It was late September, an early fall in Montana in 2013. I received a call to inquire if I would co-chair a non-governmental organization (NGO) delegation to Cairo, Egypt. The purpose was to meet the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces and other groups involved with the protests and removal of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi (the Second Revolution). After careful consideration, I accepted and was then briefed in detail on the delegation’s mission. We rendezvoused in Washington, DC with the delegation team and departed for Cairo on October 5, 2013.
The Obama government was supporting Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. It rejected the military control of the Egyptian government and the removal and jailing of Morsi. Our Congress passed legislation to block foreign and military aid to the newly formed government. This upset the Egyptian government and the military Generals, who were dealing with almost insurmountable challenges in restoring order and recovering a devastated economy. The leadership threatened to align itself (again) with Russia for aid denied by the US government.
These events brought to Egypt a leader named Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi. In the First Egyptian Revolution (2011), Mohamed Morsi was elected president of Egypt. El-Sisi was appointed Minister of Defense by President Morsi on August 12, 2012.
In October 2013, I co-chaired a US delegation that met with General El-Sisi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who later became President of Egypt. The Delegation’s mission was to assure General El-Sisi that the American people strongly supported the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi following this second revolution. A vast majority (young and old) of the Egyptian people supported the removal of Morsi by El-Sisi.
Our US delegates were welcomed by El-Sisi and his Staff of 12 Generals. I had the respect of the Egyptian high staff, as many were fellow graduates of the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I was apprehensive because I feared I might be held in disdain and perceived as a supporter of US actions against Egypt. The thought went through my mind: Maybe they believed I was an Obama apostle and one of his Generals? Not the case!. General El-Sisi and I bonded, as I did with his staff. There was mutual respect as fellow graduates of the Army War College. As our meeting progressed, it was apparent that the staff Generals were terribly angry. They were incensed that after 45 years of being good allies, the US Congress would stop aid to Egypt. I tried my best to explain that while Obama supported the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi, most Americans did not support Obama’s action. It was widely known that Obama was sympathetic to Islam and the Brotherhood’s reign. Obama famously said in his book that he would “Stand with the Muslims.”
MG Vallely and General El-Sisi in Cairo
After a lengthy discussion, General El-Sisi turned to me and asked, “Why does America always seem to make its decisions looking through a Political Prismrather than through a Reality Prism?” Suddenly, I had an epiphany! I am related to the history of Egypt, the pyramids as a symbol, and how they appear as a prism on our dollar bills.
US politicians, post-Cold War and World War II, had rarely looked through a Reality Prism. They skewed their analysis and perceptions to gain personal political advantage. El-Sisi knew from his military experience that essential decisions must be made based on the realities of the issues, not partisan politics.
This article originally appeared on Stand Up America US. Reprinted here with permission.
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