US ducks decision on Egypt 'coup'

Egyptian supporters of the deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi (back) clash with riot police in Cairo early yesterday. Photo: AFP, Reuters

Washington has decided to avoid the tricky question of whether the toppling of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi was a coup, which would have forced a freeze of $1.5 billion in aid.
"The law does not require us to make a formal determination... as to whether a coup took place, and it is not in our national interest to make such a determination," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday.
She clearly signaled that for the time being millions of dollars in US military and economic assistance would continue to flow to Egypt, the most populous Arab country and a key regional ally.
"Continued provision of assistance to Egypt, consistent with our law, is important to our goal of advancing a responsible transition to democratic governance and is consistent with our national security interest," Psaki told reporters.
The military drove Morsi from power on July 3 during massive protests against Egypt's first democratically elected president.
After his ouster, President Barack Obama ordered his administration to review the legal implications for US aid under a law which forbids all but humanitarian aid to countries where an elected leader has been deposed by a military coup.

A security personnel fires at pro-Morsi supporters as a pro-army supporter throws rock at opponents. Egypt's interior minister pledged that protests calling for the reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Morsi would be dispersed as soon as possible after dozens of pro-Morsi supporters were killed in clashes. Photo: AFP, Reuters

But earlier this week, in a veiled warning that the Egyptian military and interim government must return the country to democracy, Washington suspended delivery of four F-16 fighters that had been expected in the coming weeks.
The issue of whether to cut off aid to Egypt has polarized US political circles.
There are growing fears that Egypt -- one of only two Arab nations to have a peace treaty with Israel --- is plunging into a period of prolonged instability.
Annual US military aid to Egypt of some $1.3 billion -- which is topped up by further economic aid -- covers some 80 percent of the yearly costs of buying new equipment for the Egyptian military.