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Subscribe to RSSAlmost exactly two years ago during the exhilaration of “Arab Spring,” there were soaring hopes both inside Egypt and abroad that with the overthrow of the autocratic Hosni Mubarak, an era of democracy and human rights might be dawning.
Today despite the change of leaders from Hosni Mubarak to Mohammed Morsi, authoritarian rule in Egypt continues -- and so too in all likelihood will U.S. aid to that country.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh / REUTERS
A man walks past riot police as he covers his face from tear gas during clashes with protesters opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, along Simon Bolivar Square, which leads to Tahrir Square, in Cairo Jan. 30, 2013. Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi flew to Germany on Wednesday to try to convince Europe of his democratic credentials, leaving behind a country in crisis after a week of violence that has killed more than 50 people.
For the current fiscal year, President Obama is requesting $1.55 billion in aid to Egypt, about 80 percent of it in the form of military assistance.
At this point, there appears to be no serious threat that Congress might block or cancel funds for Egypt, even given the arbitrary action Morsi has taken in recent months – such as his declaration that his decisions are immune from judicial review until a new constitution is adopted. On Sunday, Morsi imposed a state of emergency in three Egyptian cities torn by riots and protests. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the head of the Egyptian military, warned Tuesday that the “collapse of the state” would occur if the warring factions in the country did not come to terms.
Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., who recently got back from a trip to the Middle East with other senators that included an interview with Morsi, told reporters Tuesday American aid should not be delayed while the U.S. waits for events to settle down in Egypt.
A delay might “contribute to the chaos that may ensue because of their collapsing economy,” McCain warned. “Their biggest problem is a collapsing economy. The Israelis are in favor of continuing the aid to Egypt. I think that’s important. We listen a lot to the Israelis.”
Illustrating a foreign policy divide in Republican ranks, Sen. Rand Paul, R- Ky., challenged secretary of state nominee Sen. John Kerry, D- Mass., at his confirmation hearing last week on why the United States should pay to send F-16 fighters to Morsi’s regime.
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Last September, in the aftermath of attacks on American diplomats in Libya and Egypt, Paul declared in a Senate speech, “Not one penny more for Libya or Egypt or Pakistan until they act as our allies. Some say we have to keep sending it. Fine, let’s send it when they act as our allies. Let’s send it when they start behaving as civilized nations and come to their senses.”
“The American people are tired of this,” Paul said. “Our Treasury is bare. There is a multitude of reasons why we should not continue to send good money after bad.”
According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, "Between 1948 and 2011, the United States provided Egypt with $71.6 billion in bilateral foreign aid, including $1.3 billion a year in military aid from 1987 to the present. Since 1979, Egypt has been the second-largest recipient, after Israel, of U.S. bilateral foreign assistance."
But in his opposition to more U.S. taxpayer subsidies for Egypt, Paul remains very much an outlier both in his party and in the Senate as whole.
Kerry explained to his colleagues last week that Egypt is simply too important for America not to fund.
“We have critical interests with Egypt,” he said. “Egypt has thus far supported and lived by the peace agreement with Israel. And has taken steps to begin to deal with the problem of security in the Sinai. Those are vital to us and to our national interests and to the security of Israel.”
And on Tuesday an array of senators agreed with Kerry and McCain that the flow of U.S. funds to Morsi must continue.
When senators are asked about funding, the term they use is “engagement.” Asked whether the turmoil in Egypt should cause a pause in U.S. aid, Sen. Bob Corker, R- Tenn., the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Tuesday, “I don’t think it should affect our engagement, necessarily, with the country.”
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Sen. Bob Casey, D- Pa., who has been serving as chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East, noted that “I have always said when we provide aid, it’s never unconditional and we should always evaluate our aid in the context of what’s happening at a particular time. But I don’t favor these blanket aid bans that we often hear debated here (in the Senate).”
Another Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Chris Coons, D- Del., who was on the recent trip to Middle East with McCain, said the senators’ discussion with Morsi touched on “the importance of ongoing U.S. support for their economy, for their military,” as well as “their progress toward full democracy” and Egypt’s adherence to its obligations under the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
Coons noted that there has been a hold on U.S. economic development assistance for the Cairo regime since mid-2012.
