When the two military leaders met in May 2009 to discuss “a wide range of security issues,” Egyptian Defence Minister Hussein Tantawi presented US Defense Secretary Robert Gates with a set of gifts. They included a shotgun (with five bullets), a decorative rug and a gilded photo album.
With a confidence that, in retrospect, seems dubious, Gates said “he looks forward to expanding the two countries’ military-to-military relationships in ways that promote regional stability.”
Five months after that meeting, the Pentagon announced it would sell a new batch of two dozen F-16 fighter aircraft to Egypt—a $3.2 billion deal that is among the most recent of a long string of arms deliveries from America to its North African ally. These F-16s, according to the Pentagon announcement (pdf) would support “Egypt’s legitimate need for its own self-defense.”
Today the Egyptian Air Force buzzed a crowd of demonstrators in Cairo with fighter jets much like those supplied, over a period of decades, by the US. It was a tactical decision that bore little relation to “legitimate” national “self-defense,” although it can be construed as a desperate attempt to defend Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade hold on the presidency.
America, of course, is not the only supplier to the Egyptian military. But it is the largest, and anti-government demonstrators have been vocal in calling on Barak Obama to withdraw US support for Mubarak. (A live Al Jazeera English report identified the planes that buzzed the crowd in Cairo as F-16s, the backbone of Egypt’s Air Force, but they just as easily could’ve been Russian-made MiGs.)
Neither was Gates the only American official to receive a gift from an Egyptian military officer. The following list of “Gifts to Federal Employees from Foreign Government Sources” was published on January 18 in the Federal Register. In each case, the gifts were accepted because refusal “would cause embarrassment to donor and [the] U.S. Government.”
President Hosni Mubarak gave Vice President Joe Biden an etched silver octagonal box. First Lady Suzanne Mubarak gave Michelle Obama an alabaster bowl, “sterling silver chains with charms” and a set of tablecloths. However, the most generous Egyptian leader, the records show, appears to have been Lieutenant General Samy Enan.
The gifts don’t mean very much in and of themselves—and certainly don’t imply a quid-pro-quo for the arms shipments heading the other direction. But now, as the Obama administration attempts to gingerly distance itself from Mubarak, this list of diplomatic swag underscores the American government’s long and friendly relationship with a now-unfashionable dictatorship.
Some of the recipients and givers appear to have been redacted.
Selected Gifts to US Officials From Egyptian Officials in 2009
The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense of the United States.
Gold necklace. Rec’d—6/22/2009. Est. Value—$516.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Samy Enan, Chief of Staff Egyptian Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Admiral Michael G. Mullen USN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States.
Silver plated vase; Gold plated Egyptian necklace. Rec’d—6/ 19/2009. Est. Value—$630.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Samy Enan, Chief of Staff Egyptian Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense of the United States.
Silver wine vase. Rec’d—6/22/ 2009. Est. Value—$750.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Samy Enan, Chief of Staff Egyptian Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Admiral Michael G. Mullen USN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States.
Turquoise cross pendant with gold chain. Rec’d—4/21/2009. Est. Value—$425.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Samy Enan, Chief of Staff Egyptian Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Admiral Michael G. Mullen USN, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States.
Silver vase. Rec’d—04/21/2009. Est. Value—$450.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Samy Enan, Chief of Staff Egyptian Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense of the United States.
Shotgun (serial number 4174) and 5 bullets; Egyptian Armed Forces plaque; Hanging Egyptian rug art; Silver picture frame with picture; Gold photo album with pictures. Rec’d—5/4/2009. Est. Value—$985.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman, Minister of Defense of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Mary Beth Long, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Policy) of the United States.
Gold bracelet with blue stone scarabs in a purple velvet bracelet box. Rec’d—1/15/2009. Est. Value—$565.00. Disposition—Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
His Excellency Lieutenant General Samy Enan, Chief of Staff Egyptian Armed Forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations.
19’’ Silver vase. Rec’d—5/28/09. Est. Value—$1,000.00. Disposition—Retained by member for display.
Vice Admiral Mohab Mameesh, Egyptian Naval Forces, Arab Republic of Egypt.
Lieutenant General R. Steven Whitcomb, The Inspector General.
Two-toned 18 Karat yellow gold braclet. Rec’d—3/01/2009. Est. Value—$800.00. Disposition— Pending Transfer to General Services Administration.
Egyptian Chief of Staff ……………..
5 U.S.C. 7342(f)(4), as amended ..
Rug, 46′′x33′′, silk on silk, ivory field with maroon and olive scrolling, four borders with maroon main, Egypt, 20th/21st century. Rec’d—12/10/2009. Est. Value—$850.00. Disposition—For Official Use.
5 U.S.C. 7342(f)(4), as amended
Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations and Spouse.
3.89 karat diamond bracelet, in brown lacquered box (with certificate). Rec’d—5/28/09. Est. Value—$4,000.00. Location—General Services Administration.
Mrs. Mameesh, wife of the Egyptian Chief of Naval Forces, Arab Republic of Egypt.
First Lady Michelle Obama and First Family Children.
Yellow alabaster bowl; sterling silver chains with charms; four white tablecloths with matching napkin rings. Rec’d—9/23/2009. Est. Value—$630.00. Disposition—Archives Foreign.
Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, Wife of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice President of the United States.
Silver octagonal box with etched details. Rec’d—10/22/2009. Est. Value—$440.00. Location—National Archives.
His Excellency Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Source: US Federal Register.