In an article in the Washington Post, published July 13, US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said "Cut off aid to Egypt."
Their opinion is full of conflicting statements! These 2 Senators are calling for suspension of US aid, since in their mind June 30 Revolution was a military coup, until a "democratic political order" is in place. They are oblivious to the fact that this is exactly what Egypt's "civilian" transitional government has announced for the next 6 months!The relationship between the US & Egypt is based on mutual interest, i.e., it is a 2-way street. The best way to protect US interests in Egypt is to respect the will and interests of the Egyptian people.
It's clear that Senators McCain & Graham are using the Egyptian upheaval to score some cheap gains politically in their traditional partisan warfare (as Republicans) vs. the White House and President Obama (Democrats) with an eye on 2016 elections.
Please see article at bottom.
But before you get there, to see why McCain/Graham are a bit off the deep end in their position, please see below 7:42-minute video of an American nerd, bordering on the genius, who
explains
in an amazingly simple way and rapid-fire manner
the entire Egyptian situation
:
Also, before you get to the McCain/Graham article, please see below an exquisite brief write-up by an Egyptian woman, Dr.
Aisha elKholy,
who in a logical, matter-of-fact manner explains why the 30 June, 2013 Egyptian people revolution is basically an impeachment of then-President Mohamed Morsi.
"
Morsi was super-impeached
"
What happened in Egypt was not a coup.
Nations don't make coups.
Nations make revolutions.
Morsi was impeached by 40 million people, a whole nation.Not much different from the "coup" of 1974 when Americans deposed of their legitimately elected president.
Nixon was forced out by a Congress acting as an agent of the people. What would have happened if Nixon refused to leave and called on his supporters to start a civil war?
I imagine Congress would have been left no other choice but to call the cops to execute the will of the people.And that's what Egyptians did.
The only difference is that in Egypt there was no functioning Congress or Parliament.
So, by default, its authority goes back to the people who appoint Parliaments. And when 30 millions sign a verdict, and 40 millions (a whole nation) take to the streets and shout in one voice "Irhal - Go", then the president is not only impeached, he is super-impeached.
He is fired. And when he defies and calls on his armed supporters to start a civil war, there is no alternative but to call the cops.And call the cops we did. A whole nation called on the only cop available to execute its will and prevent a civil war.
Is there a risk?
There is always a risk.
But people wisely decided that any risk pales in comparison to 3 more years of what Morsi was doing.
The country was already over the cliff. Only a fool would argue to wait 3 more years. All indicators were showing in 3 more years the country will not only be in ruins, but there will be no more free elections as Morsi - instead of governing - was busy implanting his minions in every corner of government to assure perpetual ballot win.
Egypt for him was nothing more than a regional governorate in the future pan-islamic Califate he and his Muslim Brotherhood have been dreaming of since its inception 85 years ago after the fall of the Ottoman Califate.Thank God Egyptians were no fools.
We stunned the world.There is little doubt the "legitimate" rulers in Turkey and Gaza are trembling as they hear footsteps.
Finally, it puzzles most Egyptians and Muslims, why in the world is most Western media advocating so ardently for a theocratic organization the like of which they will never tolerate in their own countries?
I remember how Bush was attacked for "wearing his religion on his sleeve", while Erdogan was praised for doing the same thing.
Why this condescending attitude toward Muslims?
Why does Western liberals consider Muslims so inferior that they don't deserve the same separation of state and religion they enjoy in their own nations?What duplicity and hypocrisy
.
Aisha elKholy,
Ph.D
Then again, confusion re McCain/Graham's position rises to an alarming level when one considers what this American guy(StormCloudsGathering
)
is talking about in below
9:45-minute
video
:
"
Egyptian Revolution: What You're Not Being told
,"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Now, before I leave you to below McCain/Graham article, I ask but two questions:
- Why was I not born a nerd, and if that was my fate then, why did I not strive to become one??
