alexander says: >> i have a question for david polak. when we talk about aid to these countries, are putting conditions and requirements and saying what our community is talking about, is that realistically viable? >> no. actually, i don't think it's very realistic. and i think that first of all most of the money that we provide to the egyptian military comes back to the united states, to buy american weapons. and the other part of the aid, a small minority of it, but several hundred million a year goes to support the egyptian people, and projects in egypt in terms of public health and education and functioning of the enormous metropolis of cairo, which i know from years of personnel experience was dysfunctional until american assistance rebuilt the sewers, telephones, roadways and bridges, and everything else that makes cairo a liveable city. >> we are talking about, you know, $1.3 billion to support egyptian military, and $250 million going through the u sa idea. it's an imbalance. >> yes, but it serves american interest. the united st

. >> david polak, no guarantees. >> i agree on this point, the u.s. track record is actually quite good. there are some examples of unintended consequences. a backlash or a back fire. there are many other examples when american support for governments or for gurr illas, as the case may be had a long-term positive effect. not only for the united states, but the people of those countries. in egypt that's been the case and i think it will continue to be the case. >> i think what david is talking about here is a dilemma that american policy makers face. the long run is made up of a lot of short runs. until they figure out how to secure american interest over that short run, until we get to the longer run where we believe democratic countries are more stable and more in line with american interest, until we figure out how to do that and during transitions to democracy or one government to another, countries are unstable. until they answer that question, we are going to default to supporting the groups within the countries that we believe align with our int