The United Arab Emirates’ The National quoted Amy Hawthorne, senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, on US ambivalence in working with Egypt’s el Sisi government:
There is disagreement within the US administration about what course it should take with Egypt.
“There is not yet a clear sense of how to proceed because the bigger picture in Egypt is so unclear,” said Amy Hawthorne, a former state department official who worked on US policy after the 2011 Arab uprisings.
“Some in the US might hope Sisi will stabilise the country and take charge of the economy, [while] some within the administration are far more skeptical that Egypt will turn the corner under Sisi.”
There are different views in the administration about how to engage with Mr El Sisi’s government and how to encourage an economic reform agenda, while others argue for limited engagement based on shared security interests “but not make a huge effort beyond that”, said Ms Hawthorne, who is now with the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington.