Acknowledging the difficulty of squaring U.S. law with national security priorities in dealing with the military overthrow of Egypt's president, the Obama administration said Tuesday it was encouraged by a proposal from the country's interim government to restore democratically elected civilian leadership.| Doing everything they can to avoid calling it a 'coup'... |
The administration thus far has refused to describe deposed President Mohammed Mursi's ouster as a coup, saying it is still undergoing a legal review. Officials also have said the administration has no plans to suspend the $1.5 billion in annual assistance the U.S. provides to Egypt. Of that total, $1.3 billion is direct military aid.
"There's an elephant in the room here," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. "It is in our national interest, the best interests of the United States and the best interests, in our view, of our goal of assisting the Egyptian people in their transition to democracy to take the time necessary to evaluate the situation before making such a determination."
| You knew if he tried long enough Jay Carney could finally say something that made sense. This might be his one and only time. |
"We are cautiously encouraged by the announcement by the interim government that it has a potential plan for moving forward with a democratic process and elections, both parliamentary and presidential, and we think that's a good thing," Carney said. "We call on all parties to engage in a dialogue about that process and not to refuse to participate, because we believe (that) the best hope for resolving this crisis is through a process that is inclusive and in which everyone participates."
Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, which won Egypt's first-ever democratic elections, already has rejected the proposal from the military-selected interim president that calls for rewriting the constitution, holding a referendum on it within four months and followed by parliamentary elections in six months. The new parliament then would have a week to set a date for new presidential elections.
The White House and State Department both urged the Muslim Brotherhood to reverse course and take part in the process but declined to respond to the group's complaint that it already had participated in and won a free and fair election, the results of which were voided by a military intervention.
"We will continue to encourage the Muslim Brotherhood, leaders from that group, to participate in the process," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "We know this is not going to be an easy process, but that's what we'll continue to encourage."
Psaki could not say whether any U.S. government official had contacted or tried to make contact with Mursi since President Barack Obama called him late last Monday to urge him to address the grievances of millions of demonstrators protesting his increasingly autocratic rule. The military removed Mursi from power on Wednesday and then placed him under house arrest along with other Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Psaki said Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken by phone on Monday with Egypt's defense minister, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who was selected to be interim vice president on Tuesday.
At the Pentagon, an official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke for the fifth time in six days with El Sissi on Tuesday as part of what has been almost daily effort to encourage the Egyptian military to reduce the violence and make a quick transition to a civilian government. The official said the frequent conversations were an attempt to set a defined rhythm of communications with the Egyptian leaders.
On Monday, after Egyptian security forces killed 51 people demonstrating in support of Mursi, the U.S. called for the military to exercise "maximum restraint."