Obama urges quick return to civilian rule

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he was deeply concerned about the military overthrow of Egypt’s first elected president, although he avoided describing the ouster as a military coup, which would trigger automatic cuts in U.S. aid to a longtime ally that is key to U.S.-backed regional security accords.

Obama pointedly did not call for ousted President Mohamed Morsi to be returned to power, however. The U.S. president also did not openly condemn the Egyptian military for suspending the constitution and ending, at least for now, the fledgling democracy that emerged after Egyptians overthrew Morsi’s predecessor, longtime U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak, 28 months ago.

After huddling for most of the afternoon in the White House Situation Room with Attorney General Eric Holder, CIA Director John Brennan, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and other senior officials, Obama cited the “legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people” and urged the Egyptian military “to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible.”

He said he also directed the State Department and other agencies to “review the implications” for American aid to Cairo. Under U.S. law, American military, economic and other aid is cut off if a democratic government is overthrown by military coup or decree.

Washington provides $1.3 billion in annual military assistance to Egypt and $250 million in civilian aid. Egypt’s military leadership maintains close ties with the administration, however, and arguably remains one of the few U.S. points of leverage in the country.

Republicans in Congress are unlikely to press for cutting aid to Egypt. In a statement, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., praised the military as “perhaps the only trusted national institution in Egypt today.”

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged restraint, but he too did not criticize the military intervention. “It is imperative that a political solution be reached for the sake of the Egyptian people, and that the nation quickly returns to a democratic and peaceful path where the people’s voices are heard and respected,” he said in a statement.

U.S. officials closed the American Embassy in Cairo and the consulate in Alexandria for an indeterminate period because of security concerns and ordered the evacuation of all nonessential personnel. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said officials were continuing to review the situation to see whether further steps were required.

The State Department official urged Americans on Wednesday to defer travel to Egypt, citing “continuing political and social unrest.”

In his statement, Obama said the U.S. does not support “particular individuals or political parties” but is committed to the democratic process and the rule of law. He urged the military not to order arbitrary arrests of Morsi or his supporters, primarily members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Obama spoke with Morsi at least twice in the last week. They spoke by telephone as Obama was visiting Johannesburg on Friday, when a 21-year-old Maryland man was killed in the protests in Alexandria, and again on Monday as anti-government protesters surged through the streets in Cairo.

In the latter call, aides say, Obama urged Morsi to be responsive to the concerns of the protesters, many of whom were demanding Morsi’s resignation.

The onset of military rule in Cairo posed a stark dilemma for the White House, which is viewed warily by almost all Egyptian political factions.

Egypt is a top U.S. priority because its cooperation is essential for the stability of the Middle East, starting with Israel. U.S. influence in Cairo has steadily dwindled in the two years since the fall of Mubarak, however.

U.S. officials had sought to strengthen their ties with the Morsi government and the Muslim Brotherhood but became increasingly alienated as Morsi sought to concentrate power in his hands. The opposition has been suspicious of the Obama administration, believing it supported Mubarak and, more recently, that it sought to prop up the Morsi government.

Another source of friction has been a yearslong battle over the status of U.S. nongovernmental organizations in Egypt. The government, and many ordinary Egyptians, views the American-backed groups’ political involvement as a challenge to Egyptian sovereignty.