US Congress split on cutting off aid to Egypt

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON - Members of Congress are split over whether the US should cut off military aid to Egypt, highlighting the difficult choices facing the Obama administration amid spiraling violence on the streets of an important Middle East ally.

Obama has denounced the violence, canceled joint military exercises scheduled for September and delayed the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets. But the White House has refused to declare President Mohammed Mursi's removal a coup — a step that would require Obama to suspend 1.3 billion USD in annual military aid. The president insists that the US stands with Egyptians seeking a democratic government. But he says America cannot determine Egypt's future. Democratic lawmakers have generally supported the president's approach.

"These are very, very difficult choices," Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday. "I'm very unhappy, obviously, with the crackdown. But we essentially have two choices in Egypt. And that's a military government, which hopefully will transition as quickly as possible to civilian government, or the Muslim Brotherhood. I don't think the Muslim Brotherhood is a choice."

But on Sunday, Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, said he would cut off aid to Egypt. Ellison is the first Muslim elected to Congress and is co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

"I would cut off aid but engage in intense diplomacy in Egypt and in the region to try to say, look, we will restore aid when you stop the bloodshed in the street and set up a path towards democracy that you were on before," Ellison said. "In my mind, there's no way to say that this was not a coup. It is. We should say so. And then follow our own law, which says we cannot fund the coup leaders."

Among Republicans, there were growing calls to eliminate military aid to Egypt. But others were more hesitant. Rep. Peter King of New York said curtailing aid could reduce US influence over Egypt's interim government, which controls access to strategic resources, including the Suez Canal.

"I'm reluctant to cut off aid," said King, who chairs the House panel on counterterrorism and intelligence.

King said there are no good choices in Egypt. Mursi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, was democratically elected. But, King said, the group has not demonstrated a commitment to democracy.

The split among members of the same political party illustrates the uncertainty facing President Barack Obama as he tries to navigate volatile developments in Egypt, where crackdowns last week left hundreds dead and thousands more injured.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona renewed his call Sunday to stop aid as the Egyptian military continues to crack down on protesters seeking Morsi's return.

"For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stood for," said the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We're not sticking with our values."