From the Original Overview at the Air Force Air University, http://tuvok.au.af.mil/au/database/projects/ay1995/acsc/95-002/chap4/egyovr.htm
Chapter 4: Red Sea, Horn of Africa
Egypt: Overview
Facts
/ Geography, Climate / Cities
/ Posture Statement Excerpt
Leadership
/ System Essentials / Infrastructure
/ Population / Fielded Forces
/ Table of Contents
Facts
- Formal Name: Arab Republic of Egypt
- Short Form: Egypt
- Area: 1 million sq km (slightly smaller than Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas combined)
- Citizens: Egyptian(s)
- Population: 56.4 million (1993 est.)
- Capital: Cairo
- Government: Republic
- GNP: $40.3 billion (1993 est.)
Geography
Egypt has four major regions where about 99 percent of the population resides: the Nile Valley and Delta, the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Sinai Peninsula.
Climate
Except for modest amounts of rainfall along Mediterranean coast, Egypt's precipitation ranges from minimal to nonexistent. The country has mild winters (November to April) and hot summers (May to October).
Cities
Posture Statement Excerpt
A recognized political leader in both the Arab world and Africa, Egypt remains one of our closest allies in the region. As an important member of the Arab League and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Egypt played a key role in facilitating the Middle East Peace process. By supporting nuclear non-proliferation and contributing military forces to the UN operations in Somalia, Egypt has demonstrated a firm commitment to the long term stability of the region.
Domestic economics, demographics, and an increasing reliance on the Nile River for water mean that Egypt will continue to face serious difficulties in internal development and require significant financial assistance from abroad. Radical Islamic elements seek to capitalize on Egypt's internal problems to incite dissension while engaging in a campaign of terrorism and assassination. Notwithstanding this armed threat, the Egyptian government appears able to manage the domestic situation in the face of the radical Islamic challenge.
Our security assistance and military-to-military relations are close and continue to improve through combined operations and an extensive exercise program which both focus on expanded interoperability. A key factor in our Red Sea Maritime Interception Operations (MIO) was the use of Egyptian facilities for logistics support. Similarly, Egyptian air base support has been essential to our ability to support humanitarian relief operations and numerous exercises throughout the AOR. Our exercise program with Egypt is among the largest in the region, spanning the spectrum from large force maneuvers to Special Operations Forces (SOF) exercises.