Egypt's military on the high wire

While Egypt and Israel have a troubled past, they have enjoyed an uneasy peace since 1979 when the Camp David Peace Accords were brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter. However, the uprising in Egypt has given the people a new voice, and one they are using to call for the end of ties with Israel, and to criticize the military government which is fighting to manage its image with the people and the international community.

CAIRO, EGYPT (NEWS CONSORTIUM) - The Egyptian military, which is ruling the country after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, is in the midst of a delicate balancing act. 

The Egyptian military recognizes that it must maintain amicable relations with Israel, relations that pay off in continued U.S. financial support for the military. And of course, everyone appears to agree that a conflict with Israel would likely be disastrous.

However, the people of Egypt have mixed feelings about Israel and some extremely vocal groups are demanding the government dissolve all ties with the Jewish state and scrap the 1979 peace accords. 

Public sentiment has been a difficult issue for the Egyptian military which has promised sweeping reforms but is still yet to deliver. Some analysts suggests this may not be a bad thing from a regional standpoint. 

While the U.S. desires the general spread of democracy, American officials privately acknowledge that Egyptian democracy carries some risk. Anti-Israeli sentiment is running high, as was seen on Friday when protestors overran the Israeli embassy in Cairo forcing the ambassador to flee. Officials both in the U.S. and in Egypt fear the influence of militant Islam on segments of the population, and democracy would give those elements an official voice and power that they presently lack. 

Still troubling for many concerned with radical elements in Egypt, is the news that the military may have been in a position to prevent Friday's violence, but chose not to do so. More than 20 armored vehicles and hundreds of soldiers were on scene on Friday, yet apparently they did nothing to restrain the attack, moving in only after protestors managed to occupy the embassy. Many speculate that the military is reluctant to use force at a time when its own grip on power could be loosening.

It's all part of the delicate balancing act. Had the government stopped the demonstrators with force, it could have developed into a much more dangerous situation for Egypt's military leaders. However, they also have to heed international sentiment, which has widely condemned the takeover of the embassy. Perhaps as a compromise, several protestors were arrested and the government pledged to clamp down by expanding its emergency laws. 

Those emergency laws have been very unpopular with Egyptians, but many officials, including those in the U.S. are not commenting on them because they prefer them to the alternative, which  may be a more dangerous and unstable domestic situation in Egypt. 

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In any case, the recent events in Cairo underscore the delicate balancing act the Egyptian military must maintain to keep peace with Israel, remain in favor with the U.S., and to hold on to power in the face of growing public opposition. 

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