Confederate general in the Egyptian army

The history of military relations between Egypt and the United States dates back to the second half of the 19th century, specifically after the end of the American Civil War in 1865. Once the war ended with the victory of the Federal Army of the North at the expense of the separatist Confederate Army of the South, many soldiers in the two armies did not feel the desire to return to life Once again, dozens of soldiers and officers chose to move to Egypt to work with its army and provide their services to Khedive Ismail, the ruler of Egypt at the time.

The American generals received an annual salary of 2500 golden dollars, and were entrusted with participating in the training of the Egyptian army.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which came after the end of the American Civil War, which made Egypt at that time (where there was no flight) - one of the most important countries in the world for its control of the most important international navigation routes between Asia and Europe - a special luster that contributed to the feeling of the military Americans are important to what they do.

More than 30 Americans served in the Egyptian army, including 6 generals, the most important of whom was Southern General William Loring, who served 9 years in Egypt's army modernization programs, then rose to become responsible for naval defense units, and participated in attempts to annex the countries of the Horn of Africa to Egypt.

After his return to the United States, General Loring wrote about his life - in his memoirs - in Egypt under the title "Confederate Soldier in the Army of Egypt", then tried to occupy the position of senator in Florida, but was defeated in the elections.

Northern General Charles Stone was also of experience and importance to become one of Khedive Ismail's senior military advisors, and he was promoted and received the rank of Lieutenant-General, and after his return to the United States he worked as a great engineer on a project to put the Statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York City.

The American generals received an annual salary of 2500 golden dollars, and they were entrusted with participating in the training of the Egyptian army. They also contributed significantly to the establishment of a number of military schools, improving the infrastructure of the Egyptian army’s transportation and communications, and supporting Egyptian military campaigns in a number of African countries.

After the removal of Khedive Ismail and the appointment of his son, Khedive Tawfiq in 1879, the American military remained next to the new ruler, and when the Urabi revolution broke out and the British forces entered Egypt, the American soldiers returned to their country.

During the British occupation of Egypt, there were no Egyptian-American military relations, and after Egypt gained its symbolic independence in 1922, the two countries did not establish significant military relations.

After the American recognition of the State of Israel in 1948, and the subsequent resort to Egypt to arm its fledgling army after the Free Officers Movement in 1952, from the Eastern Bloc countries;

Egypt greatly developed its military relations with the Soviet Union during the first decades of the Cold War period with the United States.

The American military literature spoke with sorrow about Washington's loss of Egypt during that period, due to the strategic importance it represented and its leading and leading position among the Arab countries.

And when the late President Anwar Sadat surprised the world by expelling thousands of Soviet experts present in Egypt in the summer of 1972;

The American reaction was sufficient evidence to identify the importance of Egypt to Washington's strategy.

The famous Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said, "If President Sadat had telephoned Washington and asked for anything before expelling the Soviet experts from Egypt, he would have obtained what he wanted, but he offered us this great work for free."

Then US President Richard Nixon quickly sent an urgent message to Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, in which he stated his lack of prior knowledge of what the Egyptian president had done, and that Washington had no role in this sudden step, and stressed that the United States would not take any steps based on these important developments.

Strong military relations were established between Cairo and Washington after Egypt and Israel signed a peace agreement in 1979, which stipulated the presence of hundreds of American military personnel in the Sinai Peninsula as part of the international peacekeeping forces.

Egypt began a new era in its military relations with Washington and the West, and Egypt received American aid since then, totaling, until 2012, more than 80 billion dollars, and the Office of Military Cooperation "OMC" - attached to the American embassy in Cairo - became , which is concerned with military transactions between the two countries - the second largest office of its kind in the world.

Washington considers the Egyptian army to be the most important and strongest of the Egyptian institutions since its modern relations with Cairo were established. A soldier fought alongside the Americans, which made it easier for other Arab countries to join the alliance.

Military relations give Washington many advantages;

Among the most important were the Bright Star maneuvers that were the largest of their kind in the world.

For reasons related to Egypt's strategic importance in many ways, successive US administrations - whether Republican or Democratic - have maintained a fixed set of goals in their relations with Egypt, regardless of the identity of the occupants of the White House or the Federal Palace.