U.S. should cut security aid to Egypt by $300 million, new report suggests

A new report that looks at the use of U.S. aid to Egypt recommends that instead of beefing up funding, security aid should be cut by $300 million per year.

The report, released by the Project on Middle East Democracy and the Center for International Policy on Tuesday, found that the Egyptian government has “misused” American assistance and suggests the fund should be repurposed for humanitarian assistance in the global efforts to combat COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

“A significant reduction in military aid will signal to the Egyptians that U.S. assistance is not an entitlement, but rather is dependent on their conduct,” the report states.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has drawn criticism from rights groups for enforcing tight controls on media and civil society since coming power in Cairo nearly seven years ago in a military coup that drove Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammad Morsi from office.

Morsi had been elected president after the 2011 Arab Spring revolution in Egypt but was facing major protests himself by 2013.

The report alleges that since taking over in 2013, Mr. el-Sissi has led “the most repressive Egyptian state in modern history.”

“His regime has engaged in a systematic pattern of gross human rights violations, from gunning down peaceful protesters in the streets to jailing tens of thousands of political opponents, severely restricting the ability of independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to operate, all but eliminating a free and independent press, and perpetuating tensions between Muslims and Christians,” the report states.

President Trump is widely seen to have a close relationship with Mr. el-Sissi and views the Egyptian president as a key partner on countering terrorism in Libya, which neighbors Egypt to the west in North Africa.

But the report recommends that the U.S. should alter the regular security assistance to prohibit corruption and demand that journalists and U.S. officials are granted access to northern Sinai to monitor the actions of the Egyptian military and provide accountability.

“If the [el-Sissi] regime continues to repress human rights, torture and kill civilians with impunity, shut down prospects for democratic reform, and allow and encourage corruption on the part of the military, there may come a point that continued U.S. military assistance is no longer tenable,” the report concluded.