Source: NPR

The Egyptian political scene is currently domestically focused and the last thing the political actors want to do is listen to outsider’s advice, explained Carnegie’s Nathan Brown on NPR. He stated that Egypt’s political actors are extremely focused on each other and involved in what they see as a struggle over Egypt’s identity and future, which, he added, is why the United States is having such a hard time influencing the military’s generals.

Last week, the Egyptian military brushed off U.S. efforts to negotiate a peaceful compromise with opposition protestors. As the violence increases in Egypt, members of Congress have begun to call for cuts in the $1.5 billion in military aid given to the country each year. 

“Most political actors do not see the United States as on their side and that even extends to the Egyptian military despite all that aid,” Brown explained. He said that the military leaders are convinced that the United States still looks at things in the country through the lens of the Morsi presidency that was just overthrown. The United States is too closely identified with Morsi, he contended.  

Brown argued that if U.S.-Egyptian relations were to fall apart, Egyptian foreign policy would not radically change under the new regime but there would be far less coordination in regional security issues, such as terrorism and Arab-Israeli diplomacy. Cuts in U.S. aid would make diplomacy and American security policy harder to operate in the region, he added, concluding that the aid is a very important part of the Egyptian military’s calculations.

This interview was originally aired on NPR.