US Congress to impose restrictions on military aid

The US House of Representatives has approved measures that would prevent the Obama administration from giving out military aid to Egypt, while also ruling out funding for US intervention in Syria without consulting with Congress.

The house approved the defense spending bill by a majority vote, slashing overseas allocations and imposing restrictions on aid to Middle East countries.

The amendment, approved earlier this week, states that Washington should not be further embroiled in the ongoing conflict in Egypt and refrain from paying for Egypt's military and security forces, which have purportedly been consigned to subdue Islamist unrest after deposing former President Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

Representative of the house Thomas Massie, a sponsor of the amendment on Egypt, said on his website, "Since our national security interests in Syria and Egypt are unclear, we risk giving money and military assistance to our enemies." 

These measures are intended  to prevent the US military from engaging in offensive operations in Egypt and prohibits the Department of Defense from allocating funds for either military or paramilitary operations in Egypt without congressional approval. On July 24, the Defense Department announced a suspension of delivery of four F-16s to Cairo. Al-Jazeera details that Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has reportedly notified Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tof the decision.

This is a stark divergence from the interests shared by the US with the Egyptian military up until last year.

A recent National Journal poll found that only 16 percent of both Republicans and Democrats think America should escalate its involvement in Egypt, and nearly half of all those polled said the US should either reduce aid to Egypt or eliminate it entirely.

Massie added that the constitution prohibits the president from unilaterally spending American taxpayer dollars on military operations without congressional approval.

Congressional staffers, however, said the amendment was unlikely to hinder plans to stage the bi-annual multinational exercise Operation Bright Star in Egypt around October.

Egypt receives US$1.3 billion in aid from the US and has been awaiting the delivery of 12 out of 20 F-16 fighters from Lockheed Martin.