Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Articles & Testimony
Ambassador Ross addressed a Senate hearing on how Washington should respond to the latest events in Egypt. The following is an excerpt from his prepared remarks; download the PDF to read the full testimony.
"...There are no guarantees that even if we seek to use our leverage we will succeed. But cutting off the assistance now won't end up serving our interests or our values. Egypt's political future is bound to be messy and to move in fits and starts. We should try to use our leverage quietly for now, but there should be no doubt on the part of the military and the interim government that we will become more vocal, and if there is no responsiveness, we will be prepared to cut off assistance.
"I don't reject cutting off assistance or reshaping it in principle. I reject it now because I think it will backfire and not serve our hopes and aims for how Egypt should evolve. Our stakes in Egypt remain high. It makes sense for us to stay in the game and try to affect Egypt's course, and not make a statement that will render us largely irrelevant as Egyptians shape an uncertain future..."
