Trump Family’s Newest Partners: Middle Eastern Governments, the Middle Class, and the U.S. Intelligence Community
“The Trump administration’s relationship with the Persian Gulf states and other Middle East powers is less a policy than a matter of diplomatic protocol. Trump, seeking to reassure allies from the region and deter potential adversaries, has relied on a policy of balancing against a regional balance sheet.”
— David Ignatius, Washington Post
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By Brian C Joondeph, James Goldsboro
Donald Trump, in an effort to strengthen relations with the Middle East, has embraced his new Middle Eastern partners. The new Trump administration has chosen these Middle Eastern partners including the leaders of Egypt and Jordan.
The choice of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a U.S. ally since 1981, is especially noteworthy because he has had a history of strong ties with the U.S. and has cooperated with the U.S. in the fight against al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Also, el-Sissi’s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, a former ally of the U.S. who fled Egypt during the 2011 uprising, was removed from office after he was arrested on June 6, 2013, after a failed coup attempt against the government of Egypt.
The new president will be one of the first leaders to be appointed by el-Sissi. His choice demonstrates the strength of the U.S. relationship with Egypt and the strength of the U.S. relationship with Egypt’s leader.
However, el-Sissi chose to take office after Egypt’s revolution and during his six-year term, he has become an outspoken critic of the Muslim Brotherhood, which overthrew Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
I believe the new president’s criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood will help the U.S. in its efforts to balance the new, pro-democracy Egypt with the rest of the region.
El-Sissi’s relationship with the United States runs deeper than his criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt’s new president made his first trip to the U.S. in June 2017, but his visit to the U.S. was overshadowed by the visit of Egyptian protesters to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to protest the Muslim Brotherhood
