Egypt: What Won't Obama Do to Be Reelected?

Ah yes, the sweet stench of the Nile . . .

Do you remember the so-called "Arab Spring," much ballyhooed by New York Times pundits Thomas Friedman, Nicholas Kristof and Roger Cohen? Do you remember how President Obama threw Egyptian stongman Hosni Mubarak, a long time ally, under the bus? Do you remember, more recently, how the Muslim Brotherhood and the even more radical Salafis took some 70% of the parliamentary seats in Egypt's elections?

Well, it's only getting worse.

On Sunday, the Egyptian parliament chose an assembly consisting of 100 members, who have been encharged with writing a new constitution. Needless to say, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis packed this assembly with their supporters, thus preventing Egyptian liberals and leftists from having any say regarding this legislation. As reported by The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/liberals-and-leftists-resign-from-constitution-writing-panel-in-egypt/2012/03/25/gIQACTtTaS_story.html):

"'We are going to boycott this committee, and we are going to withdraw and let them make an Islamic constitution. We are going to continue struggling for a secular Egypt in the streets,' said Mohammed Abou el Ghar, head of the Social Democratic Party, who was elected to the assembly but has resigned his post. 'We agreed that this will be a balanced committee and it will represent all views of Egypt. But as you can see, there is no representation of secular Egypt.'"

So, Egypt is destined to have an "Islamic" constitution, but the plot thickens . . .

The Muslim Brotherhood, feeling its oats, is challenging Egypt's military, dominated by a coterie of aging generals. The generals see the writing on the wall, but still hope to retain control of their economic interests, spanning both the military and civilian sectors, and encompassing, according to some estimates (no one knows the exact figures), one third of the Egyptian economy. According to an article entitled "The Generals’ Secret: Egypt’s Ambivalent Market" (http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/2012/02/09/generals-secret-egypt-s-ambivalent-market/9ivf), written by Zeinab Abul-Magd and published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

"There are three major military bodies engaged in civil production: the Ministry of Military Production, the Arab Organization for Industrialization, and the National Service Products Organization. According to the official numbers published by the company managers in national newspapers, the first owns eight manufacturing plants and 40% of their production is geared toward civilian markets, while the second owns eleven factories and companies, with 70% of their production going to civilian markets. The third, the National Service Products Organization, is engaged in civil manufacturing and service industries, producing a wide variety of goods: luxury jeeps, infant incubators, butane gas cylinders, and even food stuffs (pasta and poultry products). They also provide services such as domestic cleaning and gas station management.

Because of the lack of public accountability and transparency, determining the annual income of military businesses is almost impossible. Experts estimate that the military controls about one third of the Egyptian economy, but interestingly, it is the non-defense activities that we know least about. Whereas official statements suggest they make a total of $750 million a year, workers have claimed higher figures—as much as $5 billion from only one company."

How did the military come to dominate Egypt's economy? Actually, arriving at the answer does not require much imagination. Every year the US provided Egypt with $1.5 billion in aid, of which $1.3 billion consisted of military aid. Of course much of this aid was designated for purchases from American military manufacturers, but plenty still found its way into the pockets of the generals and colonels, who were never forced to account to Mubarak, a former military man himself.

Notwithstanding this chaos, the Obama administration decided on Friday, after carefully examining this bubbling cauldron of vile smelling muck, to renew military aid to Egypt. The US Congress had wisely decided to link military aid to protection of basic freedoms in Egypt, and no such assistance had been delivered since last October, but a determination was made by Hillary's State Department to sidestep Congress. As reported by The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/world/middleeast/once-imperiled-united-states-aid-to-egypt-is-restored.html):

"A delay or a cut in $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt risked breaking existing contracts with American arms manufacturers that could have shut down production lines in the middle of President Obama’s re-election campaign and involved significant financial penalties, according to officials involved in the debate.

Since the Pentagon buys weapons for foreign armed forces like Egypt’s, the cost of those penalties — which one senior official said could have reached $2 billion if all sales had been halted — would have been borne by the American taxpayer, not Egypt’s ruling generals.

The companies involved include Lockheed Martin, which is scheduled to ship the first of a batch of 20 new F-16 fighter jets next month, and General Dynamics, which last year signed a $395 million contract to deliver component parts for 125 Abrams M1A1 tanks that are being assembled at a plant in Egypt."

Bottom line: As Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood enacts a fanatical constitution, as Egypt's generals continue to forgo accountability, and notwithstanding Egypt’s decision to prosecute American-financed pro-democracy NGOs, the Obama administration provides Egypt with an enormous handout intended to preserve the status quo and smooth Obama's reelection.

Enjoy the rest of your morning . . .