White House might cut aid to Egypt

The White House on Wednesday suggested it plans to cut military aid to Egypt.

The step would come months after Egypt’s elected president was toppled by that country’s military following weeks of street protests and unrest.

{mosads}The Obama administration at the time declined to call Mohamed Morsi’s overthrow a coup, a step that would have required an end to aid.

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Wednesday didn’t explicitly say aid would be cut to the U.S. ally. But he did say an announcement would be coming after Egypt and members of Congress are informed.
He also said the U.S. would not continue to do business as normal with Egypt’s government.

“We will continue to work with the Egyptian government on our core interests and the interests of the Egyptian people … but we’re not going to continue with business as usual,” he said at his daily briefing.

Reports that the U.S. would announce cuts to the $1.3 billion in annual military aid Egypt receives had been circulating before Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the National Security Council on Tuesday told CNN an announcement was forthcoming.
The White House has already ordered the cancelation of joint military exercises and the delivery of some F-16 aircraft.

In August, Obama signaled there would be changes in U.S. aid.

“Going forward, I’ve asked my national security team to assess the implications of the actions taken by the interim government and further steps that we may take as necessary with respect to the U.S.-Egyptian relationship,” he said at the time.