I’m not pleased when a population feels compelled to use violence, but I am glad to see the people of Egypt demanding a more free society.

Despite my feelings of democracy, any move to increase overall liberty is a significant step in the right direction. This nascent revolution will surely have a profound effect on relations in the Middle East, but it also brings up issues back here in the United States.

The U.S. Department of State reports an annual gift of roughly 1.3 billion dollars in foreign military aid to the Egyptian government. This means Egypt is the one of the largest benefiters of U.S. foreign aid. Appropriately, Israel is the only nation who accepts more money.

Many political commentators have speculated on a possible deterioration of the assumed truce between these three nations. While it has been over 30 years since Israel, under Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, flexed its military dominance over the Middle East, the media believes President Hosni Mubarak was the only fiber binding this uneasy peace.

Nevertheless, Egyptians favored the Israeli-Egypt peace treaty during the Camp David Accords. Additionally, concerns over Israel have not been a vocal grievance against the Mubarak regime. The Islamic doomsday message portrayed by many sources stems from small secular organizations. These organizations have seemingly negligible power or persuasion.

In fact, the United States has seen more opposition than Israel. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has done an acceptable job of carefully probing the situation before putting in her two-cents, but hasn’t quenched the outcries of the Egyptian protestors for more support.

Therefore, I don’t think the Egyptians are blaming the U.S. for their economic and social disparities, despite the “Made in the U.S.” tear gas cans.

This raises questions about the necessity of our foreign aid to Egypt. I am firmly against this annual military bonus check, regardless of Egyptian sentiments. The United States can no longer afford to be the world’s imperialistic watchdog. I’d rather spend the money on a healthcare bill with socialistic tendencies than give it to a nation with control over a profitable oil shipping route and its own plethora of natural resources.

Obviously not everyone is going to agree with me, but now is the best time to make financial changes. The military has been faced with the dual role as the face of Mubarak and the Egyptian people. The Egyptian military under Mubarak control is losing support in addition to the opposed police force. Any aggressive backlash over a possible funding cut could possibly be seen as pro-Mubarak, assuming the Egyptian people actually care about those funds.

I think we should wait for a peaceful transition before any action is taken, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the foreign military aid budget gets an audit in the near future. Our own defense budget has already made small cuts and is on the table for future cuts as well. Even if those fail to be legislated, I’m sure another stagnate bi-partisan compromise will dip into the foreign aid budget.

The climate in the Middle East is changing, and so will our relations to each of these nations. Maybe we won’t have to be the awkward authority figure, wagging our fingers or rewarding good behavior with tanks, guns and tear gas. It would be nice to put more focus on our nation and fix our own problems.