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U.S. Announces Reduction of Military Aid to Egypt In Crackdown Response, U.S. Temporarily Freezes Some Military Aid to Egypt
(about 2 hours later)
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a modest and temporary freeze on military assistance to Egypt. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Wednesday announced a modest and temporary freeze on military assistance to Egypt, even as American officials stressed their desire to avoid rupturing a security relationship that stretches back more than three decades.
To signal its displeasure with the Egyptian military’s crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, the United States will withhold the delivery of Apache attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles and M1-A1 tanks parts. It will also hold up $260 million in aid for the Egyptian budget. To signal its displeasure at the Egyptian military’s bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, officials said, the United States would withhold the delivery of several big-ticket items, including Apache attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles, M1-A1 tank parts and F-16 warplanes, as well as $260 million for the general Egyptian budget.
But the administration will continue aid for Egypt’s counterterrorism programs and its efforts to protect its borders and secure the Sinai Peninsula, which has become a haven for extremists. Programs to train and educate Egyptian military officials in the United States will also be continued. But in a sign of how the administration is balancing its interests, senior officials said the United States would continue aid for counterterrorism programs as well as for Egypt’s efforts to protect its borders and secure the Sinai, which has become a haven for extremists.
American officials emphasized that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had a friendly phone conversation on Wednesday with Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the army chief who led the ouster in July of Mohamed Morsi, the president elected with the support of the Muslim Brotherhood. In announcing the decision, administration officials reiterated that the Egyptian military’s brutal repression of supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, was not acceptable. But in explaining their specific steps, American officials sounded like they were reaffirming a valuable relationship rather than delivering a rebuke.
The White House has taken the position that it does not regard Mr. Morsi’s ouster as a “coup.” But in presenting its decision on aid on Wednesday, administration officials continued to stress that the Egyptian military’s heavy-handed crackdown on supporters of Mr. Morsi was not acceptable. “This is not meant to be permanent; this is meant to be the opposite,” a senior administration official said. “It is meant to be continually reviewed.” Still, he added, “it’s fair to say that holding up hundreds millions of dollars of assistance is a pretty clear message.”
Still, in explaining their moves, American officials sounded more as if they were affirming a valuable relationship than delivering a punishing rebuke. Among the assistance that will be untouched, officials said, are programs to train and educate Egyptian military officials in the United States; the delivery of spare parts for many American-supplied weapons; and aid for health care, education and promotion of business in Egypt.
The assistance the administration is holding back, officials said, could be restored if General Sisi takes steps toward restoring democracy. The administration conveyed the news in a phone call on Wednesday from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi, the army chief who led the ouster of Mr. Morsi. American officials portrayed the phone call as friendly.
The administration’s explanation of its policy appeared to leave plenty of room for the prompt resumption of aid, if events in Egypt proceed according to the current plans of its new military-backed government. The administration also continued to take the position that it was not obligated to classify Mr. Morsi’s ouster as a “coup” — a judgment that could have required a wholesale suspension in aid. The aid that the administration is holding back, officials said, could be restored if Egypt’s interim leaders take steps toward restoring democracy.
According to its timetable, a 50-member committee is scheduled to complete work within a few weeks on a package of constitutional amendments, and the revisions are expected to move swiftly to a national referendum. The announcement laid bare the underlying calculations that have shaped the United States’ effort to respond to the upheaval in Egypt ever since the crackdown began in July, leaving more than 1,000 people dead.
Most analysts say the package is likely to win approval, in part because the government has jailed most leaders of the Islamist opposition and shut down most of its news media. And if it does pass, the charter’s ratification could give the Obama administration a chance to reopen some of the suspended aid. American officials have long doubted that cutting back military aid would have any effect on the behavior of Egypt’s military-backed government. The United States also does not want to jeopardize security interests in Egypt, notably counterterrorism efforts, the stability of the Sinai Peninsula and the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
The details and tone of what American officials called their “recalibration” of American military assistance prompted an indifferent reaction from Egyptian officials. Critics on Capitol Hill, however, said the administration was failing to send a signal to leaders who seized power in a coup, imposed martial law and carried out a systematic repression of the Islamist opposition.
Israeli officials, on the other hand, initially expressed concern. “The administration is trying to have it both ways, by suspending some aid but continuing other aid,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, who is chairman of the subcommittee that appropriates aid to Egypt. “By doing that, the message is muddled.”
The anomalous reactions, in which the recipient of the aid appeared less worried than its ostensible rival, illustrated the awkward triangle of public and private relationships that has grown up around the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that the United States helped seal three decades ago — and also why, for Washington, trimming the aid is an ungainly tactic. Some experts said the moves were meant to be more symbolic than substantive.
For Israel, the American aid to Egypt is a vital ingredient in holding the peace together, even though it is not an explicit part of either the Camp David accords reached in 1978 or the treaty signed the next year. “This is not a signal to the generals to get their act together,” said Tamara Cofman Wittes, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Studies at the Brookings Institution. “It is an effort by the administration to say, ‘You did what you did, and we want to keep working with you, but there is some price to be paid for not listening to us.’ ”
“Our interest is basically having the peace with Egypt continue,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said last week in a radio interview, adding, “That peace was premised on American aid to Egypt, and I think that for us is the most important consideration, and I’m sure that’s taken under advisement in Washington.” “At the end of day,” she added, “it is a pretty symbolic price.”
The administration’s explanation of its policy appeared to open the door for the prompt resumption of aid, if events in Egypt proceed according to the plans of its military-backed government.
According to its timetable, a 50-member committee is scheduled to complete work within a few weeks on a package of constitutional amendments that would be included in a national referendum.
Most analysts say the package is likely to win approval, in part because the government has jailed most leaders of the Islamist opposition and shut down most of its media. The charter’s ratification could give the Obama administration a chance to reopen some of the aid suspended.
Still, there were also signs that some of the developments that have troubled the United States might continue. On Wednesday, the Egyptian government said Mr. Morsi’s trial would begin on Nov. 4. He has been charged with inciting his followers to kill his government’s opponents.
“They’re saying many of the right things,” a senior administration official said. “But it’s important for us to see many of those things happen.”
The details and tone of what American officials called their “recalibration” of United States military assistance prompted a nonchalant reaction from Egyptian officials. Israeli officials, on the other hand, initially expressed concern.
The reactions — with the aid recipient appearing less worried than its ostensible rival — illustrated the awkward triangle of public and private relationships that has grown up around the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel and that the United States helped seal three decades ago.
Egyptians officials know that they can count on Israel to lobby Washington on their behalf to keep the aid flowing. They also know that, while the aid is vital to the Egyptian military, appearing dependent on the United States — or even appearing eager for American support — is deeply unpopular with the Egyptian public.
The Egyptian and Israeli militaries have closely cooperated in trying to maintain security in the Sinai.
Israeli officials also say that American aid to Egypt is a vital ingredient in holding the peace together, even though it is not an explicit part of either the two nations’ 1979 treaty or the Camp David accords the year before.
“Our interest is basically having the peace with Egypt continue,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said last week in a radio interview, adding: “That peace was premised on American aid to Egypt, and I think that for us is the most important consideration. And I’m sure that’s taken under advisement in Washington.”

David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem.

David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting from Cairo, and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem.