Former Egyptian Islamic Jihad Leader Nabil Naeem: Without U.S. Aid, Egypt Will Become Superpower

Following are excerpts from an interview with former Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Nabil Naeem, which aired on Al-Tahrir TV on July 31, 2013.

Nabil Naeem: Egypt is the country that suffers the most from the U.S. aid.

Interviewer: We suffer from it?!

Nabil Naeem: Very much so. I hope that Obama makes the courageous decision to stop the aid, severing the [bilateral] relations along with it.

Interviewer: You want Egypt to sever relations with the greatest superpower in the world?!

Nabil Naeem: We don't need them.

Interviewer: Seriously?

Nabil Naeem: Iran has turned into a superpower because of the U.S. boycott. Iran has missiles with a range of 6,000 km. [sic], which can hit Germany, not just Israel. A rocked is launched in Tehran and lands in Berlin. They have their own satellite as well. We, on the other hand, are not allowed to produce satellites. In Canada, satellites are manufactured by Egyptians, but they are not allowed to do so here.

Interviewer: So you want an end to the aid as well as the relations.

Nabil Naeem: I hope so. We would become a superpower within ten years, according to estimates of pessimists like myself. The optimists say five years.

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