Someone Tell Obama the Good News: The Egyptian People Don’t Want Our Money

A Gallup poll reveals that a majority of Egyptians are opposed to the United States' policy in their country and to U.S. aid packages given to Egyptian political groups.

Egyptians oppose the U.S. sending aid to political groups in their country. This is particularly the case among those who look to the U.S. as a political example. While 75% of the general public opposes U.S. aid to political groups, 88% of Egyptians who see the U.S. as a political model for their country say the same. Gallup

"I expected it to be negative, but I didn't expect there to be an overwhelming tsunami of negative opinions," said Mohamed Younis, Senior Analyst with the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center, who presented the results to reporters in Washington. The survey, "From Tahrir to Transition," is the latest Gallup report on Egyptian public opinion since the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak in February. ABC

"I think it's a very healthy reaction to the past 30 years," said Younis, who argued that Egyptians have long perceived U.S. aid to be the reason why Egypt can't make its own decisions politically, and why Egyptian "aspirations and desires on the ground are not reflected in the way the country is governed." ABC

Around 1,000 Egyptians aged 15 and above took part in the poll -- which aims to track Egypt's transition towards democracy -- in various parts of the country, between late March and early April. M&C

Two-thirds of respondents in the survey also said their opinion of the U.S. leadership would significantly improve if the U.S. would pressure Israel to halt settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories. ABC

FACTS & FIGURES

A total of more than $1.3 billion in aid is sent from the U.S. to Egypt every year. ABC

Egypt is a long-time ally of the U.S., and has received significant amounts of U.S. military aid since its 1979 peace treaty with Israel. M&C

Obama was criticized for taking too long to call for the resignation of Egypt's then president Hosni Mubarak, while he was swift to side with protesters in Tunisia, a country which holds little strategic value for America. news.sky.com

American support for the Egyptian government -- to the tune of $60 billion in aid over the last 30 years -- garnered virtually no regular attention before the protests began. Salon.com

H/T Press TV