|
Congressional Delegation Meets AmCham Members
A congressional delegation led
by house minority leader Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri) met with
AmCham Egypt members at a special luncheon on January 13 at the
Semiramis Inter-Continental Hotel to discuss U.S.-Egyptian relations
and the latest developments in the region. Gephardt and fellow congressmen
Ray LaHood (R-Illinois), Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), Henry Waxman
(D-California) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) were in Egypt as part
of a regional tour that began in Morocco and which subsequently
took them to Lebanon, Syria and Israel.
Speaking to an audience of around
200, Gephardt chose to dwell on the "values that bind America
to Egypt, the region and the world in the aftermath of September
11." With the United States looking increasingly alienated
from the Arab world, "we've forgotten the importance of talking
about values that we all share together," he said.
Many people come to know Americans
through TV programs like Baywatch and Beverly Hills 90210, he added,
with the result that "the predominant perceptions of the U.S.
are of its wealth, its excesses and its faults."
Gephardt reminded listeners that
America had also produced the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, adding
that the principles expressed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence,
Constitution and Bill of Rights "are not American values but
universal values."
Drawing on a statement by Franklin
Roosevelt, Gephardt referred to four basic freedoms - "freedom
of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want
and freedom from fear" - that underpin life in a democratic
society.
Rather than seeing a "clash
of civilizations," Gephardt said he believed the world was
currently witnessing "a clash between people holding common
values and other people who seek to destroy them." He cited
the Oklahoma City bombing and the Luxor massacre as evidence that
this clash knew no territorial bounds. "Osama [bin Laden] and
his followers," he added, would not succeed in their efforts
"to characterize their cause as a religious cause."
The United States could, however,
help to create a "cycle of hope and progress" in the region
by encouraging student exchanges and supporting economic development
initiatives such as microcredit schemes. According to Gephardt,
both countries must educate their children about the rest of the
world and provide economic opportunities for their people.
According to Gephardt, these things
can be done with a bit of determination. "I am an optimist,"
he concluded. "I see a glass half full, not a glass half empty."
Even the history of events in the
Middle East can be seen as a "good-news story" when viewed
over a long enough period. In response to the suggestion that the
United States was not acting as a "fair broker" in the
peace process, he asserted: "We are totally committed to finding
an equitable, just, fair peace between Palestinians and Israelis."
The priority now, he said, is "to
get back to the table to negotiate the kind of treaty that we almost
had a few months ago."
Responding to a question about
articles in the U.S. media suggesting that aid to Egypt should be
reduced or cut off, Gephardt said he did not see any inclination
"to withdraw from foreign-policy initiatives" in the wake
of September 11.
Rodriguez added that foreign aid
only represented a small percentage of the U.S. budget, and that
it was not about to be reduced in the present climate. "People
recognize the importance of coming to grips with terrorism, and
we all recognize that Egypt plays a very significant role in this
matter," he said.
La Hood, the only Republican in
the delegation, was quick to point out that within Congress, "most
members recognize Egypt as a true friend."
As for the possibility of the United
States expanding the war to other countries, Gephardt explained
that Congress "knew when giving the authority that this was
a possibility," but also expects the administration "to
be sensitive" in taking such decisions. "We can't win
the war by losing the war of public opinion," he said, adding
that the U.S. government has to "remain engaged and contribute
to foreign-aid programs."
In the particular case of Iraq,
"there has to be a justification for going after Saddam, and
it can't be from a previous war," Gephardt stated, eliciting
enthusiastic applause.
Top
|