According to CRS, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R- Fla., then chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Rep. Kay Granger, R - Texas, House Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee chairwoman, placed holds on $450 million in economic aid to Egypt.
“The question isn’t: would we further delay it (aid) ?” Coons said, “The question is: Is there a time when we’re going to begin releasing aid and providing some ongoing support to the Egyptian government?”
That hold is on economic development aid, but what about military aid, which is far larger?
Coons said the bipartisan delegation of senators had a “very positive” meeting with Egypt’s defense minister during their trip two weeks ago. “I came away from that convinced that we have a strong shared commitment to regional security and peace and that we are making a responsible investment of U.S. dollars in sustaining our military-to-military relationship.”
So, he added, “To the extent that they continue to make progress toward democracy, openness, and respecting their treaty obligations, I will continue to support U.S. assistance to Egypt.”
But Coons added Tuesday he wanted to get a briefing on the latest round of turmoil in Egypt.
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Makes sense to me....America borrows money from China so we can give it away to countries like Egypt. And congress fights about cutting benefits to American's on social security. Sure, makes a lot of sense to me. NOT.
Can we also cut off Israel too? I also want Bush to write us a check for all the money we borrowed from China to pay for a war in Iraq.
Sure, cut off Israel....cut 'em all off.
I finally found something I can agree with you on :). Cut them all off
the war machine will never let it happen
@ItsAboutTime
:-)
"$1.55 billion in aid to Egypt, about 80 percent of it in the form of military assistance."
Hmmm. The American tax payer is paying so that the military industrial complex can sell Egypt military hardware. Let me repeat....Americans are paying for Egypt to buy weapons from the "DEFENSE" industry. Egypt gets the stuff for free and Americans have to pay for it. I would call this Corporate Welfare because the American Arms Manufacturers profit, Egypt gets free stuff and American tax payers pay for it. Why not just give the money to the military industrial complex NOT to sell their weapons of destruction. I'd rather see the money go to unemployment instead of exporting weapons to foreign countries. The Hippocratic Oath, "Do no harm". Stop the madness.
What's even funnier, they willuse those free weapons against us. It's the muslim brotherhood we're talking about here and don't tell me the army in Egypt is not part of it. Of course they are, they're muslims.
the military in egypt is no friend of the MB. There are different kinds of muslims ya know. :)
Anne-394054 Vermontguy is correct. Please see the post I previously posted to get a little more information and understanding. In Egypt, there are essentially thirteen (13) different denominations of Muslims here under the Sunni label. The Sunni's believe in the Caliphate as opposed to the Direct Descendant that the Shi'a do. For example King Abdullah of Jordan (PBUH) is the Direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad. (PBUH) in Egypt the Sheik of the Grand Mosque is the head/leader of the Muslims. He is extremely liberal and against the Muslim Brotherhood. If you think of it as a spectrum the Muslims here go from being extremely liberal to the extremists. The most extreme of these groups (say about 9 to 13) include the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi's. The Salafi's are EXTREMELY under (if not completely) uneducated and LOVE violence. They usually keep to the western desert and Oasis's (like Siwa & Baharaya). The Muslim Brotherhood kind of resemble our old Mafia people. They are slick and believe that they will be an evolutionary force and outlast the others. (They have another think coming though) Within the Muslim Brotherhood there are basically two (2) factions. these factions are split by age. The older members want to become the established order and will not hesitate to include violence in their platform. They have infiltrated many of the organizations here. I have come up against them even in Rotary International. right now they are in the more poor sections "tending" (if you will) to the poor by "giving" them food and making the people dependent on them. These older member want to (eventually) put Sharia law into place.The younger members look more like a conservative political party. They do not care for violence and are in disagreement with their elder members. They want Sharia law to be practiced in the home.
The Sheik of the Grand Mosque is working very closely with H. H. Pope Tadros to organize the Copts, Secularists, and Liberals into a more cohesive group. So far, the Evangelicals seem not to participate from what we can see. We are not sure the reason for this.
