Obama Worries Over Egypt: US Reviews Law in Providing AID/Assistance

 June 30th-Tamarod Movement (Live-Blog on PITAPOLICY) 

• The U.S. provides about 1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt in addition to Development Assistance (1.5 billion in total).  Given Egypt’s military intervention to remove Mohammed Morsi, former President from the Freedom & Justice Party, the U.S. law interprets the event as a coup.  As such, Senator Leahy says that US law is clear “aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree” ‎#Egypt#Unclear

  • U.S. Senator. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Today says:
    
    “Since President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power in Egypt, they have continued to oppress minority political opposition and have failed to bring stability to the country through strengthening the economy or providing basic government services to its people,” said Inhofe.
    
    
  • Senator Casey Statement on Egypt

  President Obama is “deeply concerned”over the way in which Morsi was overthrown by the opposition with the support of the military. Perhaps that is why President Obama has urged Egypt to move quickly towards a democratically appointed leader…while saying out loud that he hopes Morsi is not arrested. (At this posting, Morsi was being held by Egypt’s security forces.) Obama is signaling to Egypt to present a political image that distances the coup d’tat image perceived by the U.S.

  • “I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsi and his supporters,” Obama said.
  • A series of arrest warrants have been issued for members of the Freedom & Justice Party and several television stations, including the one operated by the Muslim Brotherhood, were shut down.  Measures like these are seen is representing “the demands of the revolution” but those protesting in front of Cairo University would argue that such moves were undemocratic measures.  Either way, such developments plays into the Muslim Brotherhood’s greatest fear: that the military is out to get them…and that the political forces in Egypt have not changed. [“security forces stormed the building and arrested the presenter, guests and producers.” AlJazeera’s #Egypt service taken off air]
  • As Middle East scholar at the London School of Economics, Fawaz Gerges says: “Democracy has not died. Democracy has been undermined…”  We are not arguing that the Freedom & Justice Party proceeded without mistakes, nor believe that the Muslim Brotherhood provided the vision that Egypt needed. But we are deeply troubled by the precedent of needing a military “intervention” –as described by Khalid Daoud, head of the opposition party, NSF– to once again back up what a millions of Egyptians called for…because the millions protesting on behalf of Morsi could argue the same thing.  The  implications for the next time period of dissatisfaction with executive power extend beyond whether it was a coup or not.  What if there is discontent with the next elected Egyptian leader. Does that mean that the presidency boils down to Victory versus Humiliation both at the ballot box…and in between election cycles.