from the AP
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has authorized the release of $1.2
billion in U.S. military assistance to Egypt, despite human rights
concerns that have held up previous funding.
The State Department said Friday it is notifying Congress that Pompeo
has signed national security waivers allowing the money known as
foreign military financing, or FMF, to be spent. Congress has 15 days to
weigh in on the waivers, which were signed on Aug. 21 but not
previously made public. It was not immediately clear why there was a
delay in the notification. The money includes $1 billion for the current
2018 budget year and $195 million appropriated for 2017 that would have
had to have been returned to the Treasury had it not been spent by
Sept. 30...
... Independent monitoring groups have documented continued human rights
abuses in Egypt over the past year and one such organization, Human
Rights First, condemned Friday’s announcement.
“Sending more military aid is just doubling down on July’s terrible
decision,” it said. “This is a clear signal that the Trump
Administration is more than okay with President Sisi’s targeting of
human rights defenders. Green lights don’t come much bigger than this.”...
[read more here]
No comments:
Post a Comment