There is A LOT more that is involved but I hope this gives you a little bit of understanding of the diversity that is here. It definitely is NOT cut and dry as many people seem to think. There are so many grey areas.
Finally, it is also important to note that Egypt is the only Muslim country that has Christmas as a legal holiday. (Not even turkey or Jordan can boast this) It is not an Islamic/Muslim country, it is a Secular country. It is our hope that it remains so. This is what the Egyptian people want.
In kind regards.
More government retardation. We are going down a hole here in the US and the government is out spending money like there is an unlimited supply of it. And to a country that hates the US. Way past time to fire all politicians and start over.
Say what you you will about Hosni Mubarek being an "autocrat" but he maintained Egypt as a lynchpin of stability in the Middle East. Vermontguy, don't know when you were in Egypt last but what is going on is not in any way beneficial to anyone except the top echelon of The Muslim Brotherhood, a radical group that the State Dept. eventually "feared" may assume power, which, to no one's surprise that actually followed internal dynamics, was "elected". Nice work, Washington, in destabilizing the region in the name of supporting " The Arab Spring", a cheap short term shot in what now passes for " foreign policy". 1.5 billion ? To whom for whom ? The weapons that were supplied to the Libyan "rebels" eventually ended up in Benghazi. The same thing will happen with the Egyptian military, possibly against Isreal, the last bastion of U.S. influence in a crucial area.
ah, so you "know" that egyptian weapons will end up in the hands of rebels? Egypt isn't libya.
and I'm not a fan of the MB, did any of my posts indicate I was? I am a fan of supporting the egyptian military, who opposes the MB.
Was there sugar on the bs Obama is feeding you about the egyptian military opposing and fighting the muslim brotherhood? It was Mubarek who did and with the help of the military and Obama, the mb is in power now.
the military put the MB in power? interesting "fact". lol. and obama helped them?
Of course, you think all muslims are the same, so that explains it.
First of all we cannot afford giving these people who hate us this money, second we need the money here in this country.
Pigs slopping around in their own @!$%# and each pig wants more for his fat ass belly. It's called American government and all their little piglets that they support with military weapons..Go piggies..
what kind of an idiot still sends money and tanks and planes to an enemy of the US?
DEMOCRATS.
What kind of idiot starts war over no weapons of mass destruction. What kind of idiot spends 1 trillion to fight a war with Iraq? What idiots spend billions on Israel...
REPUBLICANS.
P.S. Don't forget, bush gave money to Pakistan to fight his little war in AFGHANISTAN. I say, we cut them ALL OFF.
It's,
WWI......DEMOCRAT
WWII....DEMOCRAT
Korea...DEMOCRAT
Vietnam........DEMOCRAT
Ended the cold war and defeated The Soviet Union without a shot being fired........REPUBLICAN
Next........?
bernie your spot on and I am a Democrat....
"superbrain" (LOL) - congress, including the GOP controlled house, seems like they are sending the money to egypt. For example: "Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., who recently got back from a trip to the Middle East with other senators that included an interview with Morsi, told reporters Tuesday American aid should not be delayed while the U.S. waits for events to settle down in Egypt"
I guess 100% of congress are democrats? lol.
WW I - Umm EUROPE started that war, not a democrat.
North Korea - Umm.. No, it wasn't TRUMAN. Nice try
Ended the Cold War without a SHOT BEING fired? LMAO. Giving Credit to Reagan = EPIC FAIL. How many decades did the cold war last. Oh and the US had its FIRST STANDING DEFICIT under Reagan. He sure tried to OUTSPEND the Soviets..
As usual Bernie, completely and utterly WRONG.
bernie is kinda right, for the wrong reasons. Or at least is incomplete. Used to be, the dems were the party of military intervention, and the GOP was the party of isolationism/limited military action. All that changed in the 70s, now the GOP and the dems have flipped.
So quoting history is interesting, but irrelevant to the current party stances. Clearly the GOP is more predisposed to large military interventions than the dems. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now, that's the way it is.
and as far as "ending the cold war without a shot being fired", we still seem to be in a cold war with russia. Guess it didn't quite end.
