US should rethink her policy on Egypt crisis

Whatever reasons they were for the United States to continue providing military aid to the repressive regime in Egypt, the massacre of hundreds of protesters this week should prompt more than a ‘review’ of policy.

Clashes on Wednesday left more than 500 people dead and as the sun set on a ‘Friday of anger’ march yesterday, machine-gun fire could be heard in the streets of Cairo. Clearly, the West has been unable to turn its limited influence on the ruthless generals in charge to the benefit of the Egyptian people.

Despite claims that its officials pressed the military regime not to resort to violence to end weeks of protests against the ouster of a democratically elected leader, the US and its $1.3 billion-a-year cheques have achieved little good here. Indeed, their tacit approval for the coup that toppled Mohammed Morsi looks even worse now as the country descends into chaos. Britain and other Western governments are reportedly ‘reconsidering’ their support. This change of heart may, however, have come too late, with the excesses of the regime having pushed the Muslim Brotherhood into atrocities of its own.

The exchange of an imperfect democracy for sectarian anarchy is a bad outcome for Egypt. The missed opportunities for inclusiveness that doomed Morsi should not also plague the generals that ousted him. They must be pushed harder into taking the steps he wouldn’t to build a democracy.