Are we trying to 'mirror our values' in Egypt

Are we trying to 'mirror our values' in Egypt?

Mike Baker discusses the pressure to withdraw U.S. aid

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," August 19, 2013. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: All right, to Egypt now, where its military says that it needs to reassess its relationship with us, so how about we reassess this, the more than one-and-a-half million dollars we give that military each year, year in and year out?

Now even some Democrats in Congress are calling to cut Egypt off.

To former CIA operative Mike Baker, who says to just do and just do it now.

Mike, you have always been a critic of throwing good money after bad. Well, now it`s bad, and now the folks to whom we`re giving it are reassessing their relationship with us. I don`t think they would call that chutzpah there, but I don`t know what they would. What do you make of it?

MIKE BAKER, PRESIDENT, DILIGENCE LLC: No, I don`t think chutzpah would be the word that would come to mind.

But the fascinating thing about this is the reasons why now some of the members in Capitol Hill are talking about cutting off the aid, it`s a little bit surreal in a sense, but we didn`t have any problem with giving aid to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood while they were busy removing the rights for most citizens and marching towards an Islamic state.

Now of course the military is in there in what some folks up on Capitol Hill are calling a coup and so they`re outraged over the violence, they want to pull out the aid, as if somehow that is going to give us leverage or that`s going to send a message to the military in Egypt.

I say, look, I just don`t want to throw more money down the toilet. I don`t want to say that I think this money, pulling it back is going to make a difference. I`m just saying, let`s have a conversation that says it`s not in our national security interests necessarily right now to be throwing more money into Egypt while they`re in the middle of this chaotic mess.

CAVUTO: And this happens the same day Hosni Mubarak, whose -- the toppling of his government started this chain of events, he is going to be released and a little more than few weeks ago they were going to put him to death now. Now he is going to be released, Morsi still in prison.

What the heck is going on over there? Who would be our friend if we had a friend to hook up with?

BAKER: Right. Well, it`s a very good question.

Frankly, the Muslim Brotherhood, we should not be under any misunderstanding that somehow they`re a peace-loving, democratic group that just wanted happiness and unicorns for all. They -- again, it`s Sharia, it`s Islamic state. That`s what they want.

And so this idea that there`s a good side and a bad side there -- the Egyptian military has always been sort of our ally. It`s been decades now that they have been on our side. We`re worried about the Camp David Accord, and in fact the Camp David Accord is usually what is cited recently for a reason not to stop the aid, as if somehow that is the linchpin for continuing the Camp David Accord.

But, looking at this situation, frankly, if we`re honest with ourselves, the best thing that could happen is that the Egyptian military gets this mess under control. We`re not going to see an inclusive government. We tend to mirror our values all the time overseas, whether it`s Afghanistan talking about a federal pseudo-democratic government or Iraq.

And so we`re doing the same thing in Egypt, where we`re thinking somehow, if they can just all get to the table, be inclusive, and the Muslim Brotherhood can work with the Egyptian military -- that`s insane.

CAVUTO: Yes.

BAKER: That`s not how it works over there.

CAVUTO: It hasn`t as yet. Mike Baker, good having you, as always.

BAKER: Thank you very much.

CAVUTO: All right.

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