The United States has provided Egypt, per the Camp David accords, with $1.3B of military aid each year since 1979. Those are the Camp David accords negotiated by Jimmy Carter, who is not usually considered a neo-conservative.
Christian Science Monitor
We have also provided an average of $0.8B in economic aid per year.
Aid is central to Washington's relationship with Cairo. The US has provided Egypt with $1.3 billion a year in military aid since 1979, and an average of $815 million a year in economic assistance. All told, Egypt has received over $50 billion in US largesse since 1975.
More basic information below the fold.
Per the CIA world fact book:
Egypt's GDP at the official exchange rate is $217B.
Their national debt is 80.5% of GDP or $175B.
Their military expenditures are 3.4% of GDP or $7.4B.
The Egyptian nation exports 8.0% of their $25B export trade to the US, or $2B. We are their largest trading partner.
The government expenditures for the last year were $64.2B.
And now, for a little basic math.
The US military aid is (1.3/7.4*100)=17.6% of Egypt's military budget.
The total of US aid represents ((0.8+1.3=2.1)/64.2)=3% of their total government budget.
Had the US government not provided aid to Egypt, and they had nevertheless spent exactly the same amounts, presumably their debt would be ~$50B larger - $225B versus $175B.
IMNHO, while the US helps maintain Mubarak in power, the total amount of US aid is not so great that President Obama can call Mubarak on the phone and order him to do something contrary to Hosni's own self-interest. Furthermore the bulk of the aid is a consequence of the Camp David accords negotiated between Carter and Sadat. Blocking all trade with Egypt would also not be sufficient to bring down the dictatorship.
The United States has poured millions into Egyptian pro-democracy groups per the famous Wikileak cables.
The Wikileak cables also show a balance between private pressure and a more friendly public stance, per the NYT.
The cables, which cover the first year of the Obama presidency, leave little doubt about how valuable an ally Mr. Mubarak has been, detailing how he backed the United States in its confrontation with Iran, played mediator between Israel and the Palestinians and supported Iraq’s fledgling government, despite his opposition to the American-led war.
Privately, Ambassador Scobey pressed Egypt’s interior minister to free three bloggers, as well as a Coptic priest who performed a wedding for a Christian convert, according to one of her cables to Washington. She also asked that three American pro-democracy groups be granted formal permission to operate in the country, a request the Egyptians rejected.
Per Mother Jones, update #31,
The Associated Press has a source saying "the US will review its stand on providing aid to Egypt based on unfolding events." America gives about $1.3 billion in military aid to the regime every year, so this puts huge pressure on the power centers in Egypt, including the military, the NDP, and Mubarak himself.
Also from Mother Jones (update #25), one observer points out:
Foreign Policy's Mark Lynch says "Don't lfocus on what Obama admin saying to protestors, focus on message to those inside Egyptian regime who have to choose."
In a corrupt autocracy, there are many of the government and military elites whose loyalty is not to the autocrat, nor to the nation, but to their own wallets. The audience for the diplomacy of the United States includes those people. The protesters will not stop or increase protesting, except at the margins, based on what our government says. Mubarak will decide based on his own best interests, and nothing except perhaps an offer of a C-130 to fly him out of Cairo is going to matter much. But those corrupt elites? The message to them is "There may be more profit in siding with the democracy movement than there is in siding with a fading dictator whose son is not going to rule". Again, one aardvark's opinion.