Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Despite growing support for sanctions, Congress remains
divided over whether to suspend U.S. military aid to Egypt.

Congressional aides said most of the House and Senate leadership seek to
maintain the annual $1.55 billion in U.S. aid, 90 percent allocated to the
military, to Egypt.

But many of the members with less seniority were
clamoring for a suspension or reduction in aid to Cairo’s new
military-backed regime.

“There are many areas where we could exercise influence over the generals, and we’re not doing any of it, and we’re not sticking with our values,” Sen. John McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed
Services Committee, said.

McCain said he changed from a supporter to an opponent of U.S. military aid to Egypt in wake of his visit to Cairo early this month. The senator from Arizona said Egypt’s military crackdown on the ousted Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated the lack of regard for U.S. or Western concerns.

“For us to sit by and watch this happen is a violation of everything that we stood for,” McCain said.

In a U.S. television interview on Aug. 18, McCain cited several options
for U.S. sanctions on Egypt. The senator raised the prospect of a suspension
of U.S. military spare parts to Cairo as well as blocking any loan by the
International Monetary Fund.

Several of McCain’s colleagues on the Senate Armed Forces Committee
agreed. Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Sen. Jack Reed have both called for a
suspension of military aid to Cairo, some of which has been used in the
crackdown on the Brotherhood.

“I don’t think we’re buying any friendship with the Egyptian people,”
Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, said. “We are not winning the
hearts and minds of the Egyptian people.”

Congressional aides said U.S. defense majors have lobbied against a
suspension of aid to Egypt. They included General Dynamics and Lockheed
Martin, which were preparing to deliver M1A1 main battle tanks and F-16
multi-role fighters to Cairo’s military. Paul said Egypt’s military was
using the M1A1 to fight the Islamic opposition.

“I think we have to be careful and not cut off our nose to spite our
face,” Rep. Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, said.

Another leading House member agreed. Rep. Peter King, who chairs the
House Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee, warned that any aid
cutoff could hurt U.S. military access to Egypt’s Suez Canal.

“I’m reluctant to cut off aid,” King said.

Egypt has already received its U.S. aid for fiscal 2013. As a result,
any congressional decision to suspend U.S. assistance would not affect Egypt
until at least early 2014.

“What we’re really talking about is a debate that will take place this
fall as we look forward to next year,” Sen. Bob Corker, the ranking
Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said.

But a leading member of Congress, Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the
Senate Appropriations State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, said the
administration has withheld $585 million as well as suspended weapons
deliveries to Cairo. Leahy said the administration has informed Congress of
what he termed the temporary suspension.

“Aid to the Egyptian military has been halted, as required by law,”
Leahy told the U.S. website The Daily Beast on Aug. 19.

For its part, the administration of President Barack Obama has refused
to acknowledge an aid cutoff to Egypt. But the State Department said it was
reviewing assistance programs while holding on to the remaining $585 million
in military aid to Egypt allocated for fiscal 2013, which ends on Sept. 30.

“After sequestration withholding, approximately $585 million remains
unobligated,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Aug. 19. “So,
that is the amount that is unobligated. But it would be inaccurate to say
that a policy decision has been made with respect to the remaining
assistance funding.”

  Congressional newcomers intensify opposition to military aid for Egypt, McCain: U.S. failing to ‘exercise influence’ in Egypt, Rep. Peter King, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Sen. Rand Paul, Senate Armed Services Committee