The U.S. is committed to democratic elections in Egypt, so much so that it is willing to train any political party, even those with Islamic, anti-Western ideologies, Foreign Policy magazine has reported. The State Department, under the auspices of a new office called Middle East Transitions, is providing aid and instruction in polling and campaign training to all interested political parties in Egypt. Any party is eligible for the support and guidance, regardless of their platform, said William Taylor, director of the Middle East Transitions office. "We don't do party support. What we do is party training.... And we do it to whoever comes," he told Foreign Policy. While the Egyptian military still receives billions of dollars of military aid from the U.S. government, funding that is channeled to political parties in Egypt is not coordinated with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has held power in Egypt since the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak in February. Taylor also told the magazine that the U.S. is considering allowing Egypt to default on previous loans worth about $1 billion if it agrees to spend the same amount on securing a successful transition to democracy. What the U.S. is most concerned about, he said, is showing Egypt that, "Yes, we do care if your transition works."
US provides training to Islamist political parties in Egypt
In a bid to promote democratic elections, U.S. is funding and guiding all political parties in Egypt, even those with anti-Western platforms • State Department willing to forgive debt in exchange for successful Egyptian transition to democracy.
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