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Lefteris Pitarakis / AP File
Egyptian anti-government protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to watch a screen showing U.S. President Barack Obama live on a TV broadcast from Washington DC, speaking about the situation in Egypt on Feb. 2, 2011, in the midst of the revolution.
CAIRO – There is a local advertisement in the arrivals hall at Cairo International Airport. The ad shows a picture of Egypt's iconic Tahrir Square, packed during the revolution, with a quote from U.S. President Barack Obama: "We should raise our children to be like Egyptian youth.”
The quote from Obama was shortly after Egyptians had revolted and toppled long-time dictator and American ally Hosni Mubarak. The ad reflects a sense of pride Egyptians have about how they inspired the world, including the U.S. president. It also shows how a genuine acknowledgment from the U.S. goes a long way in Egypt.
But when it comes to their attitudes about America’s involvement in their country’s affairs, few Egyptians view the U.S. favorably, and or more importantly, with any trust.
U.S. seen as a meddler
Egypt's relationship with America goes back decades. But Egypt was cemented as a cornerstone of U.S. policy in the Middle East after its Camp David Peace Treaty with Israel. Following that, the U.S. bankrolled the Mubarak regime and the military that sustained the regime for 30 years.
That’s not lost on ordinary Egyptians. They may not know the intricacies of U.S. policy in Egypt, but intuitively they know that the U.S. backed and legitimized the man who oppressed them for three decades.
NBC News
Alaa El Din Mohamed, a taxi cab driver in Cairo, shares his views about the U.S..
So it should come as no surprise that most Egyptians view U.S. involvement in Egypt negatively.
A recent Gallup poll found 81 percent of Egyptians oppose American aid to political groups. And 84 percent of Egyptians surveyed doubt the U.S. is serious about spreading democracy in the region. The overwhelming majority of Egyptians reject both U.S. aid to civil society organizations and economic assistance to the country as a whole. They see U.S. aid as instruments used to manipulate Egypt’s domestic and foreign policies.
Alaa El Din Mohamed, a 34-year-old taxi driver, summed up his current views on the U.S.
“We are looking out for our country’s interests. For Egypt's interests we want stability, we want to work, we want to advance forward. We don't have any problems with the U.S., but we're just interested in our own country,” he said. “We want to be able to stand on our own two feet. We want to look forward and then afterwards we can think about the U.S.”
And yet, despite the negative attitude, the U.S. as a country and Americans as a people remain symbols of democracy, freedom and modernity in the eyes of many ordinary Egyptians.
NBC News speaks with citizens from around the globe, asking the question, 'What Does America Mean to You?'
“The U.S. is a developed, advanced country and organized. Everything there is civilized that's what comes to my mind in regards to the U.S.,” Hala Abdel Rahman, a 50-year-old housewife, said when asked about her impressions of the country. “We would hope and wish that Egypt can become a developed country like the U.S.”
Many Egyptians are still drawn to the idea of the U.S. as the “land of opportunity” with thousands going there yearly to pursue educational opportunities and seek a better life.
Living in America still resonates loudly with Egyptians who believe most Americans enjoy a decent quality of life. In fact, many here draw a distinction between Americans and American foreign policy.
NBC News
Mona Bayoumi had high hopes for U.S. President Barack Obama and how he could improve things in the Middle East, but she said she's been disappointed.
“America as a people and stuff are really good people, they have values and are good people,” said Mohamed, the cab driver. “But the most important thing is they don’t interfere in our country.”
Feeling let down by Obama
During the Egyptian revolution, I remember seeing a poster in Cairo’s Tahrir Square that read, “Yes We Can, Too,” playing off of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign slogan that change is possible.
Today, many people in Egypt feel let down by Obama who they believe was slow to respond to the Egyptian people’s own calls for change during the revolution. Others believe Obama hasn’t followed through on his promise to change how the U.S. deals with the Middle East – from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Iran.
Mona Bayoumi, a 25-year-old administrator a Cairo arts college, believes there is a gap between what the U.S. promises and what it does.
“At the beginning when President Obama first came, we had a lot of hope that things would improve and be fixed – especially with Iraq and Iran,” said Bayoumi. “But we waited for something to happen and we didn't see anything...To be honest nothing that we expected to happen happened and nothing that we wanted happened.”
In a country of 85 million people, gauging the public’s attitudes is always a challenge.
But the underlying principle in how Egyptians view the U.S. is simple. After decades of being on the receiving end of U.S. foreign policy that arguably didn’t improve the quality of their lives, nor advance their own interests, Egyptians want to chart their own future with as little help from Washington as possible.
Whether the U.S. lets them is a whole different question.
This story is part of a series by msnbc.com and NBC News "What the World Thinks of US". The series aims to check the pulse on current perceptions of America's global stature during the election year and ahead of our annual Independence Day.
