WASHINGTON: We pray for Obama.
That, from a young immigration officer, the last Egyptian I spoke to before boarding my Cairo flight home, was not the first such comment during my four-day visit.
The head bellman at the lovely Sofitel hotel, taxi drivers, Egyptian ministers, professors and pedestrians, recognizing us as Americans, expressed their great hope for our new president and our country.
It had been less than two weeks since 2 million of us spent hours on the Washington Mall. The party began hours before the ceremony. We cheered. We cried with joy. We hugged total strangers. We marveled at the hundreds of thousands of black families. And, as our new president was inaugurated, we imagined an America that would once again be viewed as a positive force in the world. We sensed that world was watching and agreeing.
But the reaction of Egyptians during my four day visit last week revealed much more than just agreement. Everywhere I went, I sensed hope – and relief. I even sensed a lingering trace of astonishment.
I lead a firm that represents and advocates for Egypt in the US. Just about this time last year, we paid our first visit to Cairo in that capacity. We saw many of the same people then as on this recent visit. Last year almost everyone expressed support for candidate Obama, but virtually no one thought he could win. There is no way America will elect him, the Egyptians told us repeatedly.
For those of us who insisted otherwise, it was sweet to return to Cairo for a shared celebration of what America said to the world on Election Day and for what that statement might mean for the US-Egyptian relationship and the larger shared goals of peace in the world.
There is, of course, the very real danger of unrealistic expectations followed by huge disappointment. There remain significant scars in the relationship from the past eight years – scars from wounds inflicted by the American side. The Bush Administration s naive insistence on instant democratization.
The fallout from the Bush Administration s simplistic categorization of nations as part of the axis of evil . The calamitous invasion of Iraq and the blatant lies that accompanied it. The US Congress one-dimensional view that aid to Egypt must be conditioned on Egypt s performance in a number of areas.
The US taking for granted the enormous Egyptian contributions to security in the region and the diplomatic role of Egypt in the peace process – a role that only Egypt can play.
And quite frankly, some Americans feel that damage has been done by the Egyptian side. There is an impression that Egypt believes there are entitlements still due from Camp David, but a large percentage of the people running our government were small children when the Camp David agreement was signed. Some were not even born. They want Egypt to make more modern and compelling arguments to justify the friendship.
In just weeks from now, many Egyptian opinion leaders will be briefed on some Egyptian-government-generated US public opinion research.
Interviews with American Middle East scholars and focus group discussions with key opinion leaders – top congressional staff, well-known journalists, think tank leaders – will show that even these US elites reflect ignorance of what Egypt contributes to its partnership. Even more troubling, the all-too-typical response saw Egypt as staid, stodgy and not progressive on democratization and human rights, and very old-fashioned and bureaucratic in the worst sense.
Granted, this research preceded the Israeli actions in Gaza and Egypt s subsequent extraordinary leadership role in seeking a lasting ceasefire and an end to the Israeli blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza residents.
But the results reflect a bilateral relationship that does not have the solid foundation of trust and understanding that is necessary to elevate and enhance the bond.
So where do the two nations go from here? The relationship must be repaired and taken to new levels of respect and cooperation, not just for the sake of the two countries but for the sake of the region and the world.
For President Obama and the new US Congress, the challenge is to appreciate Egypt s contributions and to be creative in finding new paths for the partnership, not only on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, but on the rebuilding of Iraq, the difficult handling of relations with Iran and even on a myriad of important issues relating to Africa.
For strong supporters of Israel in the Congress and the new administration, this task is particularly important. Appreciation of Egypt s contributions is blunted by unfair criticism from those quarters. There may be good news on this front, however, with the recent formation of a strong and moderate pro-Israel advocacy group called “J Street. The group s mantra is that those who favor the long-term survival of Israel should see actions like the operation in Gaza as threatening that survival.
From President Mubarak, the Egyptian government and its people, this moment calls for a fundamental shift in how Egypt tells its story to the American people. Last fall, Egypt changed ambassadors to Washington. Many long-time observers of the diplomatic scene worried about a diminution of Egypt s influence in Washington, with the long-time and highly-respect Ambassador Nabil Fahmy completing his term and returning to Cairo. In fact, very few countries in the world could find a way to change envoys without any sacrifice of intellect or advocacy skills. But Egypt did that. The new ambassador, Samir Shoukry, has wasted no time making a very positive mark.
Interestingly, during the same time period, the US did the equivalent in its Cairo embassy, replacing its ambassador and virtually the entire top layer of staff with little if any impact on performance.
But more than an outstanding Egyptian ambassador in Washington is needed. The Obama years will surely open up almost limitless possibilities for exchanges and positive dialogue. Egyptian voices, especially non-governmental voices, need to tell America the most compelling Egyptian stories of the moment – about their promotion of peace, about the enhanced role of women in the society, about the protection of religious freedoms, about press and internet freedoms, about developing green technologies, about attacking poverty and eradicating diseases, and about promoting new US-Egyptian economic relationships.
One year ago, in Cairo, we urged many of those advocates to visit America. We felt strongly that the Congress, particularly, needed to know much more about the growing Egyptian civil society and its contributions.
Virtually none of the advocates showed up. Apparently, there was a near-universal reluctance to visit Washington with George Bush in power.
Now there is no excuse. We are waiting for you.
Toby Moffett is a former member of Congress from Connecticut. He is now the Chairman of the PLM Group in Washington.
