Why Is It Important for the United States to Give Egypt Military Aid?

United Nations "Fight For Freedom" poster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       Since Egypt is the big news item of late I thought I'd add my blog to the mix.  Each year the United States gives the Egyptian military $1.5 billion.  In the long run Egypt is probably a dubious friend and ally of the United States and it strikes me we are paying out something more akin to insurance or bribe money than actual aid that will benefit the western world overall.   Add to that the dollars we dish out to factions in Syria and the governments of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and many other countries who likely are not rooting for the U.S. way of life.

        While the U.S. doles out trillions in military aid, our government borrows like amounts from other countries like China, a country that unlikely is hoping that the U.S. will stay at the top of the heap as a world power.  The United States has tons of economic problems as we see large roles of unemployed and underemployed, small businesses struggling, and cities going bankrupt.  Is it prudent for our country to be borrowing so heavily so we can dish out money elsewhere?  

          Shouldn't the United States government be thinking more like a business and looking for bigger returns for the questionable investments of aid?  Or maybe they are thinking like the mega corporations which are eating up the world's economy and soul.  Who is really in charge here and do they know what they are doing?

          Personally I think we need to start keeping more dollars at home.  I'm not a fan of powering the military machines of most of these countries.   Not unless we start getting more back from them to make it worth it for us and I don't see that happening any time soon.  And not ever maybe.  Let's face it, we have different interests at heart for the time being at least.   Rather than nations of dependency, I'm a believer in creating cooperative capitalistic ventures who are interested in developing and sustaining their own economies while productively interacting with others.  Or are there some other agendas that governments have in mind?

          Should countries like the U.S. be funding the military machines of potentially dangerous governments?  How does aid from the United States government benefit anyone in the long run?   Can we truly consider countries like Egypt, Pakistan, and others friends and allies?   Or are they just taking what they can get with an intent on eventually stabbing us in the back?

       

Related articles

• U.S. Arms Industry Would Lose Big from Egypt Aid Cut-Off
• The U.S. sends Egypt far more military aid than it needs
• Why the U.S. should cut off aid to Egypt: An interview with Marc Lynch.