 500 aircraft, while Israel has 4,000 and 800.

One wonders why Egypt has amassed such a large military. After all, Egypt is a poor country; carrying such a large army is hardly a modest expense.

Its neighbors pose no threat to Egypt, and its weapons are useless against the radical Muslims who are the government’s principal enemies. One can only assume that Egypt is planning to re-engage one day with Israel, especially given that Israel is the “enemy” in all of Egypt’s war games. [emphasis added]

Then there is also lack of democracy in Egypt, the lack of reform, and the fact it votes against the US 90% of the time. But the key is what is going to happen after Mubarak, who has no clear successor. Think about what Mubarak's successor will do with all those arms and troops. Bard points out:

the catastrophe that would befall the entire region if Egypt’s jihadist clerics suddenly had their hands on a U.S.-armed military. Israel, America’s Sixth Fleet, and any ship passing through the Suez Canal would become hostage to such a regime. Think of it as Iran-West.

US policy towards Egypt seems to show as little foresight as its policy towards Abbas and the Palestinian leadership--providing weapons to unstable regimes.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Egypt and Mubarak.