I recently returned from a seven-day trip to Egypt under the auspices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the midAmr Group, and Egypt’s International Economic Forum. I had the privilege to be Chairman of the group which included the Honorable Butler Derrick, Jr. (D-SC), the Honorable Larry LaRocco (D-ID), the Honorable Bill Zeliff (R-NH), Ms. Maya Berry (midAmr Group), Mr. David Dumke (midAmr Group), and Mr. Ashraf Swelam (Egypt’s International Economic Forum).

The week-long agenda included a meeting with US Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone, a career diplomat. She has spent much of her time in the Mideast and has a firm grasp of the issues and problems faced by the United States and Egypt. We are lucky to have such an experienced Diplomat in Egypt. We discussed starting a U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress’ Congress to Campus program in Egypt. The Ambassador and her staff seemed interested and follow up discussions are planned.

What became clear in meeting after meeting, including a meeting with the Speaker of the House Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour, was that relations between the United States and Egypt are today at a low point. Since 2001 the feeling in Egypt has been that the United States is not interested in what Egypt thinks or why. The Untied States’ policy was “it’s my way or the highway.” I can’t tell you how many times we heard this repeated. The victory of Obama was incredibly popular on the streets, in the colleges where we taught several classes, and in the political ranks of most of the parties. McCain would not have been an unpopular choice, as the main desire was to have a changed policy from the Bush Administration.

The symbolism of Obama’s election has had a positive effect on the willingness and desire to straighten out the problems between our nations and build on what had been a strong friendship over the years. Egypt’s government is based on a permanent constitution, written in 1971. The People’s Assembly (the Parliament) exercises legislative power and approves the state’s general policy. It presently has 454 members, 10 of whom are appointed by the Egyptian President. The Shura Council is composed of 264 members and is the Consultative assembly. President Mubarak has been in power since 1981 and serves for six-year terms. His strongest challenge comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, which is tolerated but officially banned. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood run as Independents for office and hold 88 seats, a relatively large number.

Egypt is approximately equal to Texas and New Mexico in size and has close to 80 million people. It is the most populous country in the Arab world and the second most populous on the African continent. The literacy rate is about 58% of the adult population, education is free through University and compulsory from ages 6 through 15. Egypt has endured as a unified state for more than 5,000 years and archeological evidence indicates that a developed Egyptian society has existed for much longer. Egyptians are proud of their long history and also proud of what they have done in modern times to remain a moderate Arab state. In dealing with Egyptian officials it is important that you understand their history. They are more patient than we are about bringing about change.

to be continued....

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Lou Frey represented Central Florida in the U. S. Congress from 1969 to 1979. In his last election, he received nearly 80% of the vote. He was elected one of five Republican leaders in the House of Representatives during the 93rd and 94th Congress. He served on...