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Congressional Staffers Visit January 2002

A congressional delegation led by house minority leader Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri) met with AmCham Egypt members at a special luncheon on January 13 at the Semiramis Inter-Continental Hotel to discuss U.S.-Egyptian relations and the latest developments in the region. Gephardt and fellow congressmen Ray LaHood (R-Illinois), Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), Henry Waxman (D-California) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) were in Egypt as part of a regional tour that began in Morocco and which subsequently took them to Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

Speaking to an audience of around 200, Gephardt chose to dwell on the "values that bind America to Egypt, the region and the world in the aftermath of September 11." With the United States looking increasingly alienated from the Arab world, "we've forgotten the importance of talking about values that we all share together," he said.

Many people come to know Americans through TV programs like Baywatch and Beverly Hills 90210, he added, with the result that "the predominant perceptions of the U.S. are of its wealth, its excesses and its faults."

Gephardt reminded listeners that America had also produced the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, adding that the principles expressed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights "are not American values but universal values."

Drawing on a statement by Franklin Roosevelt, Gephardt referred to four basic freedoms - "freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear" - that underpin life in a democratic society.

Rather than seeing a "clash of civilizations," Gephardt said he believed the world was currently witnessing "a clash between people holding common values and other people who seek to destroy them." He cited the Oklahoma City bombing and the Luxor massacre as evidence that this clash knew no territorial bounds. "Osama [bin Laden] and his followers," he added, would not succeed in their efforts "to characterize their cause as a religious cause."

The United States could, however, help to create a "cycle of hope and progress" in the region by encouraging student exchanges and supporting economic development initiatives such as microcredit schemes. According to Gephardt, both countries must educate their children about the rest of the world and provide economic opportunities for their people.

According to Gephardt, these things can be done with a bit of determination. "I am an optimist," he concluded. "I see a glass half full, not a glass half empty."

Even the history of events in the Middle East can be seen as a "good-news story" when viewed over a long enough period. In response to the suggestion that the United States was not acting as a "fair broker" in the peace process, he asserted: "We are totally committed to finding an equitable, just, fair peace between Palestinians and Israelis."

The priority now, he said, is "to get back to the table to negotiate the kind of treaty that we almost had a few months ago."

Responding to a question about articles in the U.S. media suggesting that aid to Egypt should be reduced or cut off, Gephardt said he did not see any inclination "to withdraw from foreign-policy initiatives" in the wake of September 11.

Rodriguez added that foreign aid only represented a small percentage of the U.S. budget, and that it was not about to be reduced in the present climate. "People recognize the importance of coming to grips with terrorism, and we all recognize that Egypt plays a very significant role in this matter," he said.

La Hood, the only Republican in the delegation, was quick to point out that within Congress, "most members recognize Egypt as a true friend."

As for the possibility of the United States expanding the war to other countries, Gephardt explained that Congress "knew when giving the authority that this was a possibility," but also expects the administration "to be sensitive" in taking such decisions. "We can't win the war by losing the war of public opinion," he said, adding that the U.S. government has to "remain engaged and contribute to foreign-aid programs."

In the particular case of Iraq, "there has to be a justification for going after Saddam, and it can't be from a previous war," Gephardt stated, eliciting enthusiastic applause.

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