(edition #1) online debate “american aid to egypt?”

8/13/2019 (Edition #1) Online Debate “American Aid to Egypt?”

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Pacic Northwest State The Intelligencer Edition #1

AID TO EGYPT?Resolved, the United States should cease economic and

military aid to Egypt in light of the current government'smethod of obtaining power.

1Junior State of America




Online DebateResolved, the United States should cease economic and

military aid to Egypt in light of the current government'smethod of obtaining power .

Pro: Uma Ilavarasan

Con: Austin Weinstein

BackgroundFormer Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi was deposed in on July 3, 2013 by military

leader Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi. This has sparked a debate over how the United States should respond:declaring his deposition a coup would require the U.S., by law, to cease its 1.3 billion dollars in aidto that nation. Since July 3, Morsi supporters have faced untold violence (including a massacre atRabaa al-Adawiya mosque on July . Muslim Brotherhood o # ces have been closed and its leadersarrested (Morsi was a political representative of this pan-Islamic organization). Egypt, under theleadership of General El-Sisi and interim president Adly Mansour, seems to be returning to aMubarak-era crackdown on dissent. No plans have been made for new elections, leading many towonder if democracy’s previous gains in Egypt have come and gone. However, many diplomats

argue for the continuation of aid, as ceasing to provide funds would jeopardize America’s importantrelationship with an ally. The United States needs all the partners it can get in this fractious,splintering region. Should the United States cut o $ aid to Egypt, at least until a timeline for thedemocratic process has been solidied? Is it worth putting our diplomatic friendship at risk? %





PRO: Uma IlavarasanThe protests begin on June 30, the one-year anniversary of Mohammed Morsi’s inauguration

to the presidency, spurred by that leader’s authoritarianism and whispers of an Islamist agendarunning rampant Egypt’s edgling democracy, a charge seemingly corroborated by Morsi’s Freedom

and Justice party membership (the FJP is the arm of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood that eldscandidates for o # ce). The next day, the Egyptian military threatened to take over the government ifwarring politicians (secularists, more extremist parties, and MB leaders themselves) could notquickly craft a successful conclusion. The military made their loyalties to harmful paradigms, andtheir distaste for the MB, painfully clear on July 2 with their slaughter of 18 people (exact gures arenot available) and injury of 200 protestors at a pro-Morsi rally. This tumultuous half-week culminatedin Morsi’s removal from o # ce, the arrest of senior MB members, the suspension of the constitution,and shadowy plans for a future presidential election. The interim government, currently in place, isled by president Adly Mansour; no dates have yet been set for the aforementioned elections. Theactions taken by the Egyptian military (and originally backed by religious and secular leaders) dene

a coup, despite the US government’s unwillingness to designate them as such. Members of thestate department, and Congress, know that dening the decisions of El-Sisi and his cronies asdictatorial, and marking them as illegitimate, would necessitate ending the 1.5 billion dollars in aidto Egypt the United States annually dispenses and threaten already tenuous relationships in theregion. The legal obligation to cease the provision of funds, is at least equalled, perhaps trumped,by the United States’ moral obligations (obligations that are unfortunately predicated on a reality theUS seems unwilling to recognize): the interim government has stied dissent, failed to respond tothe persecution of Coptic Christians, and further normalized sexual assault. Thus, the United States should cease economic and military aid to Egypt in light of the current government’s method ofobtaining power.

Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act clearly states “none of the fundsappropriated...pursuant to this act shall be obligated or expended to nance directly any assistanceto any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup.” A coupassuredly occurred: a democratically elected leader (Mohammed Morsi) was thrown out one yearinto his term in favor of a bizarre semi-junta (events, of course, orchestrated by the elmilitary, thoughwith considerable civilian backing). It would seem obvious, then, that the US should stop fundingthe Egyptian military (the greatest beneciary of the previously mentioned 1.5 billion). However, the“Take Care” Clause (Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution says that the President “shall take Carethat the Laws be faithfully executed”) has led some to believe that the situation in Egypt calls for asuspension of this law (otherwise, again, the President and his government are legally bound to thehalting of fund dispensation). The “emergency circumstances” that would negate the Take CareClause are simply not present. This is not to say that the events unfolding in Egypt are not horric,problematic, and inammatory, but that the United States is not a direct player in the conict and isnot threatened by an Egyptian attack; the fact that modern-day Egypt can be characterized bythose three adjectives is an indicator that the US must stop condoning coup-behavior and follow itsown laws. Additionally, the US has failed to declare an obvious coup a coup, which is intensely





problematic in and of itself. The selective nature of Section 508’s application renders it ine $ ective,and counters its purpose. Not naming this beast a coup constitutes presidential negligence, and aninability to fulll the job partially outlined by the Take Care Clause.

