Burgess COMMENTARY
There are four (4) branches of America in Washington ... the Executive, the Legislative, the Judiciary and the Lobbyists. They all have one thing in common, the majority are greedy and self serving, and know next to nothing about the world that is outside America (the USA, that is).

This story got my attention because of my own experience in the past ... several times.

I worked with the United Nations on a post war rebuilding plan for Afghanistan after the Soviets decided they had had enough of Afghanistan and wanted out. We put together the framework of a plan for post conflict reconstruction for Afghanistan, anticipating that the international community ... mainly the European Union and the United States ... would be willing to fund such an initiative. The sad reality was that both Europe and the United States were completely uninterested in the future of Afghanistan and Afghans and were intent on taking advantage of the 'peace dividend' following the economic collapse of the Soviet Union. This plan ... modest and ambitious at the same time ... got zero funding from the international community and everything was shelved. A decade later 9/11 woke people up, and subesquently trillions of dollars have been spent ... wasted ... where millions spent at the right time would have got way better results.

And then there was Rwanda. I was working in the Great Lakes area just before the Rwanda genocide. My impression was that most of the expatriate community in Kigali and Bujumbura knew a lot about what was evolving and that a genocide was imminant, if not already in progress. Attempts to get Washington or Paris or London or Brussels to pay attention achieved absolutely nothing. All the country experts in the various capital cities were ... for all practical purposes ... missing in action. This experience told me a lot about how the national bureaucracies have ceased to have expertise that matters, merely functionaries ... apparatchniks, if you will ... who follow the leadership no matter what. No matter how much we knew in the field ... we were unable to get anyone that mattered to pay attention.

So this story about the US Congress ... specifically the Republican Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee ... getting in the way of timely financial assistance to a new somewhat democratic post revolution Egypt bothers me greatly. History repeating itself. I am appalled. I am disgusted.
Peter Burgess

US plan for Egypt aid hits roadblock ... The chairwoman of the US House committee blocks US government's move to transfer $450m in assistance to Egypt.

IMAGE Recently, demonstrators breached the US embassy in Cairo to protest an anti-Islam video [AFP]

The chairwoman of the US House committee that oversees foreign aid is blocking $450m in assistance to Egypt.

Representative Kay Granger, a Republican, said on Friday that the State Department had notified Congress of plans to transfer the money to the new government of President Mohamed Morsi, a move that Granger said she would stop.

'This proposal comes to Congress at a point when the US-Egypt relationship has never been under more scrutiny, and rightly so,' the chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations said in a statement.

'I am not convinced of the urgent need for this assistance and I cannot support it at this time ... I have placed a hold on these funds.'

Granger's action reflects unease among some US politicians over the new government that has taken the reins in Egypt after a pro-democracy uprising overthrew longtime US ally Hosni Mubarak last year.

The relationship between the US and Egypt has been rocky since the revolution. Egypt's government also angered Washington when it cracked down on numerous democracy advocates and groups, including three US-funded non-governmental organisations, earlier this year.

More recently, demonstrators breached the US embassy in Cairo to protest an anti-Islam video, and some in Congress have called for cutting off aid.

US support

The Obama administration has nevertheless vowed to push forward with its aid package for Cairo, a point reinforced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week when she met Morsi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

The US provides Egypt with $1.55bn annually - $250m in economic aid and $1.3bn in military aid. The cash transfer came from money that had already been appropriated.

The Obama administration has argued that it is essential to buttress Egypt, the most populous Arab country and the first to sign a peace agreement with US ally Israel.

Egypt has requested a $4.8bn loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a move the US supports. Other countries are slowly making good on promises of assistance.

Saudi Arabia in June transferred $1.5bn as direct budget support, approved $430m in project aid and pledged a $750m credit line to import oil products. Qatar has also promised $2bn in support.

A senior State Department official said the US remains committed to a democratic transition in Egypt and still sees support for economic growth as a vital way to protect peace and security.

The official, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, said the administration would work with Congress in the next days and weeks to make the case that the budget is in US interests.

Last December, Congress made foreign assistance to Egypt, including the military financing, contingent on a determination that the government 'is supporting the transition to civilian government including holding free and fair elections; implementing policies to protect freedom of expression, association, and religion and due process of law'.

Source: Agencies