- Why would McCain/Graham open their mouths about Egypt and its issues when they have approximately zero chance of understanding them, from the Egyptian people point-of-view that is? Were they understanding the 30 years of Hosni Mubarak when aid was flowing into Egypt at the rate of approx. $1.5 billion/year. To start with, McCain is not that good in understanding the US issues, let alone Egypt's issues, did he not get clobbered by a junior Senator from Illinois in 2008,365-173 electoral vote, mainly due to his ill-advised positions on many of the US ongoing issues at home and abroad.
Hussein
Cut off aid to Egypt, Senate leaders say
By John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Published: July 13
John McCain and Lindsey Graham, both Republicans, represent Arizona and South Carolina in the Senate, respectively.
Mohamed Morsi’s presidency was a huge missed opportunity. He placed himself above the law, failed to govern inclusively or capably, pursued a narrow ideological agenda and pushed through revisions to Egypt’s constitution that did not secure the basic rights of all citizens. This misrule had dire costs for Egypt’s economy and society, and we have a lot of sympathy for the millions of Egyptians who called on the military to remove Morsi from power.
Not all coups are created equal, but a coup is still a coup. Morsi was elected by a majority of voters, and U.S. law requires the suspension of our foreign assistanceto “any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d’état or decree . . . in which the military plays a decisive role.” We find it hard to describe the situation in Egypt any other way. Congress should review this law to determine whether it serves our national interests, but at this time we believe the United States must suspend assistance to Egypt. This is a difficult decision, but if we expect Egypt and other countries to abide by their laws, then we must abide by ours.
Egypt is not just any country. It is the heart and soul of the Arab world, and the stability of Egypt is a critical U.S. national interest. But we must recognize, as President Obama said, that “the best foundation for lasting stability in Egypt is a democratic political order with participation from all sides and all political parties — secular and religious, civilian and military.” That is all the more reason suspending U.S. assistance to Egypt is both right and necessary.
The prospect of fully restoring our long-standing relationship with Egypt would be the best way to encourage its military and transitional government to take the urgent steps needed to move Egypt toward lasting democracy over the coming months. Those steps should include the participation of Egyptians across the political spectrum to establish a constitutional and democratic system that enjoys maximum public support; protects the basic rights of all Egyptians, including the right to speak freely and demonstrate peacefully; and leads as soon as possible to successful elections for a new civilian government. Egypt’s military and interim government must ensure that the Muslim Brotherhood is included and able to participate in this political process. The Brotherhood must do its part, especially by ceasing its calls for an uprising against the military and by preventing acts of violence by its supporters.
We know that many of our friends in Egypt and the region do not want the United States to suspend assistance. But we are fully committed to encouraging the Egyptian people’s efforts to build an effective and enduring democracy. And if Egyptians join together and move their country toward the democratic future that so many of them have risked so much to achieve, we will be the first to call for a full restoration of U.S. assistance to Egypt.
Until then, we can implement this suspension in a way that furthers our interest in a democratic and secure Egypt. The law allows assistance to civil society groups, election preparations, democracy promotion and other nongovernmental activities in Egypt. We should move urgently to deepen our engagement with the Egyptian people on this basis.
Egyptians will continue to face serious threats during this critical time. We should take every lawful step we can to help our Egyptian partners secure their country, which also benefits U.S. regional allies and our own national security interests. Our law requires a suspension of State Department assistance but not aid from the Defense Department. The president could use those authorities and resources to sustain limited cooperation with the Egyptian military to secure our mutual short-term objectives, such as counterterrorism, border security, intelligence sharing and the maintenance of regional peace.
If events in Egypt and the broader Middle East over the past three years have taught us anything, it should be that we may pay a short-term price by standing up for our democratic values, but it is in our long-term national interest to do so. Ultimately, that is the best thing the United States can do to support our friends in Egypt and around the world. Our friends may disagree with us now, but in time they will come to respect us more for it.
--
"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it -- but all that had gone before." Jacob Riis
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