Spending bill would allow US to resume military aid to Egypt

A congressional bill that lays out the US government’s spending plan for the coming year would allow Washington to resume military aid to Egypt even if Cairo doesn’t comply with certification requirements that it first improve its human rights record.

The Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2015, which will keep the US government funded through September, includes within its $1.1 trillion budgeting some $1.3 billion for Egypt.

The bill reinstalls a waiver giving US Secretary of State John Kerry the right to provide military assistance to Egypt for reasons of “national security” even if the county hasn’t yet implemented key human rights requirements, news website al-Monitor reported.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has been pushing for the US to relax restrictions in military assistance in a move backed by pro-Israel lobbyists and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, all of whom see Egypt as a significant safeguard against the spread of Islamic extremists in the region, the report said.

Hundreds of millions in aid was suspended in October 2013 in response to a military coup led by Sissi that overthrew the Cairo government and an ensuing crackdown on protesters.

In order to use the waiver, Kerry would be required to provide Congress with a “detailed justification” for why the certification requirements should be ignored.

Al-Monitor noted that former secretary of state Hilary Clinton used a similar waiver in 2012 to provide military aid to Egypt.

Advocacy group Human Rights First slammed the development as a failure by the US to bring improvements to Egyptian society.

“The current clampdown on basic rights and freedoms, especially attacks on independent civil society activists, only fuels further instability, makes finding a resolution to the many challenges facing Egypt increasingly difficult,” said Brian Dooley of Human Rights First in a statement. “The United States has several opportunities to persuade the Egyptian regime to lift its repression, including conditioning its military aid on progress in human rights and democracy and calling on authorities to stop their assault on civil society.”

“Congress should not be making it easier for the administration to avoid confronting the issue in its dealings with the Egyptian government,” Dooley warned. “Washington should also make clear that it will condition financial support not just on economic reforms, but also on progress on human rights.”

Before Cairo can qualify for a first installment of some $726 million in aid, the certifications, to be signed off by Kerry, demand that Egypt has held free elections for a democratic parliament that protects individual rights, is implementing changes to allow freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate as well as allowing media to operate without meddling, is protecting women’s rights and has released American citizens that the US considers political prisoners.

The rest of the aid would be provided six months later after Kerry certifies that Egypt is continuing to apply the improved human rights policies.

However, a get-out clause stipulates an exemption from certification in order to fund matters of counter-terrorism and border security as well as activities to prevent the proliferation of weapons in Egypt. Kerry used that provision to slip $525 million in aid to Egypt in June, the report said.

The military aid is considered a main component helping guarantee Egypt’s 30-year-old peace pact with Israel.