US News quotes Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Amy Hawthorne on the State Department’s annual Fiscal Transparency Report and what it means for Egypt:
Egypt receives items, not cash, from the U.S., and continues to do so because it is a vital partner for the U.S. in the volatile Middle East. “The actual physical, geographic location of Egypt is important for U.S. projection of power around the region,” explains Amy Hawthorne of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. It is also one of few Arab countries at peace with Israel, a major U.S. ally, and much of what the U.S. sends to Egypt is dedicated to encouraging that peace.