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Tuesday, April 22, 2014 |
The US has not sent an ambassador to Egypt since August 2013 |
Where is the US ambassador to Cairo? is a sign of drift in US policy. For others, it's about turning down the = heat This absence of a US ambassador in Cairo for the last eight months could be = for several reasons. First, it could be strong evidence of tension between = the two countries and hesitation by the US administration on what it should = do about developments in Egypt. Second, it could confirm the reliance on = defence relations as the basis of bilateral relations; there have been more = than 30 phone calls between US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and his = former counterpart Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, or one call every si= days. This is a natural development of the army dominating the political scene in = Egypt and explains why traditional diplomatic channels are being ignored in = favour of direct military channels. Third, it could be Washington=92s desir= not to be directly present inside Egypt, especially after the bad experienc= of Ambassador Anne Patterson that ended with her returning home in August t= become US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. In general, an ambassador's job entails representing their country, = presenting their country=92s viewpoint on pertinent issues in the host = country, participation in decision making back home by giving opinions or = sending reports or making suggestions. A nomination to serve in the Cairo = embassy was once a prize post for diplomats focused on Middle East affairs, = and the same is true for the post of ambassador, which is considered one of = the top posts in the US State Department. There was always fierce = competition between senior US diplomats to win this appointment. At the same time, the post of =93US ambassador in Cairo=94 had a downside i= terms of the inflated role and special importance given the embassy when = dealing with Egyptian elite that greatly exaggerates the size, power and = influence of the US role, irrespective of this elite=92s ideological and = cultural background. =93Not having a US ambassador in Cairo for the past seven months, and havin= the main voice on Egypt policy come instead from Washington, has lowered th= US profile inside Egypt somewhat, which has probably helped to calm the = waters a bit after the vitriolic media campaign over the summer against = Ambassador Patterson,=94 according to Amy Hawthorne, an American expert on = Egyptian affairs at the Atlantic Council in Washington. After the tenure of former Ambassador to Cairo Margaret Scobey ended in Jun= 2011, Patterson was appointed ambassador less than one month after Scobey= departure. Although during that period Egypt witnessed great instability, = consecutive and transitional governments under the interim leadership of th= Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the Obama administration did not = hesitate in naming the new ambassador. Washington understood the importance = of occupying this post during this difficult period in Egypt=92s history. Patterson was heavily criticised last summer before and after protests = following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. Some Egyptian = newspapers printed headlines describing her as =93Ambassador from Hell=94 a= =93The US High Commissioner to Egypt=94 along with =93Shameless Patterson= =93White Beetle Patterson=94 and dozens of other inappropriate headlines. T= some people believe that senior US diplomats are hesitant to serve in Cairo = right now. Once Patterson left Cairo, Washington picked Ambassador David Satterfield t= serve temporarily as charge d=92affaires for some months. Satterfield, who = on good terms with the Egyptian army, took a leave of absence from his = position as director general of the Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO= in the Sinai Peninsula. After his term ended in January, Marc Sievers has = served as charge d=92affaires in Cairo. There is a widespread rumour in Washington that interim Foreign Minister = Nabil Fahmy informed US Secretary of State John Kerry at a meeting in Cairo = on 3 November that the interim government in Egypt would not officially = object to Washington=92s nomination of Robert Ford as US ambassador to Cair= However, Fahmy cautioned him about such a choice because Ford would feel = isolated in Cairo because no one would deal with him. Cairo=92s advice is an indirect objection to Ford=92s appointment. But it i= clear why Egypt objects to Ford except that some Egyptian circles accuse hi= of contributing to inciting violence in Syria by supporting the opposition = against Bashar Al-Assad=92s regime. Ford is also agreeable to the Islamists= which is why the incumbent government is worried. Hawthorne believes the Obama administration=92s decision not to nominate Fo= for the post, after the Egyptian leadership rejected the idea, should also = be seen in the context of the US wanting to avoid stirring up another = anti-US backlash in Egypt. =93But not having high-level US representation i= Egypt also compounds the sense of drift, uncertainty, and indeed passivity = in US policy towards Egypt,=94 she said. =93This is becoming a serious prob= not just with regard to Egypt, whose stability and security continue to be = in question, but also for broader US strategy in the Middle East.=94 US positions since 3 July have angered both sides of the dispute in Egypt. = It neither officially described what happened that day as a military coup, = nor as a popular revolution. Continued muddling by the US administration = continues to raise many questions about the reasons why the Obama = administration wishes to remain neutral between the two sides, which has = angered both camps. It is likely the Obama administration does not believe the presence or = absence of an ambassador would impact Washington=92s strategic interests, a= thus the issue of an ambassador is a tactical rather than strategic move by = Washington =97 as long as there are open communication channels between the = military in both countries. We will never completely understand the absence = of a US ambassador until after elections in Egypt and a clearer political = picture, as well as assessments of the US=92s response to developments in = Egypt, emerges. Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on A= Website: www.imra.org.il For free regular subscription: For free daily digest subscription: IMRA is now also on Twitter |
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