Summary: GAO reported on U.S. military relations with Egypt. After three decades of cool relations, the United States and Egypt entered the 1980's with a new and expanding relationship. Egypt has established itself as a valuable strategic asset to the United States in seeking Middle East peace and in protecting U.S. interests in the Persian Gulf region. Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. military aid and is slated for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) financing in fiscal year 1982 totaling $900 million. Besides this security assistance, the United States has established numerous other ties with Egypt. These new developments in the U.S.-Egyptian relationship and the attendant congressional interest that surrounds them led GAO to review progress in military cooperation and areas in which the relationship can be enhanced.
Although the FMS program has gone a long way toward assisting Egypt, GAO found that some of the equipment acquired with U.S. credit has served more of a political purpose than a military one. In some cases, Egypt is having technical difficulty operating some of the more sophisticated aircraft and is able to keep only some of them flying. However, Egypt sought the aircraft as a symbol of U.S.-Egyptian relations. GAO also found that the executive branch has authorized Egypt to purchase equipment costing more than the allocated loan guarantees. The additional purchases have been made under a so-called "cash flow" system, whereby Egypt depends on future U.S. authorizations to pay bills that come due in future years. GAO stated that this type of financing limits the prerogatives of Congress in authorizing the U.S. security assistance program.
