The US And Egypt--Long Term Commitment (Short Term Disdain)

Massive aid to Egypt did not originate with the Obama administration, but this additional reward does:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a mildly worded statement Tuesday criticizing the Egyptian government's decision to extend its "state of emergency" another two years and urged Egypt to adhere to "legal principles that protect the rights of all citizens."

Meanwhile, her department was preparing to enter into negotiations with Egypt over Cairo's proposal for a new $4 billion aid endowment that critics say would unfairly reward an authoritarian regime that has jailed or marginalized its opponents, rigged elections, and censored or manipulated the press for the nearly three decades that President Hosni Mubarak has been in power. [emphasis added]

But surely the rewards the US will reap from this approach outweigh the risks of backing this totalitarian regime. Remind us again--what are the rewards?

The State Department is still evaluating the proposal, but advocates of the endowment approach say that by setting American economic aid to Egypt for the next 10 years, the United States could build cooperation with the Egyptian government, show long-term U.S. commitment to helping the Egyptian people, and help Egypt develop key sectors of its civic infrastructure.

Read the whole thing.

Hmmm, "show long-term U.S. commitment to helping the Egyptian people"--I guess that would be as opposed to the short-term disdain the US is showing for Egyptians?

Got it. Now, can someone explain why all that aid the US has been giving to Egypt so far has not been accomplishing that?

Technorati Tag: Egypt and Hosni Mubarak.