The New York Times
By THE
EDITORIAL BOARD MARCH 25, 2016
自從埃及軍隊在2013年夏天的政變中獲得權力，歐巴馬政府對埃及的政策
是基於一系列的錯誤假設。現在是該挑戰與重新評估美國與埃及的結盟關係，埃及長久以來被認為是美國國家安全政策的基石，但是埃及對美國安全的傷害多過於利益。
Since the Egyptian military took power
in a coup in the summer of 2013, the Obama administration’s policy toward Egypt
has been moored in a series of faulty assumptions. The time has come to
challenge them and to reassess whether an alliance that has long been
considered a cornerstone of American national security policy is doing more
harm than good.
當埃及總統穆希被推翻，資深美國官員思考這是否是號召政變的時間點，並且表示希望，這將只是埃及朝向成為民主國家的道路上，一個小小的顛簸。
When President Mohamed Morsi was
overthrown, senior American officials dithered on whether there was any point
in calling a coup and expressed hope that this would be merely a bump on
Cairo’s road toward becoming a democracy.
埃及總統穆希被推翻後，埃及侵犯人權的情況更是難以忽視，白宮在那個時候，暫時停止提供埃及政府軍事裝備。但是一年以前，當歐巴馬政府專注於對抗伊斯蘭國，重新開始對埃及的軍事援助，辯稱美國與埃及的結盟至為關鍵，不能失敗。
Later that year when Egypt’s human
rights abuses became even harder to overlook, the White House suspended
delivery of military hardware, signaling that it was willing to attach
conditions to the $1.3 billion military aid package Egypt has treated as
an entitlement for decades.
大部分的時候，白宮高級官員對埃及的責罵是溫和的，白宮對開羅過度恭敬。
But for the most part, Egypt got gentle
scoldings from time to time from senior administration officials, who were
unduly deferential to Cairo.
一年以前，當歐巴馬政府專注於對抗伊斯蘭國，它重新開始軍事援助，辯稱美國與埃及的結盟至為關鍵，不能失敗。
A year ago, as the Obama administration
focused on the fight against the Islamic State, it resumed delivery of
military aid, arguing that the alliance with Egypt was too crucial to fail.
自從那個時候起，埃及嚴厲打擊和平的伊斯蘭教徒、獨立的新聞記者和維權人士的行動，更為加劇。
埃及政府用凍結商業銀行帳戶的方式，將該國二名最高的人權捍衛者逐出商業界，控告他們非法接受海外資金，這呈現出他們的意圖。
Since then, Egypt’s crackdown on
peaceful Islamists, independent journalists and human rights activists has
intensified. Egyptian authorities appear intent on putting two of the country’s
top defenders of human rights out of business by freezing their bank
accounts after charging them with illegally receiving foreign funds.
不斷升高的壓制激起的憤怒，讓美國中東問題專家—包括兩位在歐巴馬政府的人—這個星期敦促歐巴馬總統面對埃及總統賽西。
Outraged by the escalating repression,
leading American Middle East experts — including two who served in the Obama
administration — this week urged President Obama to confront President Abdel
Fattah el-Sisi.
「如果為了達到目的，鎮壓是被允許的，它將會使人權團體沉默，埃及的人權團體在獨裁統治下已生存超過30年，如果埃及人無法去調查國家侵害人權，埃及殘留下來的人權將很稀少。」
他們寫一封信給歐巴馬總統。埃及政府下令任意監禁數以千計的埃及人，使用酷刑和法外處決，
包括最近一起義大利學生的謀殺案，一般相信這宗謀殺案是由國家安全人員執行的。
“If this crackdown is allowed to reach
its conclusion, it will silence an indigenous human rights community that has
survived more than 30 years of authoritarian rule, leaving few if any Egyptians
free to investigate mounting abuses by the state,” they wrote in a letter to
Mr. Obama. They decried the arbitrary imprisonment of tens of thousands of
Egyptians and the use of torture and extrajudicial killings, including the
recent murder of an Italian student, that are believed to have been
carried out by state security agents.
埃及說，美國與它的軍隊和情報合作是不可少的，歐巴馬政府官員已經告誡反駁。現在是挑戰這項前提的時間。埃及的軍隊迫近對抗西奈軍隊，它令人窒息的壓迫可能會製造更多的激進分子，超過政府能夠中和的數量。
Administration officials who have
cautioned against a break with Egypt say its military and intelligence
cooperation is indispensable. It’s time to challenge that premise. Egypt’s
scorched-earth approach to fighting militants in the Sinai and its stifling
repression may be creating more radicals than the government is neutralizing.
「我們長久以來過期的戰略反思在於，誰是美國最強的夥伴，誰是能夠穩定中東情勢的人。」Tamara
Cofman Wittes說，他是布魯斯金學會的一員和前資深國務院官員，他說在訪問中說，「埃及既不是穩定的錨，也不是可信的夥伴。」
“We are long overdue for a strategic
rethink on who are strong American partners and anchors of stability in the
Middle East,” Tamara Cofman Wittes, a fellow at the Brookings Institution
and a former senior State Department official, said in an interview. “Egypt is
neither an anchor of stability nor a reliable partner.”
歐巴馬總統和他的顧問們的結論可能是，要在任期內紓解埃及的專制主義，但能做得很少。可是情況並非如此，歐巴馬總統必須表達對埃及總統賽西侵犯埃及人權的個人看法，與這個國家適得其反的反恐主義。
Mr. Obama and his advisers may conclude
that there is little the United States can do to ease Egypt’s despotism during
the remaining months of his presidency. That’s not the case. Mr. Obama should
personally express to Mr. Sisi his concern about Egypt’s abuses and the
country’s counterproductive approach to counterterrorism.
歐巴馬總統已經有意願去挑戰，華盛頓與中東國家，例如伊朗和沙烏地阿拉伯，建立關係的假設與傳統。但是他對埃及來說不夠重要。在接下來的幾個月，總統必須開始計畫打斷與埃及結盟的可能性。除非西賽總統出現戲劇性的變化，擬定這樣的腳本，顯然愈來愈有必要性。
Mr. Obama has been willing to
challenge longstanding assumptions and conventions about Washington’s
relations with Middle East nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia. But he has been
insufficiently critical of Egypt. Over the next few months, the president
should start planning for the possibility of a break in the alliance with
Egypt. That scenario appears increasingly necessary, barring a dramatic change
of course by Mr. Sisi.
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