Egyptian Opposition Pushes Back Against Morsi’s Autocratic Ambitions

Protesters are clashing with police in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo: Polaris/Newscom)

Egypt has been rocked once again by a political crisis triggered by President Mohamed Morsi’s relentless efforts to secure dictatorial power. Hundreds of protesters from liberal and secular opposition groups demonstrated in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of Egypt’s stunted “Arab Spring” revolt. One barometer of the coming test of strength between Morsi and the weak and splintered opposition will be whether the disappointed democrats can retain control over Tahrir Square in the face of police and Muslim Brotherhood countermoves.
Egypt’s judiciary also has pushed back against Morsi’s power grab. The Supreme Council of the Judiciary denounced Morsi’s unilateral assertion of power over the judiciary as “an unprecedented attack on judicial independence.” The Judges Club, an association of judges made up of many appointees by the Mubarak regime, called for a strike by courts across Egypt.
But the judges alone will not be enough to reverse Morsi’s power grab. The key vote will be wielded by the armed forces. Morsi appears confident that he can count on support from key military leaders, whom he hand-picked after purging the top ranks of Mubarak loyalists in August.
While the army’s ultimate verdict on Morsi’s power grab is not yet apparent, Egypt’s investors voted with their wallets and withdrew their money from Egypt’s stock market, which plunged almost 10 percent on Sunday. Even if Morsi does secure the backing of the army, his assertion of dictatorial powers will further undermine what little confidence remains in Egypt’s deteriorating economy.
Morsi is acting as if he expects the United States and others among Egypt’s creditors to turn a blind eye to his lunge for power as a sign of gratitude for his help in brokering an unstable ceasefire in Gaza. But the Obama Administration must not abandon America’s founding principles in supporting the rule of law, liberty, religious tolerance, and political freedom. It must push back against Morsi’s illegitimate assertion of unchecked power. This will encourage opposition leaders and perhaps even Egyptians who remain on the fence to vigorously reject Morsi’s aggressive power grab.
The bottom line is that Islamists have hijacked Egypt’s “Arab Spring” and are choking off any possibility of a Gaza “Arab Spring” by fomenting endless conflict with Israel.

