SELF EXPLANATORY!

In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) warned Egypt’s government that the investigation into foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations could result in a “disastrous” rupture in ties with the U.S., saying “support for Egypt, including continued financial assistance, is in jeopardy.” Senator McCain alsosaid he will be among a group of senators traveling to Egypt for a visit that will include discussions about U.S. military aid. Congress conditioned Egypt’s $1.3 billion in military aid on the country achieving certain democratization benchmarks. At a press conference today, Judge Sameh Abu Zaid said “there is a lot of evidence” against indicted NGO workers, who could face five years in prison for failing to pay taxes, entering Egypt on tourist visas, and training political parties. Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abouel Naga, widely seen as driving the NGO probe, insisted the government had the right to “expel unlicensed foreign organizations.” Egyptian Prime MinisterKamal Al Ganzouri said (Ar) that Egypt will  ”apply the law” and ”will not kneel” nor “change [its] stance because of American aid.”

Writing for Foreign Policy, Freedom House Senior Program Officer Sherif Mansour argues that the U.S. government must “take a moral stand” and “stop subsidizing repression in Egypt with U.S. taxpayer money” by halting Egypt’s aid. James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation agrees, saying the U.S. should offer an ultimatum: “free the American hostages or permanently lose U.S. foreign aid and any American help in refinancing Egypt’s burdensome national debt.”  Adam Entous and Julian Barnes write in the Wall Street Journal that the NGO workers “faced a level of harassment from Egypt’s new rulers that outstrips what they experienced” under former President Hosni Mubarak.  Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program, claims the NGOs “have become the latest scapegoats as the authorities desperately spin their story of foreign conspiracies.” Brian Dooley, writing for Human Rights First, states that “strong NGOs are an essential part of any democracy,”  and Egypt must recognize that the NGO crisis “undermines its relationship with the U.S. and further destabilizes the transition.”