U.S. main beneficiary of changes in Egypt

TEHRAN,July 27(MNA)--Complacency is the best term for describing the United States’ stance on the developments in Egypt, where the army and the opposition ousted the democratically elected government of President Mohamed Morsi and the country is turned into the scene of daily protests and clashes between the proponents and opponents of Morsi. This does not mean that the U.S. has no clear perception about what is happening in the most populated Arab country. On the contrary, Washington has a very clear picture of the developments and is trying to manage the course of events in a way to serve its long-term interests in the country. Egypt has experienced many ups and downs since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and the West has worked out various plans to deal with different scenarios in the Arab country. However, the rise of Islamists to power is what the U.S. and its allies are extremely worried about. Though Washington itself is one of the main supporters of extremists in Muslim countries, it can never tolerate a government led by these groups as it will hugely endanger its national interests in the future. The reluctance by the United States to condemn the recent developments in Egypt was also worthy of thinking. It even refused to label the overthrow of Morsi a coup despite the fact that the move was a coup in its very essence. The army deposed the legal government, suspended the constitution, dissolved the parliament, and closed down some main media outlets affiliated to the government. This exactly corresponds to the definition of coup in many political handbooks. Washington’s refusal to use the term indicate that it is very pleased with the course of events in Egypt as the fall of Islamists and the rise of liberal and secular groups create the best situation for the U.S. Such a scenario will protect a continued flow of U.S. funds to the Egyptian military which Washington always use as a leverage to achieve its goals in Egypt. MP Nowzar Shafiei is a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Majlis (Parliament). (By Nowzar Shafiei)