LET ME SEE IF I HAVE THIS RIGHT.....
Obama and his lovers want more and more gun controls (that don't do a phucking bit of good) but have no problem sending twenty F16 fighter jets and 200 tanks to Egypt.
Phucking mixed-up, phony, liberal lunatics!!
Let us FUND THE ENTIRE WOLD!, Senator Kerry our new Secretary of State says Egypt is too important for us to loose, a government run by Morsi, of the Islamic Brotherhood, who most Egyptians want out already. Let us fund anyone and everyone who needs money, our ecconomy is thriveing right now, geat time to give a country that does not like us 1.5 billion!!!!!!, are you mad. We have funded Libya, Syria, now Egypt. Is it that BLACK GOLD IN THEM THEIR HILLS......... IS THAT WHY WE LOVE OUR Saudi brothers too, that was the country that provided all the Jiahadist on the flights to the Twin Towers, eveyone from Saudi Arabia, no one on the plane from Iraq.......American better wake the hell up and start taking care of Americans, and our economy, our military, we cannot be the World Bank at this particular time, or be the Worlds Police Department. Maybe we need major changes in the Senate and Congress, they have been operating with NO BUDGET FOR YEARS, NO BUDGET THAT IS CORRECT... You try that at your company for a few months, and your out on your ass. It is irresponsible, and someone must be accountable, the someone is the CEO, Mr. Speaker, and others starting with President Obama. He might not have the time, he wants to give amnesty to 11,000,000 illegal Aliens, who broke our laws, and said I am coming into your country with our without papers. Someone in my family went through the legal process, and it has taken years to get citizenship, how do you think we feel about this insanity.
we are terrified to cut them all off, because of black gold, oil dependency. we just keep giving them millions, in financial and military aid. they love us too.
Egypt doesn't have oil, just muslims
No Anne ~ 394054....Egypt has a whole lot of people besides Muslims. I am not sure if you saw my earlier post, or not, so I have copied it below this for your current information. I am not sure if you are aware of it or not, but Egypt has a large Coptic Community. There are about thirty (30) Million of them. The term Copt is what the Romans called the Egyptians and especially the early Christians. Secondly, there is another group called the Secularists. This group is comprised of many different people. (i.e. Copts, Evangelicals, Liberals, etc) The Secularists believe in the complete and utter separation of the religions from the state/government. The Copts, Secularists, and Liberals comprise approximately 35 to 40 million in a country of 80 million.
In Egypt, there are essentially thirteen (13) different denominations of Muslims here under the Sunni label. The Sunni's believe in the Caliphate as opposed to the Direct Descendant that the Shi'a do. For example King Abdullah of Jordan (PBUH) is the Direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad. (PBUH) in Egypt the Sheik of the Grand Mosque is the head/leader of the Muslims. He is extremely liberal and against the Muslim Brotherhood. If you think of it as a spectrum the Muslims here go from being extremely liberal to the extremists. The most extreme of these groups (say about 9 to 13) include the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi's. The Salafi's are EXTREMELY under (if not completely) uneducated and LOVE violence. They usually keep to the western desert and Oasis's (like Siwa & Baharaya). The Muslim Brotherhood kind of resemble our old Mafia people. They are slick and believe that they will be an evolutionary force and outlast the others. (They have another think coming though) Within the Muslim Brotherhood there are basically two (2) factions. these factions are split by age. The older members want to become the established order and will not hesitate to include violence in their platform. They have infiltrated many of the organizations here. I have come up against them even in Rotary International. right now they are in the more poor sections "tending" (if you will) to the poor by "giving" them food and making the people dependent on them. These older member want to (eventually) put Sharia law into place.The younger members look more like a conservative political party. They do not care for violence and are in disagreement with their elder members. They want Sharia law to be practiced in the home.
The Sheik of the Grand Mosque is working very closely with H. H. Pope Tadros to organize the Copts, Secularists, and Liberals into a more cohesive group. So far, the Evangelicals seem not to participate from what we can see. We are not sure the reason for this.
