Rep. King warns Obama to keep the pressure on Egyptian leader

{mosads}“Well, the president will be going to UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly, in September, and he will, I’m sure, encounter a number of leaders ― after all, that’s a gathering of world leaders ― including the new Egyptian president there,” Carney said at his press briefing. “There are no planned bilateral meetings in Washington around UNGA with any leader.”

Some lawmakers argue that the United States should link its $1.3 billion in annual military aid to human rights and good relations with Israel. 

King said Morsi’s statement after his election calling for the release on humanitarian grounds of Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” imprisoned in the United States after inspiring the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was a “disgraceful” way to kick off his presidency. He called on Obama to “make that point emphatically.”

“Morsi may say that he is not an extremist and wants to maintain a friendly relationship with the United States, but such statements raise serious concerns as to how his policies will actually develop,” King said. “Morsi’s words thus far raise very critical doubts as to whether we can expect real cooperation from Egypt on security matters and whether he will in fact honor the letter and the spirit of Egypt’s treaty obligations with Israel.”