If we follow foolish European Union Foreign Policy (God knows why they should have a foreign policy department, commissioner and team financed by our taxes) over Egypt, we risk a great deal of our interests being badly damaged, not just in Egypt but among Egypt powerful, rich influential allies like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman as well as Jordan ( they are also essentially part of wider historic British interest in Middle East and the Gulf region).
European nations like France and German are motivated by their own national interest, and our interests bears little in their calculations – where are they now in Spain’s nonsense vindictive and politically motivated harassment of the British Crown subjects in Gibraltar?-.
Already sane voices in the US warned President Barak Obama against cutting military aid to Egypt. Look at what one of the architect of the Bush administration policy and war on terror strategy John Bolton (Mr. Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of “Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad” (Simon & Schuster, 2007). has writtenin the Wall Street Journal.
US Military themselves – in daily contact with their Egyptian counterparts as strategic allies in War on Terrorism and in long term strategy with security cooperation- have warned that cutting aid would damage America’s military strategy and operational capabilities in East Africa ( US navy engaged with European Navies in fighting pirates who finance terror groups in Somalia), The Gulf and the war efforts containing Iran and US war agains terrorism in central asia all depend on Egypt military cooperation. “Imagine if US navy ships, which is now given priority to jump long queues passing Suez Canal was forced to wait their turn behind slow ships queuing for four days or more?,” A US military report said in answer to questions raised a congress committee,”we have top go around the Cape in south Africa adding time, fuel and cost,” or if the Egyptians closed their airspace and other facilities in ports and airports? “we get much higher value for our aid than any other investment foreign policy with strategy and military dimention .” the report concluded.
Unfortunately there are not many sane voices on this side of the Atlantic. Cutting UK military arms trade with Egypt, as many leftwing organisation call, will only damage our arms industry, the Egyptians would get the equipment from the Russians, and with them military exhorters, advisers and influence. But we will not only risk angering Egyptian people majority of whom support the interim and government war on terrorism ( and a 130 years of friendship and alliance with Egypt in military campaigns in Africa since 1890s, two word wars and recently war on terror) we also risk much bigger trade and coperation interests in the Gulf. Saudi Arabian foreign minister yesterday gave a blunt warning that army intervention in Egypt wasn’t a military coup but responding to the will of vast majority of the Egyptian people who are “engaged in a war on terror” and that countries in Europe must recognise ( and watch the phrase) “Egypt role in the Arab world and her interests are the interests of the Arabs and we [ Arab nations of the Gulf ] will not allow those threatening Egypt integrity as a nation, or stability “. Not only Mr Hague risks cooperation with the most influential, rich and powerful nations in the Middle East ( trade, facilities, bases) but also losing the little influence left in Cairo and the lines of communications there.
It would be a folly worse than Suez war 1956, when London foolishly ( against advice from old friends in the Arab world like late Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri Pasha al-said who happened t be visiting London the night Col Nasser Pinched Suez Canal 57 years ago) followed the French, with dreadful outcome causing rift with America who sided with Col Nasser and Britain Egyptian friendship didn’t recover until 20 years later when Sadat came to power ( and was assassinated by the very people – Isalamists- whom the EU now is defending against the will of the Egyptian majority ) or with the folly of Harold Wilson labour government when vacated the Gulf ( against the wishes of the Arabs there, so they got the Americans buying their arms and equipment instead of British arms). Now we recovering our presence in the Gulf, Hague has to be careful not to put European interests before ours .
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