U.S. Lifts Weapons Freeze to Egypt but with Major Change

President Obama called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday to inform him that the United States is lifting an arms freeze imposed on Egypt since 2013, and will continue its annual request for $1.3 billion of military assistance to Cairo.

Egypt will receive 12 F-16 fighter jets, 20 advanced anti-ship missiles, and up to 125 tank kits, and will remain the second-largest recipient of U.S. military financing. These weapons and the overall military aid will help Cairo in its fight with Islamic terrorist and insurgency groups throughout the Middle East, a battle for which Egypt has taken a leading role.

The suspension of aid came in 2013 when Sisi, then chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, ousted democratically elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi from power. The freeze was meant to be modest and temporary, but the Obama Administration, citing increased domestic repression – mainly against the Muslim Brotherhood – continued its policy. Beyond weapons, Washington withheld a $260 million cash transfer, but said some of it would be put towards humanitarian purposes. The U.S., however, has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Egypt in counterterrorism assistance despite the freeze.

Congress has helped slow the aid to Egypt by passing legislation to limit the disbursement of funds and delaying the transfer of ten apache attack helicopters. To receive half of fiscal year (FY) 2014 funding, the administration had to illustrate that Cairo was “maintaining the strategic relationship” and the peace treaty with Israel. For the other half, the Secretary of State has to show that Egypt is governing democratically, or at least progressing towards that end.

There is a catch, however, to the arms freeze being lifted. Until yesterday, Egypt and Israel had been the only two countries able to purchase American arms by “drawing credit from future foreign aid.” Obama will prohibit Egypt from doing this and drawing money in advance from expected FY 2018 funds and beyond.

U.S. officials say this move is supposed to “wean” Egypt from large, expensive weapons that are not conducive to insurgent and terrorist threats and that it will give Cairo more flexibility if its aid is not already allocated. More importantly, this change gives the U.S. greater ability to cut off future aid, making Egypt more vulnerable. Furthermore, because some people are calling Obama’s policy change a capitulation, such a shift could be an attempt to save face with human rights advocates and others who are critical of Egypt.

Prior to this move, Egypt could essentially use American aid however it thought best. Now, all military aid will be allocated to four specific categories: counterterrorism, border security, maritime security, and Sinai security. This fact will limit Egypt’s flexibility and give America more direct oversight over the aid.

The White House said its decision to lift the freeze was “in the interest of U.S. national security,” indicating that the need for an important strategic ally, given the current turmoil in the region, outweighs the president’s consistent calls for democracy and human rights in Egypt. The administration made it clear, however, that this aid does not mean that it feels Egypt has taken the necessary democratic steps, and Obama raised this point during his phone call with Sisi.

The military assistance comes as Egypt announced this weekend the creation of a joint Arab military force at the Arab League Summit meant to combat regional challenges such as the Iranian-backed Houthi coup in Yemen and ISIS’s growing influence. Furthermore, Egypt faces extraordinary security threats on both its eastern border, where Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, ISIS’s Sinai Peninsula affiliate, launches terrorist attacks against Egyptian police and military personnel, and on its western border, where Libya is a failed state overrun by jihadist groups, including ISIS.

Despite significant changes to Egypt’s aid, Obama’s decision to lift the freeze is necessary for American interests in the region. Sisi is not only leading the fight against ISIS and Iranian influence, but also confronting the larger global jihad threat facing the world. Some of Egypt’s policies are repressive – albeit primarily meant to target the dangerous Muslim Brotherhood – but Cairo’s strategic importance – including granting American warships priority access to the Suez Canal, unrestricted flights to American military aircrafts, and maintaining peace with Israel – takes priority today.