Share your thoughts about this story and our series on Twitter using #AmericaMeans
Stories in the series:
How I see America, from a former Gitmo prisoner
Bye, bye, GI: Deep impact for many Germans as US troops downsize
Post-revolution Egypt to US: Stay out
Iran's dentist to the stars offers views on US
For many Pakistanis, 'USA' means 'drones'
One man's mission: Promote Chinese patriotism in the face of Western onslaught
In South Africa: 'My head says China is number one, my heart says America'
Not all Thais are Gaga about America
Family moves from the Bronx to Jerusalem, but US remains land of 'liberty and freedom'
Palestinian: US supports 'an apartheid system that is suffocating us'
Afghans are 'no different from any American
Leave a Comment:
Let's see if their suspicion holds water. Shortly after Egyptian ejected US NGOs(AKA CIA fronts) for meddling in their election process, US restarted "Aids" to Egyptian military. Then the Egyptian military invalidates the election where the majority of the parliment sets was won by muslim brotherhood. hmmm.... If it quacks like a duck then it probably is a duck.
Most foreigners say they like Americans, but not our government. Guess what? Most Americans no longer like their government either.
We have gutted our standard of living so we could become the former Soviet Union. As soon as anybody goes to Washington they have massive ego expansion. No longer can people anywhere be depended upon to do what is right. People will only do what is right if there is a government worker is there tell them. We now have the very government the American partiots went to war against.
As someone who is 66, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined the loss of freedoms I have seen over the last 10 years. This American "freedom" is just a vestige and an illusion.
Amen brother, amen.
Bill S.
Please inform me of what "rights" you have lost. Which rights that were granted to you by our Constitution. Not your interpertation of it, but exactly the rights granted by that far seeing document.
I can understand the Epyptians feelings. They are not illiterate or lazy, and they have the right to their country, I certainly agree. Let us remember the words they have said and the emotions behind those words. Allow the hate that they spew from their quoran, or the way most seem to interpert from that shortsighted book.
And please Mr & Mrs Egypt feel quite free to stay in your country and stay out of mine as well. Get your Egyption education there as well, that will allow more seats and room for my children and grandchildren. We can close the education mills and educate our children properly as we wish.
Good bye now and please don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Post-revolution Egyptians to US: Stay out
Post-revolution Americans to Egypt: Cool. stop taking our money
Send in the drones! LOL more talking puppeteers. They will love the 12th century.
Be careful what you wish for dear, we just learned we have to pay a tax just for being alive courtesy of Chairman ObaMAO.
I don't like to use cuts from an article when I want to talk about it, but this one is just begging for it.
I have a headache because I barley wrestled my brain out of this black hole of reason.
This poison vine is giving me the itch real bad, I'm allergic to social manipulation.
-They may not know the intricacies of U.S. policy in Egypt, but intuitively they know that the U.S. backed and legitimized the man who oppressed them for three decades.
-Today, many people in Egypt feel let down by Obama who they believe was slow to respond to the Egyptian people’s own calls for change during the revolution. Others believe Obama hasn’t followed through on his promise to change how the U.S. deals with the Middle East – from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to Iran.
-But when it comes to their attitudes about America’s involvement in their country’s affairs, few Egyptians view the U.S. favorably, and or more importantly, with any trust.
-it should come as no surprise that most Egyptians view U.S. involvement in Egypt negatively.
President Barrack Obama: "We should raise our children to be like Egyptian youth.”
NO. No thank you Mr. Saudi puppet possibly treasonist Barrack Obama. We don't need to teach our kids any of that. Our teens need wisdom and opportunity, not molotov cocktails, IMF debt, and a muslim mafia.
I have a few questions. First. How is it that our administration came to the conclusion that funding a rebellion against a puppet that we funded to protect our interest there is some how good for our national interest?
Second.How much does MSN pay per year to just professionally make @!$%# up? I would like to know, because I'm sure this writer makes more than me and that gives me an acute case of the butthurt. I'm tired of my old job that makes me work and think and only pays me what I'm worth when my job is done with honest skill and guaranteed accuracy.
Your job is much easier.
I'm Happy and I support this comment.
USrael: Keep your Wall Street thugs and military adventure makers in the WH basement for a few decades- leave other countries alone.
Happy Howie,
It is too bad you cannot see exactly what Mr. Obama was saying. When you learn what sarcasm and how it written maybe you will understand.
Will be interesting to see how US/Egyptian relations are affected by Egypt's new "Islamic Brotherhood President's" recent statement of his desire to work to free the "blind cleric" being held in the U.S. for the first attempted bombing of the World Trade Center.
