OBAMA TO FORGIVE EGYPT'S DEBT !

[Whirlaway]

This executive action will not buy is good will with the Muslim Brotherhood....

OBAMA TO BAIL OUT EGYPT

The Obama administration is set to eliminate a significant portion of Egypt’s $3.2 billion debt to the U.S. According to the Washington Post, the debt-relief package will likely approach $1 billion.

Obama plans to grant this relief even as Egypt’s Islamist president Morsi cracks down on his domestic opponents, seeks control over the Sinai, and cozies up to Iran. The only concession Morsi appears to have made to the U.S. came when he replaced a minister who had pushed for the prosecution of several employees of NGO’s funded by the U.S. with a new minister described by the Post as “more receptive to U.S. aid.” How big of Morsi.

The debt-relief package reflects the Obama administration’s sanguine view towards Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood man. That view usually finds expression in the notion that Morsi, now that he must govern an economically troubled country, will have no choice but to act moderately and responsibly.

This view could hardly be more misguided. Arab extremists don’t “grow in office” by becoming more solicitous of the peoples’ welfare. They grow in office by crushing those who oppose them. This reality binds together Arab leaders as otherwise diverse as Saddam Hussein, the Iranian mullahs, and the Assads.

But even if there were merit in the view that Morsi might moderate in order to cope with economic difficulties, it wouldn’t make sense for the U.S. to ease those difficulties, in advance of any moderation, to the tune of $1 billion. Before bailing Morsi out, we should expect more than just his decision to sack a minister who didn’t want the bailout.

The real reason the Obama administration is so sanguine about Egypt lies in the fact that Morsi — as he is, without any moderation — does not offend Obama in any way. Is Morsi already undermining the new democracy? Who cares; only the dreaded “neocons” obsess about this sort of thing.

Is Morsi moving Egypt into a more adversarial position with Israel? It serves Israel right for not making “peace” with the Palestinians. Anyway, the more headaches Netanyahu suffers, the better, as far as Obama is concerned. Maybe our president will finally obtain the leverage against Israel he has yearned for.

Might Morsi continue tilting towards Iran? Probably, but why is that a concern for Obama? Sure we have sanctions in place against Iran. But where’s the evidence that the sanctions are any more than a fig leaf employed in the hope of dissuading Israel from doing something meaningful about Iran’s nuclear program?

When the Iranian people took to the streets in massive protest against the Iranian dictatorship, Obama didn’t back them. Why would we expect Obama to be concerned now about the fate of Egypt’s democracy or about Egypt’s increasingly warm relations with Iran?

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archive...-out-egypt.php

[pmdelites]

while partially informative, it seemed to me to contain a lot of "what ifs" and "well, then this must be true" type of comments.


for a more journalistic piece, read the WSJ article or do a websearch on "obama egypt debt" for more articles.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...601055580.html

it's now news, just an update of things that have been going on for a while....

"A team of senior State Department economic officials have spent the past week in Egypt's capital completing the terms of an aid package that President Barack Obama first announced last year after Egypt's pro-democracy uprising rattled the country's once-promising economic future." [emphasis mine -pmd]

"Two weeks ago, Mr. Morsi, who took office in June, asked International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde for $4.8 billion in low-interest loans. The request followed the long-awaited first installment of a $2 billion loan from the Gulf state of Qatar last month and a promise of $1 billion in direct aid from Saudi Arabia in May."

"The aid offers will still strain to meet Egypt's estimated $12 billion in external financing needs. Last year's revolution and the subsequent 19 months of political instability have kept tourists and foreign investors at bay.

Egypt's Central Bank has bled through nearly two-thirds of its $36 billion foreign-currency reserves to maintain the strength of the Egyptian currency. Many economists say a currency devaluation is inevitable."

[CuteOldGuy]

Why are we bailing out Egypt? It's not like they have even a slight interest in supporting the West on any issue. We have our own issues. Egypt wanted "democracy", let them figure it out. They are not our problem.

[CJ7]

we get it back when they buy military munitions and planes form us ..

[trynagetlaid]

So they never found all the billions Mubarak had stashed away?

[Whirlaway]

Wouldn't we have gotten it back without forgiving the debt?

Originally Posted by CJ7

we get it back when they buy military munitions and planes form us ..

[CuteOldGuy]

Originally Posted by CJ7

we get it back when they buy military munitions and planes form us ..

Link?

How does it balance out? What is our "profit margin" on this deal? Does the government get that money, or does it go to the defense contractors?

[Whirlaway]

Egypt is going broke and Obama schemes to save it's financial ass; in the meantime, Obama hasn't passed a domestic budget, hasn't addressed our debt, and keeps spending, spending, and spending.

[Whirlaway]

Don't expect CJ to give a coherent response.

Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Link?

How does it balance out? What is our "profit margin" on this deal? Does the government get that money, or does it go to the defense contractors?

[i'va biggen]

Wasn't all aid given to the military? I'm changing my name to Egypt I don't owe you scoot...

[Whirlaway]

From the WSJ:

U.S. Hones Plans for Big Bailout of Egypt

By MATT BRADLEY


CAIRO—American diplomats are closing in on an agreement to dole out $1 billion in debt relief to Egypt, part of a gilded-charm offensive that Washington hopes will help shore up the country's economy and prevent its new Islamist leadership from drifting beyond America's foreign-policy orbit.

A team of senior State Department economic officials have spent the past week in Egypt's capital completing the terms of an aid package that President Barack Obama first announced last year after Egypt's pro-democracy uprising rattled the country's once-promising economic future.


The money has since sat in policy limbo as Egyptian and American diplomats disagreed over how the Egyptian government would allocate the funding and American politicians hesitated over the prospect of rewarding Egypt's newly elected Islamist leadership.

