In the face of sequester, Obama finds $190 million for Egypt's Morsi

[Wehrwolfen]

By Thomas Lifson
March 4, 2013

Gee, how many meat inspectors will be laid off to pay for this? How many air traffic controllers? How many kids will go hungry?​

Nancy A. Youssef of the McClatchy Newspapers writes:

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry promised Sunday to give Egypt $190 million to help the government pay its bills, but said more money would require that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi move quickly to resolve the country's differences with the International Monetary Fund, reform its security services and take steps to provide equal rights for women and religious minorities.

Kerry's statement, which came at the end of "very candid and constructive" talks with Morsi, was the closest the United States has come to criticizing the Egyptian president, who took office last summer as the country's first democratically elected leader.​

[Excerpt]

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Blog: In the face of sequester, Obama finds $190 million for Egypt's Morsi

 

[Nole]

like it or not we have a relationship with Egypt. This is how I see it. If we were to pull funds from Egypt, then I would expect the same of Israel. I know you dont like it, I dont like it but Egypt is a heavy weight in that area and if Egypt goes down, well, thats like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and maybe Syria all balled up into one.

We have been selling arms to Egypt for decades. Worth far more than a few hundred million.

 

[waltky]

Pro-Morsi supporters in it for the long haul...

Defiant Morsi supporters in Egypt vow to encamp 'not months, but years'
August 12, 2013 -- When the military didn't come, the protesters went to sleep.

The supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi stayed up all night, expecting -- based on rumors and media reports -- that security forces would finally act on the interim government's vow to clear out their encampment in Nahda Square by Cairo University. Some sang songs throughout the night to pass the time, others played ping pong. But when morning came uneventfully, the protesters finally lay down to rest. The calm Monday at Nahda and another gathering, outside the Rabaa al Adawiya mosque, has further emboldened Morsi's supporters, who are as defiant as ever. The protesters say they won't leave until the president, deposed by a military coup last month, is reinstated.

To those in the square, the decision not to storm the camp reflected the interim government's indecisiveness and fear of what many have warned could be a bloodbath, even as Morsi's detention was extended Monday for 15 more days by Egypt's judiciary. Ahmad Abdo Shaboon, a member of the recently dissolved parliament and the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said the rumors Sunday were intended to frighten Morsi supporters out of the squares. Government officials "don't want to get themselves in a bigger problem," he said. "Militarily they are in a predicament, politically they are in a predicament and internationally they are in a predicament."

He did not expect the military or police to storm the two sites, which have been occupied for more than six weeks, and thinks a negotiated deal could come soon because the government can't afford to let the crisis go on much longer. The crowds, many said, would only continue to grow especially now that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and subsequent Eid al-Fitr celebration have ended. Hana Fathi, an elementary school teacher in Cairo, spent Ramadan with her parents, who live five hours from the city. She had been following the unfolding events on TV and heard the rumors of a crackdown when she returned to Cairo on Sunday. "When I heard that they were going to clear the square, a person could hesitate or be afraid, but no, it was a motivation for me to come," she said.

She arrived at Nahda alone and soon found a women's tent where she spent the night. She said she would remain at the encampment until Morsi returned to power. "They think these threats will rattle people, but instead it makes them stronger," she said. Seeking a reprieve from the sun, Fatima Sayid Muhammad was sitting in the shade provided by a SpongeBob SquarePants blanket. Throughout the day, she traded calls with her son and grandchildren, who are encamped near the Rabaa al Adawiya mosque, comparing notes. None of them planned to leave. "When I heard that Monday morning they were going to empty the square, I came specifically to welcome the bullets and to welcome the abuse from the military -- I don't fear death," said Muhammad, who runs a small charity for orphans and widows. "We are here not weeks, not months, but years," she said.

Shabaan Idriss was making his way first through the crowd of men and then the women, spraying everyone with a mist of water from a plastic pack he wore on his back. "We are here for as long as it takes," he said. "We will create an entire city here; the supermarket will come soon and then the hospital will come, and we'll even start schools for our kids. And look, we have the university already here." Down the road, toward the entrance to the encampment, men were unloading large metal rods from the back of a pickup truck. Other men were already using the rods to erect a new tent, one much sturdier than its rope-supported neighbor.

Source

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - cut `em off the gravy train - dat'll make `em sit up an' take notice...

Congress split on cutting off aid to Egypt
18 Aug.`13 WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress are split over whether the U.S. should cut off military aid to Egypt, highlighting the difficult choices facing the Obama administration amid spiraling violence on the streets of an important Middle East ally.

Democratic leaders have generally supported the president's approach. But on Sunday, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., said he would end aid to Egypt. Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress and is co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. "I would cut off aid but engage in intense diplomacy in Egypt and in the region to try to say, look, we will restore aid when you stop the bloodshed in the street and set up a path towards democracy that you were on before," Ellison said. "In my mind, there's no way to say that this was not a coup. It is. We should say so. And then follow our own law, which says we cannot fund the coup leaders."

