U.S. is resuming aid to Egypt
WASHINGTON — The White House, which halted weapons transfers to Egypt in mid-2013 to protest a military takeover and harsh political crackdown there, reversed course Tuesday and announced a quick infusion of military aid to help Cairo respond to the mounting turmoil in the Middle East.
With Cairo increasingly involved in the region’s conflicts, President Obama approved the release of a dozen F-16 fighter jets, 20 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and up to 125 M1A1 Abrams tank kits that were withheld after the military overthrew the elected government.
In a phone conversation with President Abdel Fattah Sisi, Obama also said he would seek to restore $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military assistance for Egypt, second only to that for Israel, according to Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
Meehan said in a statement that the White House is not certifying that Egypt has made progress toward democracy. But, she said, release of the weapons is in U.S. national security interest because of the threat from Islamic extremists.
“These measures put our assistance programs more in line with current core U.S. priorities,” Meehan said.
The weapons transfers, as well as other moves to bolster U.S. support for Cairo, are aimed at easing strained relations with a longtime regional ally and the Arab world’s most populous nation.
Egypt has sent warships and other support to back Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have overrun much of Yemen, and has said it may send ground troops if necessary.
Cairo also is weighing intervention in neighboring Libya, where Islamic State militants recently beheaded 21 Egyptian laborers. Most were Coptic Christians.
The White House said security aid to Egypt would be channeled into four categories: counter-terrorism, border security, maritime security and Sinai security, plus support for weapons systems it already has.
But starting in fiscal year 2018, after Obama leaves office, the U.S. will stop Egypt’s use of “cash flow financing,” a financial mechanism that enables Cairo to buy military hardware on credit. Israel is the only other nation given that credit.
U.S. relations with Cairo went into a tailspin after the military, then led by Sisi, overthrew the elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, in a coup that left more than 1,000 people dead. Since then, Sisi’s security forces have conducted a harsh crackdown, jailing thousands of opponents.
The U.S. aid freeze failed to affect the behavior of the government, said Eric Trager, an analyst at the nonpartisan Washington Institute.
“It was an unproductive period for Washington,” he said. “It did not promote greater democracy and only hurt its relationship with Cairo, creating distrust.”
With the region embroiled in multiple conflicts, the White House has decided it should reengage with Sisi’s government.
In his phone call with Sisi, Obama cited U.S. concern about the “continued imprisonment of nonviolent activists and mass trials.” He said freedom of speech and assembly are still issues.