Egypt-US relations have seen better days. Nevine Khalil looks at the issues troubling both sides Click to view caption Cairo is at odds with Washington on several issues, causing a cloud to form over otherwise friendly relations. Divergent perspectives on Iraq, Sudan and the peace process have been evident for months, but lately a bilateral issue has brought differences to the fore. Ignoring the diplomatic niceties, the White House announced on Thursday that President George W Bush opposed new aid to Egypt in protest over the verdict against sociologist Saadeddin Ibrahim. The sentence has been highly politicised, not only because Ibrahim holds dual citizenship in Egypt and the US, but also because Washington sees his conviction as a move to curtail civil liberties in Egypt. Ibrahim was sentenced on 29 July to seven years in jail, following a retrial, on charges which included receiving foreign funding without government permission, embezzlement and tarnishing Egypt's image abroad. In Cairo, Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said that Egypt "does not give in to pressure. We do not interfere in the course of justice, and we ask everyone to respect the decisions of our judiciary as we respect theirs." US State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker said that Ibrahim's case raised serious questions about "the progress towards greater political freedom in Egypt." As a result, Egypt's Deputy Ambassador to Washington Mohamed El-Zorkani was called to the State Department and told: "We're not contemplating any additional funds for Egypt at this time," according to Reeker. He added that Washington has called for Ibrahim's release. National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack described Ibrahim's jail sentence as "an issue which needs to be resolved." Egypt receives just under $2 billion a year in American military and civilian aid, the second largest aid package after Israel, and last week's decision will not in fact affect existing aid programmes to Egypt. The previously unannounced bonus of $150 million to Egypt aimed to assist with and compensate for losses in the tourism sector after the 11 September attacks. Some $200 million were earmarked for Israel in counter-terrorism assistance in the same package, but Bush rejected the whole $5.1 billion package and said he would seek the extra funding for Israel via other legislation. Bush spoke with President Hosni Mubarak to protest the conviction, and to say he will oppose any additional aid assistance to Egypt. "We are raising [this issue] with Egypt at the highest level," said Reeker. Nonetheless, Bush's tough stand on the Ibrahim case not only jeopardises his attempts to solicit Egyptian, hence wider Arab, support for American policies in the peace process, but also weakens potential support for America's plans to strike against the Iraqi regime. Egypt had played a key role in lobbying Arab support for the US-led coalition to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1991, but more recently, Mubarak has voiced opposition to Washington's current design to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Mubarak warned that a US military strike against Iraq would be "catastrophic" and would heighten tensions in the region. Washington's push for another leadership change in the region, further widens the gap in perspectives between Egypt and the US. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, according to Mubarak, must stay in power until negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis are well underway, if not until their conclusion. Bush, however, is adamant about removing Arafat from power, and shopping for a new Palestinian leadership to appease Israel. Although in recent months Egypt played a more active role in peacemaking in the region, and Washington often consulted with it on reforming the Palestinian Authority (PA) and security issues in the Palestinian territories, the Bush Administration has increasingly adopted Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's perspective on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. On the issue of Sudan, it isn't that Washington has not done enough to bring peace, but rather that it has done too much and sidelined Egypt in the process. Egypt's feathers were ruffled last month when the Khartoum regime signed a surprise peace agreement with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), and hence overriding an Egypt-Libyan initiative to resolve the 19-year civil war there. The US-sponsored agreement reached in Machakos, Kenya, on 20 July, discarded Egypt's peacemaking efforts over the past three years, and could result in the secession of southern Sudan within six years. Cairo has repeatedly emphasised the importance of a united Sudan, arguing that sessession for southern Sudan would be harmful to Egytian national security. Cairo's concern stems mainly from the fact that the creation of a new state along the banks of the Nile will increase competition over Nile water, and could make it easier for Islamists to dominate northern Sudan. Maher expressed Egypt's concerns about the US- brokered deal to US Sudan envoy John Danforth during talks last week. Danforth later said that he agrees with Egypt that "secession would be harmful to both south and north Sudan." If the repercussions of the Machakos agreement could be felt in six years, a more pressing issue erupted this week cooling relations with Egypt's southern neighbour. Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced on Saturday that his country will pursue its claim over the border zone of Halayeb in southern Egypt. The announcement took Cairo by surprise, because as relations warmed between Egypt and Sudan over the past few years, little had been said about the contested Halayeb triangle. But in an interview with the Qatari newspaper Al-Watan, Al-Bashir said that Sudan has renewed its complaint before the UN Security Council regarding sovereignty over the mineral- rich border zone. He added that Khartoum would "never, never, never" relinquish its claim. Sudan, Al-Bashir told Al-Watan, was "still waiting for the Egyptian response" to Sudanese proposals for joint sovereignty over the border zone. Within hours, other Sudanese officials were quick to point out that Al-Bashir's statements were in fact taken out of context with the intention to sabotage relations with Egypt. Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman told reporters that there were "forces invoking the Halayeb issue to stir up trouble between Sudan and Egypt." He added that Khartoum was focused on bringing peace to its people "and it is impossible that it would provoke the [Halayeb] issue at this particular time." He added that Sudan is counting on Egypt's help in making its Machakos agreement a success. Osman was expected in Egypt this week carrying a message from Al- Bashir to Mubarak, but his trip was delayed.
