President Barack Obama scrapped plans for joint American-Egyptian military exercises, announcing the first concrete U.S. reaction to the spiralling violence in and around Cairo but stopping well short of withholding $1.3 billion in annual American military aid.
The measured response on Thursday underscored the Obama administration’s concern that revoking financial support could further destabilize Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country and an important U.S. ally in a combustible region. And it was unclear whether the cancellation of the military exercises, known as Bright Star, would have any impact in stemming the violence that threatens the interim Egyptian government’s promises of a political transition following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsy.
The president, speaking from his rented vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard, warned that continued fighting would lead Egypt down a “dangerous path,” and he called on both the government and protesters to show restraint. He said that while close engagement with Egypt was in U.S. national security interests, “our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back.”
More than 600 were confirmed killed and thousands had been wounded since Wednesday in clashes between Egypt’s military-backed interim government and Morsy supporters. The government has declared a nationwide state of emergency and night-time curfew.
Egypt’s interim government issued a statement late Thursday saying the country is facing “terrorist actions targeting government and vital institutions.” The government said Obama’s statement while “not based on facts can empower the violent militant groups and encourage them in its anti-stability discourse.”
It said that Egypt enjoys “full sovereignty and independence of its decision.”
Egypt’s political upheaval has put the Obama administration in an awkward diplomatic position. The White House strongly supported the pro-democracy protests that forced out long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but it has refused to condemn the military’s removal of Mr. Morsy, who was subsequently elected in the country’s first democratic balloting.
If the U.S. were to declare Mr. Morsy’s ouster a coup, the Obama administration would be legally required to cut off military aid.
U.S. officials informed Egypt’s leaders Thursday morning of the decision to cancel the Bright Star exercises. Mr. Obama also ordered his national security team to review other steps the administration might take in response to the political upheaval.
U.S. Congressional officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties welcomed the decision but pressed Obama to go further.
Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said that “aid to the Egyptian military should cease unless they restore democracy.” And Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican, urged Obama to “stop skirting the issue, follow the law, and cancel all foreign aid to Egypt.”
The careful U.S. reaction to the deadly violence has also angered and confused many Egyptians, particularly supporters of Mr. Morsy, a senior leader of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. He was elected in 2012 after pro-democracy protests and international pressure including from the U.S. forced Mr. Mubarak from power.
Just one year into his term, Mr. Morsy faced separate protests, with millions of Egyptians gathering in the streets to call for him to step down. They accused him of giving the Muslim Brotherhood sweeping influence and failing to enact promised economic reforms.
Mr. Obama, addressing what he called the “complexity of the situation,” said on Thursday that the U.S. would not take sides in Egypt’s political struggles and could not be responsible for determining its future.
“I know it’s tempting inside of Egypt to blame the United States or the West or some other outside actor for what’s gone wrong,” he said. “We’ve been blamed by supporters of Morsy. We’ve been blamed by the other side, as if we are supporters of Morsy.”
“That kind of approach will do nothing to help Egyptians achieve the future that they deserve,” Mr. Obama said.
The military-backed government has pledged to amend the Islamist-backed constitution adopted under Mr. Morsy last year. The interim leaders have also promised to hold parliamentary and presidential elections early next year.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, in a phone call with Egyptian Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, suggested there could be further consequences for the decades-long military ties between the two countries if the interim government does not quickly move toward political reconciliation.
“The Department of Defence will continue to maintain a military relationship with Egypt, but I made it clear that the violence and inadequate steps toward reconciliation are putting important elements of our longstanding defence cooperation at risk,” Mr. Hagel said in a statement following the call.
The Bright Star manoeuvres long the centrepiece of U.S. military cooperation with Egypt was scheduled to begin next month and last for three weeks. Several other countries, including Turkey, Jordan and Britain, have also participated in the ground, air and naval exercises.
The U.S. also postponed the once-every-two-years exercises in 2011. Egypt at the time was grappling with the fallout from the revolution that ousted Mubarak.
