Egypt

Egypt has been an important ally of the United States in the Middle East because of it has a peace treaty with Israel, a country that is otherwise greatly outnumbered in that region of the world. This peace treaty with Israel was negotiated under President Mubarak, who also created strong ties with the United States. He was also an important ally because of his denunciation and suppression of Islamic fundamentalist and terrorism in Egypt and his strong security presence in the Middle East. For years, the main opposition to President Mubarak was the Muslim Brotherhood, a type of Islamic fundamentalist group, which had limited public support. Therefore, Mubarak had no trouble maintaining his autocratic power. However, in 2011, the people of Egypt began to grow even more frustrated with the economic and social problems that they were facing, to the point that they flooded into the streets and erupted in protest calling for Mubarak and his government to step aside.