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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumSlate's Fred Kaplan: Stop Paying the Generals
Stop Paying the Generals
President Obama must cut off aid to Egypts militarynow.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, at 3:48 PM
President Obama makes a statement about the violence in Egypt while at his rental vacation home at Martha's Vineyard on Aug. 15, 2013. The time for talk is over, though, and the time for ending military aid to Egypt is now. Photo by Larry Downing/Reuters
The United States should cut off all military aid to Egypt.
There! That was quick, easy, morally satisfying. It might even be strategically smart. Or it might not be. Would cutting off aid have any effect on the Egyptian militarys actions, or on Americas reputation among the Egyptian people, or on the contours of Middle Eastern politics? Would continuing aid have any such effect? What kind of effect would we like our policies to have on the country and the region? And even if we figured that one out, how much leverage can weor any outside powerexert to make it so?
In its latest IntelBrief, the Soufan Group defines geopolitical policymaking in a complex environment as the cognitive equivalent of juggling knives of different sizes while riding a unicycle on an uneven surface, adding, Few can do this at all, and fewer still are able to do it well.
No wonder, then, that President Obama seemed rather feckless on Thursday, as he took a break from golfing on Marthas Vineyard to declare that, in response to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisis brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Cairo (the death toll had already exceeded 500), the United States was canceling next months joint military exercise. Obama said nothing about the annual $1.5 billion in U.S. military aid , nor did he come any closer to characterizing the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi as a coupa statement that, by U.S. law, would have required a suspension of aid.
more...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2013/08/president_obama_should_end_aid_to_egypt_the_country_s_generals_act_on_their.html
President Obama must cut off aid to Egypts militarynow.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Friday, Aug. 16, 2013, at 3:48 PM
President Obama makes a statement about the violence in Egypt while at his rental vacation home at Martha's Vineyard on Aug. 15, 2013. The time for talk is over, though, and the time for ending military aid to Egypt is now. Photo by Larry Downing/Reuters
The United States should cut off all military aid to Egypt.
There! That was quick, easy, morally satisfying. It might even be strategically smart. Or it might not be. Would cutting off aid have any effect on the Egyptian militarys actions, or on Americas reputation among the Egyptian people, or on the contours of Middle Eastern politics? Would continuing aid have any such effect? What kind of effect would we like our policies to have on the country and the region? And even if we figured that one out, how much leverage can weor any outside powerexert to make it so?
In its latest IntelBrief, the Soufan Group defines geopolitical policymaking in a complex environment as the cognitive equivalent of juggling knives of different sizes while riding a unicycle on an uneven surface, adding, Few can do this at all, and fewer still are able to do it well.
No wonder, then, that President Obama seemed rather feckless on Thursday, as he took a break from golfing on Marthas Vineyard to declare that, in response to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisis brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Cairo (the death toll had already exceeded 500), the United States was canceling next months joint military exercise. Obama said nothing about the annual $1.5 billion in U.S. military aid , nor did he come any closer to characterizing the ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi as a coupa statement that, by U.S. law, would have required a suspension of aid.
more...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2013/08/president_obama_should_end_aid_to_egypt_the_country_s_generals_act_on_their.html
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Slate's Fred Kaplan: Stop Paying the Generals (Original Post)
flpoljunkie
Aug 2013
OP
I do believe he's fully aware of the Saudis' and Emirates' contributions to Egypt.
flpoljunkie
Aug 2013
#3
hlthe2b
(102,227 posts)1. Slate's Fred Kaplan is clueless...
Our $$ are not what is funding the Generals--it is the Saudis and the Emiratis... See JMach1's post on the issue.
Given the massive amounts of money being poured in from the regions' big players to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood, our role and our money has become comparatively inconsequential...But, to cut it off would be a symbolic play that would surely have major future consequences. We are truly boxed in with respect to Egypt, as much as none of us likes it.
flpoljunkie
(26,184 posts)3. I do believe he's fully aware of the Saudis' and Emirates' contributions to Egypt.
Last edited Sun Aug 18, 2013, 07:22 AM - Edit history (1)
hlthe2b
(102,227 posts)4. You know Fred personally?
flpoljunkie
(26,184 posts)5. You read the article?
LiberalFighter
(50,891 posts)2. Best approach imo would be to wean them off of it.