WASHINGTON — Egypt's role in aiding U.S. counterterrorism efforts across the Middle East — through intelligence assistance, interrogation tactics and more — could be diminished after a new government takes hold in Cairo, intelligence experts say.
By Charles Dharapak, APPresident Obama listens to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Sept. 1 in Washington. Experts say a post-Mubarak government could be less of a partner in the U.S. war on terror.
By Charles Dharapak, APPresident Obama listens to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak on Sept. 1 in Washington. Experts say a post-Mubarak government could be less of a partner in the U.S. war on terror.
Egypt has long been "a good intelligence partner," for the United States, says former George W. Bush administration CIA chief Michael Hayden, now a consultant with the Chertoff Group. "Any diminution of healthy cooperation with the Egyptian service would be harmful ... to both countries."Egypt has spawned some of the past decade's most infamous terrorists. Among them: 9/11 lead hijacker Mohammad Atta, who died piloting American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center, and the man currently known as Osama bin Laden's top al-Qaeda lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri.The country also has been the subject of numerous attacks at the hands of Islamist terrorists, including in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheik in 2005, when bombs killed 88 people and wounded 150.Egyptian intelligence officers for years have "zeroed in on the same kinds of problems that we're focused on, which is militant, radicalized, violent Islamic extremists," says former Mideast peace negotiator Aaron David Miller of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.As one of the United States' closest allies in the Middle East, officials say the Egyptians have shared valuable intelligence and have provided other useful counterterrorism assistance, particularly in the decade since the 9/11 attacks. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says the U.S. has had "an important partnership" on counterterrorism under President Hosni Mubarak and his intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, named a week ago as the country's new vice president.Some of Egypt's efforts on that front have been controversial, including its alleged role during the Bush administration in interrogating terrorism suspects brought to the country through rendition programs. "The practice of rendering wanted persons to Egypt and other countries in the region, despite the high risk that they will be subjected to torture, dates back to the mid-1990s," a 2005 report by Human Rights Watch said.Since 2001, Egypt has "played the role as our enforcer in the global war on terror," says University of Notre Dame political scientist Michael Desch, an expert in international affairs. "We've been able to count on them to do some of the dirty work over the years. They have a standard for handling prisoners and interrogation that's considerably lower than our own."Two days after he took office in 2009, President Obama signed an order instructing the Justice Department to study the United States' use of rendition. In August of that year, the department reported that the government would continue sending suspects to other countries when warranted but would seek assurances that the suspects would not be tortured. How many suspects are sent, where they are sent and how they are treated is typically not made public.But if a post-Mubarak government includes more Islamists, such as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, many experts say cooperation with the United States on terrorism is likely to wane. "That's one of the areas where you will see some upset," Miller says.Not everyone agrees with that assessment. Robert Malley, the Middle East/North Africa program director at the International Crisis Group, says the Brotherhood is largely a political and cultural group that has forsworn violence. "This is going to be a test as well for the United States' capacity to come to terms with non-violent, political Islam. That could mark a turning point."Others caution that it's early in the crisis to say how anything will play out. "This play isn't over," former Bush administration Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge says. "We don't even know what act we're in."Two days after he took office in 2009, President Obama signed an order instructing the Justice Department to study the United States' use of rendition. In August of that year, the department reported that the government would continue sending suspects to other countries when warranted but would seek assurances that the suspects would not be tortured. How many suspects are sent, where they are sent and how they are treated is typically not made public.But if a post-Mubarak government includes more Islamists, such as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, many experts say cooperation with the United States on terrorism is likely to wane. "That's one of the areas where you will see some upset," Miller says.Not everyone agrees with that assessment. Robert Malley, the Middle East/North Africa program director at the International Crisis Group, says the Brotherhood is largely a political and cultural group that has forsworn violence. "This is going to be a test as well for the United States' capacity to come to terms with non-violent, political Islam. That could mark a turning point."Others caution that it's early in the crisis to say how anything will play out. "This play isn't over," former Bush administration Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge says. "We don't even know what act we're in."For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.
Von Wendy Lacey