Managing the U.S.-Egypt Relationship

“On the basis of mutual respect” was how the White House characterized President Obama’s pledge to work with Egypt’s newly sworn-in president, Mohammed Morsi , in a phone call congratulating Morsi upon his election last month . It was a well-chosen phrase, one that undoubtedly resonated with Morsi and others in the Muslim Brotherhood, who have long chafed at the patron-client relationship they believe former president Hosni Mubarak cultivated with the United States. Morsi, however, is by no means the only player with whom the United States will deal. Military leaders, who have run the country since Mubarak was ousted in February 2011, will yield only partial executive power to Morsi and have reclaimed legislative power after dissolving the country’s first freely elected parliament.