As the recipient of $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid, Egypt has historically ranked among America's top security partners in the Arab world. Its peace treaty with Israel has helped buttress regional security for more than 30 years.

But the election in June of Egypt's new Muslim Brotherhood-backed president, Mohammed Morsi, has called the strength of the old alliance into question. Mr. Morsi selected Beijing last week for his first official trip outside the Middle East, followed by a trip to Iran—moves some observers saw as a deliberate snub to Egypt's traditional Western backers.

The arrival of an Islamist government followed by political upheaval and disconcerting moves on the international stage fueled questions over the reliability of Mr. Morsi as a U.S. ally. But his efforts at internal stability and his public criticism of Syria's regime while visiting Tehran last week, which angered his hosts, have helped balance U.S. views of the new Egyptian leader.

U.S. diplomats say American funding for Egypt has been stalled by disagreements over how the government in Cairo will allocate the debt relief. The envoys currently in Cairo are negotiating over slightly less than half the money, which would be paid as a direct cash transfer to Egypt's budget.

The larger portion, about $550 million, would be doled out in a debt-swap program in which both the U.S. and Egyptian governments would agree on how the money will be allocated.

Despite Washington's close diplomatic relations with Cairo, the allocation of aid remains a volatile point of contention between the two countries.

Even before the revolution last year, the Egyptian side has taken exception to the various conditions the U.S. government places on the funding. Egyptian policy makers have complained that any direction assigned to economic aid—for example, assigning certain funds to a particular development project—is humiliating, diplomats involved in the negotiations said.

Some U.S. aid has also stoked suspicions among Egyptians. U.S. funding for pro-democracy civil-society groups in Egypt led to a crisis when Egyptian security officials raided the offices of several nongovernmental organizations at the end of 2011, then arrested their staff and accused them of trying to stoke chaos to undermine the government. The seizures and arrests held up U.S. assistance and nearly prompted U.S. policy makers to cancel the annual military aid to Egypt.

The leadership change in Cairo has brought new faces and new political priorities. The revolution and its tumultuous aftermath trampled on Egypt's economy, and Mr. Morsi's new government has made fixing the country's nearly $25 billion budget shortfall its priority.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Morsi, who took office in June, asked International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde for $4.8 billion in low-interest loans. The request followed the long-awaited first installment of a $2 billion loan from the Gulf state of Qatar last month and a promise of $1 billion in direct aid from Saudi Arabia in May.

U.S. officials have spoken positively about the IMF loan, saying it would shore up confidence among international lenders and investors. "Just as importantly, it will provide a foundation for sustained growth and inclusive economic opportunity," said Robert Hormats, U.S. undersecretary of State for economic growth, in an address in Cairo over the weekend.

Even when not imposing concrete conditions, U.S. officials have stressed the Obama administration's view that the Islamist government should maintain an inclusive posture toward all segments of Egyptian society. "Progress will only be possible if the talents of all citizens are drawn upon and all have a voice—men and women, all religious groups, and all parts of the country," Mr. Hormats said.

The aid offers will still strain to meet Egypt's estimated $12 billion in external financing needs. Last year's revolution and the subsequent 19 months of political instability have kept tourists and foreign investors at bay.

Egypt's Central Bank has bled through nearly two-thirds of its $36 billion foreign-currency reserves to maintain the strength of the Egyptian currency. Many economists say a currency devaluation is inevitable.

Beyond the debt forgiveness and IMF loan, U.S. officials are promoting two financing opportunities: $375 million in financing through the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp., a government development finance agency, for loan guarantees for small-to-medium sized Egyptian businesses; and $60 million to help launch such firms through a new U.S.-Egypt Enterprise Fund.

American officials say their efforts are part of a multipronged strategy aimed at glossing Egypt's profile for international investors.

The debt-relief negotiations come as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce prepares to send a delegation of some 50 American business leaders to Egypt. The delegation, which is set to include regional Middle East heads from companies such as Boeing Co., BA -0.78% General Electric Co., GE -0.73% Google Inc. GOOG -1.23% and Citigroup Inc., C -0.03% is working in partnership with the U.S. State Department.

In Washington, some in Congress worry that the Morsi government will abdicate Egypt's peace treaty with Israel and want to carefully assess Cairo's future plans. Of particular concern to some lawmakers has been Mr. Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood's view toward maximal use of political power.

Mr. Morsi stunned Egyptians late last month when he abruptly fired Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the general who had led Egypt's post-Mubarak transition to democracy, and assumed the legislative and executive power that the army had safeguarded for itself. Egypt's powerful military has formed the backbone of Egyptian governance since the country's anti-colonial revolution in 1952.

That came as Mr. Morsi's presidency was moving to assert control over the media. Brotherhood lawmakers replaced the heads of state-owned newspapers with more malleable editors-in-chief, while public prosecutors charged a popular anti-Brotherhood TV talk-show host with calling for the assassination of Mr. Morsi and a secularist newspaper editor with insulting the president.


A version of this article appeared September 4, 2012, on page A1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: U.S. Hones Plans for Big Bailout Of Egypt.

[CuteOldGuy]

Originally Posted by trynagetlaid

So they never found all the billions Mubarak had stashed away?

These clowns won't be any better. Exactly why this is a bad idea. It was under Mubarak, and it is now.

We need to quit trying to buy allies with money we don't have.

[Whirlaway]

It is doubly wrong because the Muslim Brotherhood aren't our friends, but our enemies.

The American taxpayer takes the loss on the debt; and is stuck paying the interest on the borrowed money we lent to Egypt !

Fuck Obama.