US military base in Egypt could strike Syria

Head of Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies (ICDS) Cairo - Akram Ali An American military base in Egypt could be used in strikes against Syria, the head of Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies (ICDS) in Cairo, told Arab Today. Dr Saad Eddin Ibrahim; a Political Sociology Professor at the American University, Cairo, said the compound could potentially be used by the US in the case of military intervention. Located between the Nile and the Red Sea, the base was used during the US-led war against Iraq, during the rule of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. After the war in 2011, the US maintained its presence, and the Egyptian army never denied its existence officially. Ibrahim said: "President Morsi was wrong when he cut the relations with Syria on the second day of the US decision," referring to the US decision to arm the Free Syrian Army (FSA). He said the Egyptian’s stance to side with the US was not in Egypt’s best interests. Egypt is the second largest recipient of financial and military aid from the US, next to Israel. Last month, Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to give $1.3 billion in US military aid to Egypt. Ibrahim added, America will be closely monitoring the protests on June 28 and 30 by government and opposition supporters, to make a decision on its future relations with Egypt. "If there is violence, and anti-government protesters are killed, then there is a good chance that the US will not support the Brotherhood and will instead support the demands of the protesters, as what happened with Mubarak," Ibrahim added.