U.S. Aid to Egypt and Libya: Tight Strings Needed

The Obama Administration is finalizing an aid package to Egypt that includes forgiving approximately $1 billion of Egypt’s debt to the United States. This is in addition to about $1.5 billion in annual U.S. foreign aid. However, the lax reaction of Egypt’s new Islamist government to the violent demonstrations at the U.S. embassy in Cairo has raised questions about the motivations of Egypt’s new Islamist leaders. Congress should monitor the Administration’s ongoing aid negotiations with Cairo and ensure that conditions are attached to any forthcoming aid that will advance U.S. national interests.
Washington provides much less aid to Libya’s new government—about $200 million since the start of the uprising in 2011. In contrast to Egypt, the Libyan government has reportedly been more forthcoming in offering security help in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed four Americans. The U.S. should continue its small aid program as long as the Libyan government continues to cooperate in shoring up security for U.S. diplomats, tracking down the terrorists responsible for the Benghazi attack, and preventing al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremists from establishing a sanctuary inside Libya.
Egypt’s Drift Toward Islamism
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a longtime member of the anti-Western Muslim Brotherhood, has set Egypt on a troubling new foreign policy course since coming to power in June. His government has distanced itself from Washington while cozying up to China, improving relations with Iran, and violating its peace treaty with Israel. Morsi’s first trip outside the Middle East was to China. He embraced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at an Islamic summit in Saudi Arabia and became the first Egyptian leader to visit Iran since the 1979 revolution.
Morsi’s government has also undermined Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel. After an August 5 terrorist attack by Islamist militants killed 16 Egyptian border guards in the Sinai, Cairo deployed tanks close to the Israeli border, a violation of the U.S.-brokered treaty.[1] Under the guise of fighting terrorism, Morsi will use the Sinai campaign to boost his political position at home, thumb his nose at Israel, and escalate Egypt’s cooperation with Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood that controls Gaza and remains adamantly committed to Israel’s destruction. He has already invited Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to Cairo and has eased border restrictions between Gaza and Egypt.
The recent attacks on the U.S. embassy in Cairo have deepened American concerns about Egypt’s new government. Despite advance warning about plans by ultra-radical Islamists to mount a protest demonstration on September 11, Egyptian security forces were suspiciously lax in restraining the crowd, which invaded the embassy grounds, tore down the American flag, and replaced it with a flag that resembled al-Qaeda’s black banner.
President Morsi’s nonchalant public reaction to the embassy attack only compounded the problem. Instead of immediately denouncing the attack and taking action to upgrade security around the embassy—as Libyan and Yemeni leaders have done after similar events—Morsi waited a day before casually issuing a mild rebuke to the rioters via Facebook. Morsi’s ambivalent approach to fulfilling Egypt’s legal obligation to protect foreign diplomats did little to reassure Washington or deter future riots at the embassy. In fact, his Muslim Brotherhood supporters have made the situation worse by calling for more anti-American protests.
President Morsi belatedly promised to protect U.S. diplomats in a phone call with President Obama and a statement issued in Brussels. Egyptian security around the Cairo embassy appears to have been increased for today’s demonstrations, but Morsi’s halfhearted approach to fulfilling his government’s legal obligations to protect diplomats requires the Obama Administration and Congress to send clear signals that continued foot-dragging on security cooperation will put at risk U.S. foreign aid and cooperation in reducing Egypt’s heavy debt burden.
Libya’s Good-Faith Effort
Libya’s new government has struggled to maintain internal security and law and order in the face of challenges from independent militias. It did move quickly to denounce the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and has offered its cooperation in finding the terrorists responsible for the September 11 attack.
Libyan authorities are tracking down the perpetrators of the attack and reportedly have made four arrests. It would be a mistake to cut off aid to Libya’s newly established government as long as it is cooperating on this important matter. That would only advance the goals of the Islamist extremists who launched the attack and seek to reduce Western influence in their country, undermine the government’s authority, and hijack Libya’s revolution.
Aid Is for Allies
The U.S. currently provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in military aid and is supporting Cairo’s efforts to negotiate a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. Additionally, the Obama Administration has offered to reduce Egypt’s $3.2 billion debt to the U.S. by $1 billion. The details of the debt reduction are still being finalized, but it is expected to be a combination of debt swaps—using money for debt payments for other specified programs—and direct relief. The Administration has indicated that the cost of the deal would be covered almost entirely by funds reprogrammed from previous leftover foreign aid appropriations.
Congress should exercise its oversight powers to evaluate the aid package and the Morsi government’s suitability for continued aid. It should approve the debt reduction package and continued foreign aid only if the Egyptian government makes ironclad commitments to:

• Fully protect U.S. citizens and property, particularly the U.S. embassy and other diplomatic posts;
• Maintain the peace treaty with Israel and stop deploying additional forces in the Sinai without prior Israeli approval;
• Cooperate in fighting al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations; and
• Implement policies that protect the rights of its citizens, including freedom of religion, expression, and association, as well as due process of law.

Similarly, the U.S. has provided about $200 million to Libya since the uprising in 2011, including $89 million in humanitarian assistance, $40 million in weapons abatement, and $25 million in nonlethal assistance from Department of Defense stockpiles. About $13 million is projected for U.S. foreign aid in fiscal year 2012.
Aid Is Not an Entitlement
American foreign aid is a tool for advancing U.S. national interests, not an entitlement program for international social work. As President Obama suggested in his Telemundo interview on Wednesday, it is increasingly unclear whether Cairo remains an ally.
Washington has strong reasons to help Egypt make the difficult transition to a stable democracy that can be an important partner in bringing stability to the turbulent Middle East, maintaining peace with Israel, and defeating Islamist terrorists, but President Morsi must act like an ally. If Morsi’s new government maintains Egypt’s past commitments to stabilizing the Middle East, adequately protects foreign diplomats and foreign visitors, and respects the rights of its own people, then it deserves continued American support.
Likewise, Washington should continue aid to Libya as long as the Libyan government continues to cooperate in shoring up security for U.S. diplomats, tracking down the terrorists responsible for the Benghazi attack, and preventing al-Qaeda and other Islamist extremists from establishing a sanctuary inside Libya.