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A toppled egyptian government would mean uncertainty and major worries for u.s. diplomats. let's discuss that with former ambassador edward jerigen. currently at houston the rice university and he joins us live from there this morning. good to see you. tell us -- >> good morning. >> mr. ambassador, what would you say, what diplomatic challenges does the u.s. relationship with egypt present to the u.s. government? >> well, first, egypt is the single most important arab country in the middle east. the population of 80 million. a major military power in the region. first made peace with israel in...

Peace context. it straddles geopolitically the suez canal, a major transit point in the world, and culturally, egypt is one the most important countries in the whole muslim world. so this is indeed one of our most important bilateral relationships. we've had a very close relationship with egypt over the years. we've had our ups and downs. so the challenge to american foreign policy in the middle east is huge. and whatever happens in egypt is going to affect us. >> ambassador, this is jonathan mann at cnn center. the united states has given aid to egypt. how important given the uncertainty of h...