Israel Matzav: US to resume foreign aid to Egypt on 'national security' grounds

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

US to resume foreign aid to Egypt on 'national security' grounds

The Washington Post reports that despite a Congressional edict demanding that Egypt not receive US foreign aid until its human rights record is cleaned up, the Obama-Clinton administration is planning to bypass Congress using a 'national security' waiver.

A law passed by Congress in December forbids funding unless the State Department certifies that Egypt is making progress on basic freedoms and human rights.

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is close to announcing plans to bypass those restrictions on national security grounds, according to senior administration officials and others who have been briefed on the deliberations but were not authorized to speak publicly. The administration believes failure to provide the funds would risk worsening already fraying ties with Egypt’s leaders, most notably the Egyptian military, which still controls the country.

Under the plan, which could be announced as early as next week and was first reported Friday by the New York Times, Egypt would not receive the full $1.5 billion all at once, as has been the practice for decades. The administration would instead dole out the funds in smaller portions to preserve leverage over Egyptian authorities, officials said. The plan would also allow for the continuation of U.S. defense contracts that provide American jobs.

With a presidential election coming in Egypt, officials said they are especially hesitant to release the full amount until they see what kind of government will be receiving it.

Perhaps if the money were going toward food, there would be humanitarian grounds for releasing it. But most of this money is going toward military aid, and is being pushed by the Pentagon and by US defense contractors.

“There’s been enormous pressure from the Pentagon to unfreeze something before payments to contractors go past due,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch. “But this whole argument that American jobs are at stake just is not appropriate here when we’re talking about human rights. This sends the wrong message that the crisis is over and has been solved.”

What's more important to the Obama administration than human rights, you ask? President Obama's reelection, of course.

“That’s not a negligible factor. If contracts can’t be paid, production lines will shut down and jobs will be lost,” acknowledged one senior administration official.

And higher unemployment numbers would be yet another blow to Obama's reelection chances, wouldn't they?

“I don’t know that it even makes sense for the U.S. to be pushing aid on Egypt,” said Michele Dunne, an Egypt expert at the Atlantic Council. “Given everything that’s happened of late, we ought to take a fresh look at the whole U.S.-Egypt relationship and the military aid package.”

Yes. Maybe after November.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Campaign 2012, Egyptian army, Hillary Clinton, US foreign aid