With the death toll from recent violence topping 500, Sen. Patrick Leahy lent his voice Thursday to mounting calls for cutting off U.S. military aid to Egypt in response to the government-led suppression of Muslim Brotherhood protests.
President Barack Obama announced Thursday that the U.S. was canceling a joint military exercise it had planned to conduct with Egypt in September, but the president hasn’t pulled the strings on the $1.3 billion in annual military aid flowing from the U.S. to Egypt.
In a statement released Thursday, Leahy, who chairs the Senate appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid, called for bolder action. The events in Egypt, the statement reads, “warrant the strongest condemnation from the international community and from people of goodwill the world over.”
“In the meantime, while suspending joint military exercises as the President has done is an important step, our law is clear: aid to the Egyptian military should cease unless they restore democracy.”
Leahy spokesperson, David Carle, clarified that Leahy is calling for an immediate termination of military aid. “He believes aid should have been suspended when the coup happened,” Carle said. “He’s always said the law should be followed, and it should have been cut off before.”
Since the military takeover in Egypt last month, the Obama administration has hedged around the question of whether the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi constituted a military coup. It’s avoided that designation to steer clear of a legal triggering the terminations of aid.
At the time Leahy released the following statement.
“Egypt’s military leaders say they have no intent or desire to govern, and I hope they make good on their promise. In the meantime, our law is clear: U.S. aid is cut off when a democratically elected government is deposed by military coup or decree.”
As part of the budget bill for the State Department and Foreign Operations, which has passed out of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Leahy helped draft revised requirements for military aid sent to Egypt.
In addition to the coup provision — which triggers termination of aid — the budget divvies military aid into four parts, accompanied by different stipulations. The first 25 percent is sent free of conditions. The second quarter is contingent on proof that the government has released political prisoners and shown dedication to setting up an “inclusive” political system. The next chunk is authorized only if there’s been a democratic election and a new government installed, and the final installment is dependent on the government’s showing a commitment to human rights and the rule of law.
The administration can bypass the first two conditions using a national security waiver, but it can’t get around the final one.
