This discussion is about an article by Daniel Pipes
concerning the waters of the Nile . But before
I get to that, I need to go on a long tangent, and explain something that is
pertinent to the discussion.
Even though the population of Egypt has increased to about 90
million people, the country remains, in dollar terms, a net exporter of
agricultural products and processed foods. There is what is called the “green
corridor,” a shipping lane that takes Egyptian foods by the shiploads to Italy ; and from there to the rest of Western Europe . In addition to that, because Turkey has had a falling out with Russia , Egypt
has replaced Turkey ,
supplying Russia
with fresh fruits and vegetables. And there is also the fact that negotiations
began between Egypt and the United States for the sale of surplus Egyptian
agricultural products and processed foods to America .
But then the world economies went global at the same time
that the center of economic gravity was shifting to the Orient. That being the
place where Jewish influence is nil, the government of Egypt decided to join
the crowd and go global despite the protestations that came from several
directions. Almost overnight, Egypt
became a nation that depends on trade.
This meant the economy had to become sufficient to compete
against the other nations. It forced the Egyptians to do what everyone does –
specialize in the areas where they have an advantage while leaving to others
the areas in which they are disadvantaged. This approach applies to agriculture
as much as it does to manufacturing and the service industries. Some people
liked the idea; others did not. The result has been the sparking of a big
debate; one that started decades ago and continues to this day.
Where there is a debate in Egypt ,
there are passions that can get as heated as with politicians running to be
president in America .
And where you have passion, you have spins, exaggerations and lies. Here is how
things can happen in Egypt
some of the time. (1) A correspondent writes in a local tabloid that he went to
a store and could not find lentils on the shelves. (2) A provincial official
complains loudly that the local silos can only store 30 percent of the beans
consumed locally. (3) The minister of supply says that the country produced 9.5
million tons of wheat this year, and imported less that 5 million tons.
What happens subsequent to that is the stuff that gives
politics a bad name. For example, a politician or pundit from an opposition
group would gather that kind of information, spins it, twists it and tells the
public he has statistics that will blow its mind. He explains that Egypt imports
100 percent of its need in lentils, 70 percent of the beans it consumes, 70
percent of the wheat that feeds the nation, and so on and so forth.
That kind of talk makes the day for someone like Daniel
Pipes. Ashamed of the non-stop television presentations showing hungry Jewish
families in Israel receiving food aid from a rabbi that begs his Christian
fellows for more aid, Pipes and those like him, write articles using statistics
that are demonstrably false. The goal is to tell the Jewish rank and file in America they should rejoice because Egypt is not doing better than Israel . Dream
on.
Now, to the waters of the Nile .
The yearly precipitation in Central Africa
amounts to 1.5 trillion cubic meters of water. The combined consumption of all
the nations in the Nile
Basin Egypt receives about a third (55
billion cubic meters).
The talks about the Nile
waters and other subjects are ongoing among the nations of the Basin, and a few
of the other neighbors. The discussion touches on all sorts of joint projects
that will be undertaken bilaterally and multilaterally in agriculture,
industry, power generation and power distribution, health, education and what
have you. The biggest part of the discussion centers on the means to collect a
good part of the precipitation in the region, thus be in a position to raise
the share of water allotted to every country.