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is both an ine $ ective and troublesome ruler, emphasized by the currentlack of election plans, and the suppression of pro-MB voices through arrests and violence.Immediately after the coup took place, the new regime seemed a positive development; gas lineswere shorter, electricity showed more constancy in presence. These initial gains, however, havedegenerated into losses exacerbated by the presence of an undemocratic government. El-Sisi andhis a # liates have imprisoned Morsi and fellow MB members that populate the upper echelons ofthis political organization’s hierarchy, while bringing ex-president and dictator Hosni Mubarak out of

jail. The latter move signaled to many protestors, and to the international community, the lack ofreformist sentiment in the new government;. Demonstrations have splintered into bloodshed anddistrust, as members of the police force and military break up existent protests with weapons anddegradation. The Egyptian government’s ine $ ectual responses to the abuses of Coptic Christians

by Morsi supporters as part of a larger backlash, further speaking to the ine#

ciency and disregardof the institution. During protests, large numbers of women were sexually assaulted as well, in aclimate of overwhelming impunity. El-Sisi’s government has o $ ered no course of redress for thesefemales, preferring to follow the low standards of responsiveness to sexual crimes set by hispredecessors. These factors combine to demonstrate that El-Sisi is no improvement, no purveyor ofdemocracy to his people; his current actions seem to indicate a return to the same authoritarian,oppressive tendencies of the past. The human rights abuses carried out under his watch, too, are acall to action.

The United States must stop providing aid to Egypt because of that action’s illegality underSection 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act and the agrant human rights abuses apparent under El-Sisi and Mansour’s direction. %





CON: Austin WeinsteinEgypt currently receives the 5th-most aid of any country to whom the United States sends

aid. This past year, the U.S. authorized a 1.55 billion dollar aid package to Egypt. 250 million of thataid is economic in purpose, the rest of the aid is military. This aid is in the form of F-16s, Abrams

tanks, and other proprietary (that’s important later) military equipment . A military coup (Yes I’ll call it1

a coup) this summer replaced the democratically-elected President Mohammed Morsi with amilitary leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. After a period of diplomatic uncertainty, The U.S. endedportions of that economic (not military) aid in response to the raids (or crackdowns) that killed atleast 600 protesters that supported President Morsi. That begs a very important question. What wasthe U.S. doing aiding Egypt in the rst place?

The story of U.S. aid towards Egypt begins in 1978. As a condition of the Egyptian-Israelipeace accords (also known as the Camp David Accords), the U.S. supplies aid towards both Israeland Egypt to ensure this peace . The keystone of Israeli-Egyptian peace is this aid. This resolution2

proposes to cut o $ all military aid towards Egypt. This would be an e $ ective rejection of the CampDavid Accords, and an a $ ront towards both Israel and Egypt.

But let’s look at the aid in modern diplomatic terms rather than in the frame of reference of1978. What happens if we cut the aid?

& Egypt’s view: We’re seen as in opposition of the el-Sisi regime, and in favor of the MuslimBrotherhood (regardless of whether or not this is true). We lose an important ally, and the guidingforce of the region. As the term goes, “So goes Egypt, so goes the Middle East” (a.k.a. why theCamp David Accords was one of the biggest diplomatic achievements ever).

& Israel’s view: Israel is a big fan of el-Sisi because he has brought stability to Egypt and has beganwresting control over the volatile Sinai peninsula. We’re seen against Egyptian stability, against el-Sisi, and against a stable mid-east. We also lose ground with an ultra-important ally, who’s not sokeen on us after the Iranian nuclear deal.

& U.S. view: We gain….the favor of the human rights community for taking a stand against a militaryleader.


' Meyer, Theodoric. "F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go, And How Is It Spent?" ProPublica. Pro1

Publica Inc., 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/f.a.q.-on-u.s.-aid-to-egypt-where-does-the-money-go-who-decides-how-spent>.

' Snowden, Edward. "US Embassy Cables: Egypt's Strategic Importance to the US.”theguardian.com. Guardian News2

and Media, 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/ 199866>




Some argue that cutting o $ aid wouldn’t even matter, as Saudi Arabia has pledged to makeup the di $ erence if the U.S. cuts aid . That argument forgets that the U.S. aid is not in hard cash,3

rather it is in proprietary military technology, a condition that greatly sweetened the deal when it rstbegan. In addition, we lose Egypt as an ally, and we’re seen as abandoning the region by Saudi

Arabia and an array of important gulf states.

