Stanley Reed

The battle for Egypt is being played out between the pro-Western regime of Hosni Mubarak and Islamic militants who want to establish a fundamentalist government. The Islamicists are not strong enough now to seize power, but they could cripple Mubarak's ability to deal with economic and political challenges. If Egypt becomes unstable, by insurrections of militants or the military, U.S. aid to Egypt-nearly $35 billion since 1975-may be in danger of being swept away.