US insists aid to Egypt in interest of regional security

The United States indicated it would continue giving foreign aid to Egypt, despite criticism from a top U.S. lawmaker over the government's crackdown on pro-democracy groups and freedom of expression. Pressed for comment on the matter of funding the Egyptian security apparatus, U.S. State Department spokesperson Jennifer Psaki, late Friday, said the foreign military financing (FMF) provided to the Egyptian government "has helped to preserve important regional interests, such as maintaining access to the Suez Canal and the interdiction of weapons smuggling, and this is something that is of course carefully considered as we provide aid." The comments came a day after Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona gave an address at the Brookings Institute think-tank here, where he insisted that Congress must reevaluate the circumstances under which assistance is provided to Egypt. "Egypt must show that it is a good investment of our scarce resources, that the return on this investment will be a freer, more democratic, more tolerant Egypt. If not, I believe that Congress will spend its money elsewhere. That's just a fact," McCain said. Last month, Secretary of State John Kerry acted to provide USD 1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt, despite stating on May 9 that he was not satisfied with Egypt's transition toward democracy. Under U.S. law, such assistance must be accompanied by steps toward civilian government and policies to protect freedom of speech, but that condition can be waived if it is in the U. S. security interest to provide FMF. Egypt sentenced 43 local and foreign employees of various pro-democracy non-profit organizations (NGOs) on Tuesday to jail terms of up to five years. The U.S. says, however, that the FMF to Egypt is not tied to these events. "We have provided aid that we feel has been essential to our security, to the Egyptian government's regional security," said Psaki. "That doesn't mean we're not concerned about the recent ruling in the NGO case. Of course we are, as we have expressed repeatedly this week. And that's something we continue to press on in our conversations with the Egyptian government," she said. U.S. military aid to Egypt varies from year to year, but averages about USD two billion annually. Egypt receives the largest sum of U.S. foreign aid after Israel.