There is A LOT more that is involved but I hope this gives you a little bit of understanding of the diversity that is here. It definitely is NOT cut and dry as many people seem to think. There are so many grey areas.
Finally, it is also important to note that Egypt is the only Muslim country that has Christmas as a legal holiday. (Not even turkey or Jordan can boast this) It is not an Islamic/Muslim country, it is a Secular country. It is our hope that it remains so. This is what the Egyptian people want.
In kind regards.
What a bunch of crap. Many Americans barely able to put food on the table and pay for the roof over their head and Obama wants $1.55 billion to give to people that wish us harm and burn our flags.
well, its obama and the congress, including the GOP-controlled house, who want to keep the egyptian military on our side. So far they have been an ally of ours, not burning our flag.
Its time our politicians serve the people of the U.S. instead of these countries abroad. Most of those countries just want our aid and really do not like us. The politicians need to wake up.
The Israelis are in favor of continuing the aid to Egypt. I think that’s important. We listen a lot to the Israelis.”
-John McCain-
It's obvious that McCain is on the payroll.
Of course... have Hillarwe...Kerry the war hero toss another couple bags o' cash on the fire. And now, a few bottles of ketchup thrown in... if he can find the plane to get there.
if its a bad idea i'm sure the gop-controlled congress will oppose it. yet oddly they don't seem to be. weird.
vermontguy, please please learn how government works. Then you can focus on being stupid in all other areas of your life.
HAS HE LOST HIS MIND?????????????????
When it comes to cuts having to be made in federal spending the American people shouldn't be the ones paying the price. Start with spending that does nothing to shore up America and her economy first. Particularly in times like these when jobs are at a premium, more people are on food stamps than ever before and the economy, regardless of what the talking heads in DC say, is not rebounding! It's time to say sorry but the gravy train has left the station! It's not like any of the money we spend on foreign aid ever reaches the truly needy in the countries where it's sent anyway. For the most part the bucks stop at those who govern those countries. Check it out sometime. They live in elaboate mansions unlike anything seen in this country while the citizenry lack the simplest of shelter and starve to death on a daily basis!
aid was a good idea things have changed.we need to wait this out and see what happens before giving
weapons.also the us can not afford to be giving aid to every country out there i think the agenda is to break the country and so far they are doing a fine job
"US aid seems secure despite Egyptian turmoil"
Just as long as Obama can keep funneling money to his friends in the Muslim Brotherhood.
Congress approves spending, so i guess they are the muslims?
Obama is going to give Egypt $1.55 billion. Take from the poor in this country and give to the rich in Egypt. Thanks tax payers.
well, congress approves spending bills, so you might want to blame them too, including the gop controlled house. I doubt he's writing a personal check.
I don't get it, we give them billions for the military & then we supposedly sell them F16's? We need to start out w/ every one at $0.00 for the beginning of the first two years & I do mean every one. If they behave for the last 2 years, then we can talk about future hand outs. We can't even take care of our own country let alone trying to take care of another. Seems like we are arming the muslim brotherhood, am I wrong? This administration has totally lost it's sense of direction...going to hell in a handbag & were in it!
All aid needs to stop until the rights of the people is recognize by their governments and not just laws that impose by one side
Oh good. If obama couldn't spend the borrowed american tax dollars here, he'd have to add them to those he's giving the lousy paki's...
This country is broken...
then i'm sure the congress won't approve the funds, right?
US forces are in108 Nations.We(international financiers) control these people with money.Why do you think so many people hate us ? Almost all Americans just want to raise there kid provide a decent living for their family and live out their lives.Our government and the people that control them want power.Power cost money.Both parties are on the take ,so get used to it.How else can you explain this ??????
Leadership, showmanship -- or narcissism?
The alpha male wants to be at the front of the line because he is the alpha male.
Obama wants to be at the front of the line because he wants to be first in line.
The sports player puts on the uniform because he loves to play the sport.
Obama puts on the uniform because he loves to wear the uniform.
I think most people prefer being first in line. lol. who wants to be last?
Obama is not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood; however, he is a supporter of anything Muslim.
you mean he supports, oh, islamic terrorism?