[Peace-discuss] Obey the Law: U.S. Must Cut Aid to Egypt After Military Coup

Wed Jul 10 00:57:02 UTC 2013

Here's our alert on cutting aid to Egypt.

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From: Just Foreign Policy <info at justforeignpolicy.org>
Date: Tue, Jul 9, 2013 at 7:17 PM
Subject: Obey the Law: U.S. Must Cut Aid to Egypt After Military Coup
To: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org

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Policy]<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=kHEjLQxDp7t50FBRkPohL7c7EvLKKyAP>

Dear Robert,

*Tell Washington to follow the law and suspend U.S. aid to Egypt after the
military coup.*
Take Action<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8eM2ohHiKnGDxmqmDKxsyJsDKjMQhvD4>

 Last week, there was a military coup in Egypt that removed the
democratically elected president from office. Yesterday, the Egyptian
military killed more than 50 people who were protesting the coup. [1]

No matter what one thinks of President Morsi, a coup is a coup. By
longstanding U.S. law, U.S. aid to Egypt—which happens to be mostly
military aid—must be suspended until a democratically elected government
takes office. If the law isn’t followed in this case, it will send a signal
to U.S.-supported militaries around the world that they can overthrow
elected governments without jeopardizing U.S. military aid.

*Demand that President Obama follow the law, and urge your Representative
and Senators to insist that he do so.*

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/egypt-coup<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=AFCugbpNXdmtD6qGkjBFVrc7EvLKKyAP>
*

The law says: [2]

*Coups d'Etat*

Sec. 7008. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available
pursuant to titles III through VI of this Act shall be obligated or
expended to finance directly any assistance to the government of any
country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup
d'etat or decree or, after the date of enactment of this Act, a coup d'etat
or decree in which the military plays a decisive role: Provided, That
assistance may be resumed to such government if the President determines
and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that subsequent to the
termination of assistance a democratically elected government has taken
office: Provided further, That the provisions of this section shall not
apply to assistance to promote democratic elections or public participation
in democratic processes: Provided further, That funds made available
pursuant to the previous provisos shall be subject to the regular
notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.

There is no Presidential waiver or national security waiver for this law.
If the President wants to continue U.S. aid to Egypt in spite of the coup,
he must obtain a specific Congressional waiver for this purpose. [3]
Senators Patrick Leahy, Carl Levin, and John McCain have called for
suspending U.S. aid, as the law requires. [4]

It makes no difference to the law if we like a democratically elected
government overthrown by a coup or we don’t; a coup is a coup. It makes no
difference if supporters of the coup say it’s not a coup – supporters of
coups in Honduras, Venezuela, Chile and Iran also claimed that those coups
weren’t coups.

In July 2009, less than a month after the coup in Honduras, U.S. Ambassador
Hugo Llorens sent a cable to Washington, explaining why the case that the
ouster of the Zelaya government in Honduras was a coup was “open and shut.”
[5] The only question that mattered for Ambassador Llorens’ conclusion was
whether the Honduran military’s ouster of President Zelaya was
constitutional and legal, which it clearly wasn’t. If the coup in Honduras
was a coup, then the coup in Egypt was a coup.

If the Obama Administration is allowed to get away with playing word games
to avoid following the law in this case, it will set a dangerous precedent,
making coups in other countries more likely.

*Urge President Obama to follow the law, and urge your Representative and
Senators to demand that he do so. *

*http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/egypt-coup<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=3iziq4g3AU0vLfnWMBHBvbc7EvLKKyAP>
*

Thank you for all you do to help bring about a more just foreign policy,

Robert Naiman, Chelsea Mozen, Sarah Burns and Megan Iorio
Just Foreign Policy

*Help fund our work—donate to Just Foreign Policy!* With our small staff
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References:

1. “Army Kills 51, Deepening Crisis in Egypt,” David D. Kirkpatrick and
Kareem Fahim, New York Times, July 8, 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/world/middleeast/egypt.html<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=4TZjBYfLeIQdWha7Lo%2Bge7c7EvLKKyAP>
2. “Provisions Relevant To The Situation In Egypt In The FY12 State
Department And Foreign Operations Appropriations Law,” webpage of Senator
Patrick Leahy, July 3, 2013,
http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/provisions-relevant-to-the-situation-in-egypt-in-the-fy12-state-department-and-foreign-operations-appropriations-law_--<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=QuJA6jHmt%2Bi43eu%2FHnFLtLc7EvLKKyAP>
3. “U.S. has spotty record on law requiring it to cut aid after coups,” Max
Fisher, Washington Post, July 5, 2013,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/05/u-s-has-spotty-record-on-law-requiring-it-to-cut-aid-after-coups/<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=PavDoVLvxNdwklqhUeNGFLc7EvLKKyAP>
4. “Carl Levin wants to suspend aid to Egypt,” Burgess Everett, Politico,
July 8, 2013,
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/carl-levin-egypt-aid-93854.html<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=2zlLJS5bzr%2B%2BDa%2BJaQZbpbc7EvLKKyAP>
5. “Open and Shut: The Case of the Honduran Coup,” Ambassador Hugo Llorens,
July 24, 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/28/world/20101128-cables-viewer.html?hp&_r=0#report/cables-09TEGUCIGALPA645<http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9P6c1RX3OZFo9NvYD048VJsDKjMQhvD4>

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-- 
Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
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