American experts warned of the consequences of President Donald Trump's statements about the Renaissance Dam, which they considered a motive for increasing Egyptian-Ethiopian tension, while a number of them warned that Trump had provided a justification for an Egyptian military attack on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

President Donald Trump's statements regarding the Renaissance Dam file were a great shock to the American circles interested in African affairs and the Nile River file.

The day before yesterday, President Trump criticized Ethiopia for building the dam on the Nile, and stated that Egypt had "intentionally blown it up," he said.

Trump's statements came while speaking on the phone to reporters and during a live broadcast from inside the Oval Office at the White House with the leaders of Sudan and Israel, after announcing the agreement to normalize relations between the two countries.

"It is a very dangerous situation because Egypt will not be able to live this way," Trump said, adding, "They will end up blowing up the dam. I said it and said it loud and clear: They will blow up this dam. They have to do something."

Opinions of former officials and experts

And the consensus of those Al-Jazeera Net spoke to was that what President Trump said may push the Egyptian-Ethiopian dispute over the issue of the Nile waters and the Renaissance Dam to more tension and instability.

Cameron Hudson, a former CIA and White House official, who is currently an expert on African affairs at the Atlantic Institute, spoke to Al Jazeera Net about Trump's remarks and said, "Trump's remarks came reckless and irresponsible, and it confirms the non-neutrality of the American role in the negotiation process, and his bias towards the Egyptian side." It would escalate tensions in the region at a time when Trump should have used his position to reduce the level of tension between the two parties, or at least adhere to neutrality. "

Anthony Blinken, Joseph Biden's chief adviser for foreign affairs, criticized President Trump's statements, tweeting, "The words are very important, especially when they are spoken by the American president. What Trump said that Egypt might destroy the Renaissance Dam are reckless words and undermine the role of the United States in negotiations over the dam." The renaissance between Egypt and Ethiopia. "

Words matter especially from the President.

@ realdonaldtrump's remarks that #Egypt will 'blow up # Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam' are reckless & undermine the US role as an observer in the #GERD negotiations with Egypt, Ethiopia, & #Sudan.


https://t.co/12TuxtLFf6

- Antony Blinken (@ABlinken) October 24, 2020

Judd Devermont, head of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, agreed in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, with the above, and said, "President Trump's statements were irresponsible and reckless, Trump risks escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt. (That) what he mentioned. Trump provides a public justification for an Egyptian attack on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. It is shocking because the United States is a party to the talks, and ostensibly seeking to mediate a fair agreement between the two countries and Sudan. Trump’s statements have damaged US relations with Addis Ababa, which considered Washington too close to Cairo in This dispute. "

While David de Roch - a professor at the National Defense University of the Ministry of Defense (the Pentagon) - said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that President Trump "is not known for controlling his remarks or why he should not address it. I am sure that he has been informed that attacking Egypt." Dam is possible, and he often speaks in a mild form and goes straight to the worst scenario he's seen. "

As for David Mack, the former US ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, he said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "What Trump issued is a model for what is issued by him when he speaks in front of the cameras, where he starts talking about one thing and then jumps to everything that comes in His head when a question is asked about another topic. Trump does not seem like someone who understands the impact of what he is making on US policy and the implications of that for other governments. (That) what happened makes it very difficult for the Secretary of State and the rest of the branches of the US government to play a useful role in Dealing with international conflicts. "

While Charles Dunn, a former official at the National Security Council, an expert at the Middle East Institute, considered Trump's statements "irresponsible and reckless, but at the same time I doubt that the Egyptians could carry out this strike even if they wanted to."

It is worth noting that the Trump administration suspended at the beginning of last month providing part of its financial aid to Ethiopia, after Addis Ababa's unilateral decision to fill the Renaissance Dam despite the lack of progress in negotiations with Egypt and Sudan, in which states participated as observers.