A top US senator is floating an ambitious proposal to rebuild Egypt and other Middle East trouble spots, prompting congressional soul-searching into whether the region's strongmen have any desire to change.
The chairman of the Senate Appropriations panel on foreign aid, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., laid out his vision for a "Marshall Plan" in an April 7 briefing with reporters following his trip to the region. As a preliminary step, he said he would work within his subcommittee on emergency funding of "multiple billions" of dollars for Egypt and several other countries.