“This isn’t a friendship society; it’s a hatred community towards the US,” was the reflection of a friend of mine after attending a gathering with the American Ambassador to Egypt a short while after the second Iraqi war. The atmosphere at the event was characterized by intense anger by many Egyptian attendees toward the United States due to the invasion of Iraq. The US, which has provided Egypt with an accumulated amount of USD 80 billion since the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979, has its embassy in Cairo surrounded by cement blocks to protect itself from terrorism.
For more than two decades, I have been serving on the board of the Egyptian American Friendship Association in Cairo. This position has allowed me to answer the columnist Thomas Friedman’s question, “Why do they hate us?” and learn about the rationale behind Egyptians’ disfavor of the United States. Whereas, I managed to position the association’s mission as people-to-people friendship regardless of the political stance of both nations—a twisted mission, knowing that the US’s democracy qualifies its citizens to question their rulers, contrary to Egypt’s autocracy.
Egyptians who have dealt with American citizens often describe them as generous and warm people. However, Egyptians who are impacted by US policies often define the United States as arrogant, ignorant, and insincere. US political dynamics produce unpleasant outcomes in spite of their citizens positive characteristics. Meanwhile, American scholars tend to advocate for values until they acquire political power, then swap to a framework of “American interests” that come at the cost of their claimed values!
The United States is, in fact, a tale of two nations: a world of entrepreneurial innovators best exemplified by enterprises such as Apple, Facebook, Google, and others that have advanced the living conditions of the entire universe. Whereas, the flipside is its administration, which is known for its immoral bureaucratic stagnation wherein authoritarian nations are better empowered to serve the US interest. The world’s citizens are paying a high price for US-advanced products and receive a blind eye from the administration toward their own challenges.
“It is a little game we play. They put it on the bill, and I tear up the bill. It is very convenient,” states Captain Renault, the corrupt French police officer in the movie Casablanca, explaining how he manages his expenditure at Rick’s Cafe. A similar game is played between Egypt and the US. Egypt represses its critics; the US opposes this practice; Egypt responds: We are a sovereign nation that does not allow foreign meddling. This conversation frequently repeats itself, but it has never affected their strong mutual friendship.
Moreover, the US withholding parts of its military aid assistance to Egypt due to its failure to release political prisoners is a move that has had no impact on the two countries’ strong relationship. An authoritarian nation will not relinquish its iron grasp for the sake of a tiny or even larger gesture. Meanwhile, Egyptians’ rage over their domestic and regional challenges is deliberately channeled towards the United States.
“USAID is intended for political devotion,” said a senior manager at USAID Egypt in response to my remark about the inefficient spending of the US economic aid that is supplied to Egypt. Being involved in a few USAID programs led me to conclude that both countries are content with misusing the aid that, if effectively utilized, would bolster the reputation of the US for Egyptian citizens. The US has a prerequisite menu that is reluctant to adapt to better serve recipient nations, thus attracting benefiters who harvest the aid money.
Meanwhile, American officials frequently say that it is difficult for their administration to change an authoritarian state into a democratic one—partly true—but on the other hand, the US has never exerted genuine efforts in promoting democracy to test its claim. The 4-year tenure of the US president and the world’s diversity of crises restrain American diplomacy that deals with the rest of the world by either offering economic incentives or using coercion to realize their needs.
Egyptians often falsely accuse the United States of conspiring against Egypt, and I counter-argue that a superpower nation doesn’t conspire; it flexes its muscles when desired. In fact, the US produces unsuccessful policies like other nations but isn’t comfortable recognizing its mistakes or even listening to alternative opinions. Over time, I’ve discovered that Egyptians’ distaste for the US is steadily growing, and this dislike even extends to students who have participated in various educational programs in the US that its embassy in Cairo has organized.
These narratives crossed my mind on the occasion of President Biden’s stance on the present war on Gaza, in which the United States three times vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that was aimed at ceasing fire in Gaza. A position that will further distance the Arab and Muslim worlds from the United States and might influence Arab Muslim Americans’ votes in the coming presidential election.
Should Egyptians be grateful for the US’ economic and political clout? The answer is no. The US has not played any constructive role in expanding Egypt’s peace and prosperity since mediating the Egypt-Israel peace treaty more than four decades ago – a notable achievement. Hatred does not arise spontaneously; government policy plays an essential role in its expansion or contraction. The combination of the United States’ hypocrisy and Egypt’s authoritarianism has undoubtedly intensified Egyptians’ hatred towards the United States.
