Wouldn't it be prudent to wait and see what we're getting before continuing business as before? Amnesty International has its own reasons for objecting in the report below, and there are only many more reasons than those, including the future foreign policy of the country, its potential relations with groups like Hamas, the fate of the peace treaty with Israel, and Egypt's treatment of non-Muslims.
We have political and material leverage to promote the protection of human rights that we are not using. "Amnesty criticizes US arms shipments to Egypt," from the Associated Press, December 7:
CAIRO (AP) — Amnesty International on Wednesday criticized the U.S. government for allowing arms shipments to Egypt despite its security forces' record of harsh crackdowns on protesters.
Amnesty said Washington permitted three shipments to Egypt from U.S. weapons producers between April and October. Shipping records show that the shipments included bullets, cartridges and "ammunition smoke," probably meaning tear gas, the London-based group said in a report.
"These licenses were authorized during a period where the Egyptian government responded to protests by using excessive and often lethal force," said Amnesty's Brian Wood. "It is inconceivable that the U.S. authorities did not know of evidence of widely documented abuses by the Egyptian security forces. These licenses should not have been granted."
Egyptian security forces have repeatedly cracked down on protesters since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February in a popular uprising. Some 40 protesters were killed in a week of clashes last month.
There is no mention here of the October 9 massacre of Christians.
Amnesty said the weapons are not illegal, but that Egyptian forces often use them incorrectly.
U.S. officials have acknowledged munitions shipments to Egypt, and have condemned the excessive use of force.
"We do take allegations of misuse of tear gas very seriously," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner on Wednesday. "Last week, we said that there was an ongoing license that has now since expired, but there was another shipment that was delivered to Egypt, I believe just last week, with tear gas. But beyond that, there are no additional shipments that we're aware of and no additional licenses that we're aware of."
Open question: did Prez Barack Hussein's apology speech delivered at ol' U. Al-Azhar in 2009 have any causal effect on what's happened in Egypt since? And, did the speech resonate beyond Egypt into the Maghreb and southeastward, into the various hairy hell-holes planted in that direction?
The speech, oh irony of ironies, was entitled A New Beginning.
"Since our founding, American Moslems have enriched the U.S.A."
Lo! Lookit now, what wuz begun, from those foul fictive seeds, what has sprung!
College professors have visions too, delusions really, that lay at our feet like glue.
He who ignores history is... hey, is this repeat, a sequel, yet another remake?
Bad thinking begets bad situations, anguish, misery & death; Prez Barack is a fake.
- the Holy Prophet APF
The patients are running the asylum.
When Amnesty International is objecting to something like this, you KNOW something's wrong.
What could go wrong? U.S. is still allowing arms shipments to Egypt
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I had been wondering if we were so mad. I wish I could say I'm shocked to find that we are.
I'm sure we—and the other democracies of the West, including the nations of the EU—are still shoveling vast amounts of "foreign aid" at them, as well.
At least Western tourists have had more sense—they have been staying away from Egypt *in droves* since the "Arab Spring".