Among Republicans, there were growing calls to eliminate military aid to Egypt. But others were more hesitant. Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., said curtailing aid could reduce U.S. influence over Egypt's interim government, which controls access to strategic resources, including the Suez Canal. "We certainly shouldn't cut off all aid," said King, who chairs the House panel on counterterrorism and intelligence. King said there are no good choices in Egypt. Ousted President Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was democratically elected. But, King said, the group has not demonstrated a commitment to democracy. "The fact is, there's no good guys there," King said. "But of the two, I think there is more opportunity to protect American interests if we work with the military and continue our relationship with the military."

The split among members of the same political party illustrates the uncertainty facing President Barack Obama as he tries to navigate volatile developments in Egypt, where crackdowns last week left more than 600 people dead and thousands more injured. Obama has denounced the violence, canceled joint military exercises scheduled for September and delayed the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets. But the White House has refused to declare Morsi's removal a coup — a step that would require Obama to suspend $1.3 billion in annual military aid. The president insists that the U.S. stands with Egyptians seeking a democratic government. But he says America cannot determine Egypt's future.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona renewed his call Sunday to stop aid as the Egyptian military continues to crack down on protesters seeking Morsi's return. "For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stood for," said the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We're not sticking with our values." The military ousted Morsi July 3 after millions of Egyptians took to the streets to demand he step down, accusing him of giving the Brotherhood undue influence and failing to implement vital reforms or bolster the ailing economy.

More Congress split on cutting off aid to Egypt

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Egypt's Brotherhood cries foul over prison deaths
18 Aug.`13 - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, fighting for its political survival, has accused security forces of killing dozens of detained Islamists, upping the pressure in a crisis that has rocked the Arab world's most populous state.

At least 850 people have died since last Wednesday in clashes pitting followers of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi against the army-backed government in the worst bloodletting in Egypt's modern history. As Western anxiety grows, Egypt's army chief vowed to stand firm in the face of violence on Sunday, calling on the Brotherhood to bow to the will of the people and accept the July 3 removal of Mursi, which followed mammoth street protests. Senior European Union diplomats will meet in Brussels on Monday to review how best to leverage some 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) of promised grants and loans, looking to apply pressure on Cairo's new rulers to find a compromise deal.

Since the fall of the autocratic Hosni Mubarak more than two years ago, Egypt has staggered from one crisis to another, alarming allies in the West and in neighboring Israel, with which it has had a peace treaty since 1979. But Saudi Arabia warned the United States and Europe on Sunday against pressing the government to halt a crackdown on the Brotherhood, which it has always eyed with distrust. The Interior Ministry said 36 Brotherhood members died during an attempted prison breakout on Sunday near the capital, saying the prisoners had been suffocated by tear gas.

Offering a very different version of events, a legal source told Reuters 38 men had died from asphyxiation in the back of a crammed police van. The Brotherhood, battling to reverse the overthrow of Mursi, held the authorities responsible. "The murders show the violations and abuses that political detainees who oppose the July 3 coup get subjected to," it said. Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been arrested in recent days across Egypt in an effort to end weeks of protests, but the group has said it will not retreat and staged rallies in both Cairo and Alexandria on Sunday. The government says at least 70 members of the security forces have died in the past five days and the prime minister has proposed disbanding the 85-year-old Brotherhood.

DESTRUCTION

Related:

EGYPT: 36 KILLED IN PRISON TRUCK ESCAPE ATTEMPT
Aug 18,`13 -- Egyptian police fired tear gas Sunday in an attempt to free a guard from rioting detainees, killing at least 36 as the country's military leader vowed to tolerate no more violence after days of clashes that killed nearly 900 people.

The deaths of the prisoners, captured during the fierce fighting in recent days around Cairo's Ramses Square, came as Gen. Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi also called for the inclusion of Islamists in the government. Meanwhile, security forces detained Muslim Brotherhood members in raids aimed at stopping more planned rallies supporting ousted President Mohammed Morsi - which the military-backed government says fuels the violent unrest. The suspects killed were part of a prison truck convoy of some 600 detainees heading to Abu Zaabal prison in northern Egypt, security officials told The Associated Press. Detainees in one of the trucks rioted and managed to capture a police officer inside, the officials said,

Security forces fired tear gas into the truck in hopes of freeing the badly beaten officer, the officials said. The officials said those killed died from suffocating on the gas. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. However, the officials' version of event contradicted reports about the incident carried by state media. The official website of Egyptian state television reported that the deaths took place after security forces clashed with militants near the prison and detainees came under fire while trying to escape. The official MENA state news agency also said the trucks came under attack from gunmen.

State media also said all those killed and the gunmen belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization that Morsi hails from. The officials who spoke to AP said some of the detainees belonged to the Brotherhood, while others didn't. The differences in the accounts could not be immediately reconciled Sunday night.

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[hortysir]

like it or not we have a relationship with Egypt. This is how I see it. If we were to pull funds from Egypt, then I would expect the same of Israel. I know you dont like it, I dont like it but Egypt is a heavy weight in that area and if Egypt goes down, well, thats like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and maybe Syria all balled up into one.

We have been selling arms to Egypt for decades. Worth far more than a few hundred million.

The law is clear,
It doesn't say "maybe"....it doesn't say "unless Obama says otherwise"