Response from Senator John McCain to my message to him --- October 10, 2013 Dear Dr. Eltoweissy: Thank you for contacting me regarding the developments in Egypt. I apologize for the delayed response and I appreciate hearing your views on this important issue. I have been a long-standing and consistent supporter of democracy and human rights in Egypt. In early 2011, after the Egyptian people widely protested President Mubarak’s policies and presidency, I called for President Mubarak to step down and begin a peaceful, democratic transition of power. I fully supported the free and fair elections that brought President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed political party to power in Egypt. And I spoke out over the past year against the undemocratic practices of the Morsi government. Not all coups are created equal, but a coup is still a coup. President Morsi was elected by a majority of voters, and U.S. law requires the suspension of our foreign assistance to “any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d’état or decree… in which the military plays a decisive role.” I find it hard to describe the situation in Egypt any other way. Congress should review this law to determine whether it serves our national interests, but at this time I believe the United States must suspend assistance to Egypt. The massacre of civilians in Egypt has brought our longstanding relationship with that country to a fork in the road. The interim government and security forces – backed up, unfortunately, by the military – are taking Egypt down a dark path, one that the United States cannot and should not travel with them. I condemn all acts and incitement of violence against civilians, including those that supporters of former President Mohamed Morsi have committed against Christians and other Egyptians. We simply cannot be complicit in the mass slaughter of civilians; it is neither in our long-term national interest nor consistent with our values and laws to do so. I have urged President Obama to suspend U.S. assistance to Egypt and make clear to the current leadership of that country what steps we believe are necessary to halt Egypt’s descent into civil conflict and ultimately to restore our relationship and assistance role, which has historically served U.S. national security interests. Recent horrific violence has only made the difficult goal of national reconciliation in Egypt even harder to achieve, but there is no decent or effective alternative to that process. It is clear to me that most Egyptians do not want a radical Islamist government or a return to military rule. There are steps that all sides can take to save Egypt from a future of protracted instability and stagnation, but Egyptians must make these choices themselves. U.S. influence over events in Egypt, and the Middle East more broadly, has always been limited, but it is still considerable. Whether in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, or the wider region, the failure of the Obama Administration to use our influence to shape events in this critical part of the world has only diminished our credibility, limited our influence, and constrained our policy options. The events now unfolding in the Middle East will directly impact the national security interests of the United States, and we should not remain disengaged. Again, thank you for contacting me on these important issues. Please feel free to contact me on this or any other matter in the future. Sincerely, John McCain United States Senator
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 15:23:24 +0000
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