Sure sounds like he approves of what that terriorist tried to do in N.Y.C.(would he give him a "hero's welcome" at Cairo airport, sort of like what Ghadaffi gave to the Lockerbee bomber in Libya)?
Just wondering how "quiet" the Israeli/ Egyptian Sinai border will be in the very near future! Any more rockets/mortars to be fired from Sinai into Southern Israel, then "war against Israel" for going after the source of the rockets when the Egyptian military fails to stop the rockets in the first place?
Looks like we will have the answers to these issues pretty soon (any truth to the rumers that one of the changes to Egypt's "new constitution" has a statement declaring Israel to be "an enemy of Egypt")?
Any comments from the former President Jimmy Carter on this?
Article: President Barack Obama: "We should raise our children to be like Egyptian youth.”
I wonder if that will be part of his re-election campaign.
I'm a poor republican and i would vote Obama , i did not want another bush head in the white house. bush's dad was a great president but he was not re elected because he did not look out for the people at home
But of course we will keep electing people who want top run the world. The only chance we had was ron paul.
He got 10% of the vote. Now His royal highness obozo thinks he's king of the world
yes, we should stay out and no aid to them as others on here said as well as other countrys we give aid to that hate us
We have BILLIONS for war, BILLIONS for banks, BILLIONS for foreign countries,
HOW ABOUT SOME BILLIONS FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE USA.
I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE ILLEGALS. YOU ARE NOT CITIZENS
STOP sending them money. This is a military junta that leads this country. Let Israel handle them if the need should arise.
The states feel have the same sentiment about the Central government.
All financial and any other type of aid to this future strict islamist anti-American country should cease immediately. They will use any aid to attack Americans and American interests, and our politicians are too stupid to see this coming. Why do we continually give aid to those who dispise us? My tax dollars should be used to help our people, not foreign entities. I am not an isolationist, but America first. We do not need troops in Europe or Asia with the possible exception of South Korea. The American economy needs help. Screw Egypt and the rest of the middle east.
The US govt should stay out of the business of every foreign govt. The US always sending aid and taking the side of one political group or organization in turbulent regions has caused enough needless chaos as it is.
I can understand the Epyptians feelings. They are not illiterate or lazy, and they have the right to their country, I certainly agree. Let us remember the words they have said and the emotions behind those words. Allow the hate that they spew from their Quoran, or the way most seem to interpert from that shortsighted book.
And please Mr & Mrs Egypt feel quite free to stay in your country and stay out of mine as well. Get your Egyption Muslim education there as well, that will allow more seats and room for my children and grandchildren in our colleges near home. We can close the worthless education and diploma mills and educate our children properly as we wish.
I am anticipating the billions of American Dollars per year that we won't spend on Egypt. With each and every word the budget gap is closing. Wow I'm impressed. Another few countries like Egypt and President Obama will have no trouble balancing the budget. I love it.
I remember the sunken ships in the Suez Canal, how it had been closed for so many years. I know about the Power plants the our economy provided for Egypt. I remember the water treatment plants that provide water for the millions of Egyptians and the water infrastructure in Cairo. Boy, do I wish we could take all that with us. But yes we will leave you to your own devices.
Good bye now and please don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
I know nothing of these people but I do know how correct they are in believing the US seeks manipulation more than actual aid. Many countries become aid dependent only to find they have to be manipulated by the US or loose the aid they have come to depend upon. This is exactly why americans are the most hated people in the world.
The US is the most hated country in the world.... nobody like two face bastard..d.,ds
democracy at its best, we give it to them and this is what they want
Pull US troops, money, and aid out of Egypt.
I believe the cab driver's comments are pretty typical, although rarely quoted. I saw the same thing on a travel show that went to Iran. The general consensus is that the people of the countries would get along well but the governments have to "F" it all up.
One other thing. Getting completely out of the middle east sounds nice, and all, but what will you all be saying if we got out and five years later you see ICBMs with nuclear warheads heading this way from the Middle East, where "we never should have been"? There's a reason we have to not only be friendly with Israel but also have our fingers in a few pies over there. Some of those countries hate us and want us all dead, no matter what we do. If given the chance, they would devise a way to destroy us.
If the Americans "let them." Who are they to "let" anybody?
I think it is about time that the U.S. Stopped arms sales to Egypt, like the MIAI tank from General Dynamics. This is what happens when you sell arms to friendly countries, some day they may not be to friendly.
Hey Egypt need cash call JG Wentworth. Boy Stupid should hurt.
My mind goes back to 'Blood and Thunder' by Hampton Sides. Although this is about Kit Carson's relationship with the West and Eastern politicians paving the way of the West, it also, historically, proclives to show the United States policies to achieving it. Much manipulation, promises and flat out cultural genocide. Makes one wonder just how civilized we have become - really? We need to remember our history in order to be leaders of the world.