When el-Sisi took power from the democratically-elected Mohammed Morsi, many peoplesprung up saying that a. this was coup and b. according to the Foreign Assistance Act, the U.S.must cut aid to the country. I don’t dispute that this was a military coup, it was, by denition, amilitary coup. I also don’t dispute that according to the text of the law, we should cut aid to Egypt.But, as we discovered this summer, the U.S. found a clever trick to circumvent this condition . They4

simply didn’t call it a coup. I support this action, not because it is the proper action, but because itis the logical action. If what we have to do to maintain mid-east peace, and keep important allies iscircumvent some diplomatic language, I’m all for it. In fact, I have my own qualms with this “coupclause”. It’s excessively idealistic (think of the million circumstances where an radical regime is

overtaken by a moderate rational one) and ignorant of the diplomatic realities and circumstancesthat I mentioned.

el-Sisi isn’t perfect. He’s not even very good. Nor average. He kinda sucks. He’s been harshon dissenters and he hasn’t done much to improve the country. But he supports maintaining ademocratic Egypt--they just have to work out a solution that is best for a stable, prosperous,democratic Egypt. President Mohammed Morsi led the country into economic stagnation, tooknearly dictatorial measures that he used to further an Islamist agenda that upon which he hadpromised not to act, and was less of an ally to the U.S. than el-Sisi appears to be. The rst Egyptianexperiment into democracy did not work. el-Sisi supports a new constitution that seems to rectifythe mistakes in the rst (reminiscent of U.S. under the Articles of Confederation needing theConstitution) . Cutting U.S. aid would e $ ectively denounce el-Sisi, cause untold problems politically5

in Egypt, disrupt the Egyptian re-transition into democratic rule, and all of the diplomatic problems Ipreviously mentioned.

I argue that keeping the U.S. aid intact, maintaining a stable region, keeping crucial allies,and placating important friends is more important than standing by an idealistic, impractical clausethat would make only the Human Rights Watch happy. %


' Sly, Liz. "Backing Egypt’s Generals, Saudi Arabia Promises Financial Support."Washington Post. Je $ Bezos'3

Moneypit, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-19/world/ 41424062_1_saudi-arabia-obama-administration-saudi-leaders>.

' Landler, Mark. "Aid to Egypt Can Keep Flowing, Despite Overthrow, White House Decides." The New York Times. The4

New York Times Company, 25 July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/world/middleeast/ aid-to-egypt-can-keep-owing-despite-overthrow-white-house-decides.html?_r=1&>.

' Spencer, Richard. "Egypt Military to Retain Key Powers in New Constitution." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 235

May 0021. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/10465842/ Egypt-military-to-retain-key-powers-in-new-constitution.html>.




Works CitedImages:

http://media.web.britannica.com/eb-media/99/90099-050-0302422F.jpg

http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/00772/Mideast_Egypt_New_L_772348a.jpg

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/egyptchange021011/e01_08967231.jpg

Footnotes

Landler, Mark. "Aid to Egypt Can Keep Flowing, Despite Overthrow, White House Decides." The New YorkTimes. The New York Times Company, 25 July 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/

2013/07/26/world/middleeast/aid-to-egypt-can-keep-owing-despite-overthrow-white-house-

decides.html?_r=1&>.

Meyer, Theodoric. "F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go, And How Is It Spent?"ProPublica. Pro Publica Inc., 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/

f.a.q.-on-u.s.-aid-to-egypt-where-does-the-money-go-who-decides-how-spent>.

Sly, Liz. "Backing Egypt’s Generals, Saudi Arabia Promises Financial Support."Washington Post. Je $ Bezos'

Moneypit, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-08-19/world/ 41424062_1_saudi-arabia-obama-administration-saudi-leaders>.

Snowden, Edward. "US Embassy Cables: Egypt's Strategic Importance to the US."Theguardian.com.Guardian News and Media, 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/

us-embassy-cables-documents/199866>.

Spencer, Richard. "Egypt Military to Retain Key Powers in New Constitution." The Telegraph. TelegraphMedia Group, 23 May 0021. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/

africaandindianocean/egypt/10465842/Egypt-military-to-retain-key-powers-in-new-

constitution.html>.

CreditsWritten by Uma Ilavarasan (Background and Pro) and Austin Weinstein (Con)

Formatted and Compiled by Hari Mahesh

Posted on the Website by Julian Boss

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