U.S. Temporarily Suspends Some Egyptian Aid
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet. Now, the United States suspends some military aid to Egypt as the crackdown on anti-government protesters continues. We'll be live Jinan (ph), China where the trial of disgraced politician Bo Xilai will take place. And they may be disappearing in many parts of the world, but we'll tell you why the CD is still big in Japan. Now as the turmoil continues in Egypt, the United States has made a quiet, but very significant move. Now Washington is temporarily suspending some military aid to the country. A U.S. official stresses that no decision has been made to cut off the aid permanently, rather, this, quote, "reprogramming of funds will be in effect while a review is undeway." Now let's take a closer look at how the U.S. aid to Egypt breaks down. Now according to a U.S. State Department report, which was released in June, most of the funds by far for the military out of $1.5 billion, more than $1.2 billion is in the form of military aid. Now nearly $2 million is spent on military education and training. $250 million goes to economic assistance support. Now we have correspondents covering the story from the U.S. and Egypt. Our world affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is live from CNN Washington. Reza Sayah joins us live from Cairo. But first, let's go to Jill. And Jill, tell us why did the U.S. decide to do this, to quietly suspend aid to Egypt?</s>JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far remember we've been reporting all along that the president did not want to come down on either side of that question -- is it a coup or is it not a coup? Because they wanted to not get on either side, alienating either the government and the military or the demonstrators who were on the streets, the supporters of Morsy. After all, if they did immediately suspend aid, it could -- actually if they continued the aid, it could look very bad, because the military at that moment, practically, was mowing down people on the streets of Cairo. So what they're trying to do is give a signal, move some money around. This reprogramming is possible because a lot of the money that the United States gives is given in a very complex way, not directly to the Egyptian government, but it's given to, as we've been reporting, into a federal reserve bank in New York into an account that the Egyptians draw on. And it includes, as you said, mainly military aid, but there also is some non- governmental aid, economic aid, et cetera. So by not coming down on either side, they can kind of hold back and then very quickly re-trigger this if they want to either go ahead with it or end it completely.</s>LU STOUT: Interesting semantics at play here. The United States reprogramming aid and trying to send a message to Cairo. What message is being received then? Let's go to Reza Sayah live from the Egyptian Cairo. What is the reaction there? And what impact will the suspension of aid have there on the ground?</s>REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's not clear at this point, Kristie, but certainly Washington is hoping that this pressure, this delay in aid is going to end the bloodshed. The bloodshed, of course, the outcome of the military-backed government's bloody crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood. However, at this point there's no indication that this government here in Egypt is going to put on the breaks on this crackdown. In fact, it seems the opposite is happening. Dozens of senior Brotherhood leaders have been detained, hundreds of other members and supporters also jailed. You've had at least 800, 900 Brotherhood supporters and members killed. This delay in aid is Washington's way of saying, Egypt, you're going down the wrong path. Slow down. But again no signs that Egypt is heeding that pressure. And I think moving forward, a lot of people are eager to see if things get worse the U.S. would officially cut off aid. That doesn't seem to be imminent at this point, but certainly if that happens that could have significant impact -- Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: All right, Reza. Let's go back to our Jill Dougherty in Washington. Jill, some added context here, before we went to you we showed our audience that pie chart of how much aid is being given to Egypt every year from the United States. And we saw that Egypt's military by far gets the lion's share of that $1.5 billion annual aid package. But why is this happening, why is this aid program, why is it even in place?</s>DOUGHERTY: Well, because of Israel, basically, because of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. And the United States wanting to support Egypt, because of that, of keeping the peace. And also, when you look at the money that all of the demonstrations aside, Egypt has used this type of equipment for fighting terrorism in Sinai. Sinai, you know, attacks coming from Sinai on Egypt -- I'm sorry, on Israel. So there's really a very big Israel component. It's very important for the region, for regional security, et cetera, Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: Interesting the geopolitical ramifications here. Let's go back to our Reza Sayah in Cairo. And Reza, the aid it goes both ways, doesn't it? I mean, it's not just the U.S. giving aid or favors to Egypt, but from Egypt -- for example, using the Suez Canal or overflight rights. Could you tell us more about what Egypt has offered the U.S. over the years? And could Cairo decide to suspend those measures?</s>SAYAH: Technically, Kristie, those are moves that Egypt can make. The Suez Canal, its airspace, they belong to Egypt. U.S. navy warships frequently every month use the Suez Canal. There's no signs that the Egyptian government is looking to cut off access for the U.S. to the canal and its airspace, but certainly these are cards that both sides can play. But I think if you'd look at the big picture, both Egypt and Washington they want to avoid a conflict, they want to avoid escalating matters, because they would both jeopardize a key strategic ally. But the fact that we're even talking about this, Kristie, shows how dire the situation is getting.</s>LU STOUT: And finally, one last question for Jill Dougherty back in Washington. Jill, I mean, what will it take for this reprogramming of aid to end, what will it take for the U.S. to fully restore aid to Egypt?</s>DOUGHERTY: They have already said what they want is this military government, the interim government and the military to move very speedily toward real democracy, bring everybody into the political process and then move on to new constitution and elections. What the United States doesn't want is a military government in power ad infinitum in Egypt. It wants civilian government, but it realizes at this point it's going to be very difficult to bring the Muslim Brotherhood back into the equation. It's gone pretty far down the road.</s>LU STOUT: Jill Dougherty live for us in Washington, Reza Sayah live in Cairo, a big thank you to you both. Now the crackdown on protesters is continuing in Egypt. In fact, today authorities arrested this man, Mohammed Badie, the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader. Now state run TV says he is accused of inciting violence. Meanwhile, the former president Mohamed Morsy remains in detention. Now he hasn't been seen in public since the military ousted him on July 3. Now prosecutors have charged him with a slew of offenses, including the detention, torture and murder of Egyptian citizens. Now the detention of these two men has left many to wonder about the future of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egyptian politics. It is the oldest and largest opposition group in Egypt. But for decades, it operated underground. It was banned by the government of former president Hosni Mubarak. Now it only became a part of mainstream politics in Egypt in 2011 when it formed a political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party. Now a significant number of Egyptians apparently support the interim government's actions. Ian Lee spoke to some who say the crackdown on pro- Morsy demonstrators, while tragic, is necessary.</s>IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The streets in Egypt have been a battleground with deadly clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy. The military, too, has its supporters. Even if they aren't in the streets, some are choosing to fight on a different front.</s>TIMMY MOWAFI, CO-FOUNDER, CAIROSCENE.COM: We asked for the army to intervene at some point. We asked for this. The Egyptian people asked for the army to intervene.</s>LEE: Timmy Mowafi is the co-founder of Cairo Scene, a lifestyle website with a political edge. Support for the military regime's crackdown on pro-Morsy protesters isn't hard to find in this newsroom and on their website. Here, it's seen as unfortunate but necessary.</s>MOWAFI: It's a devastating thing the numbers which have died on either side, but there were armed people on the street. This would not be acceptable in any other country.</s>LEE: Egypt is a country divided, as the death toll continues to rise. (on camera): On one side, you have the military and interim government saying they draw legitimacy from the people, pointing to the millions of protesters who've turned out on June 30, demanding Morsy's ouster. On the other side, the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies claim legitimacy from winning previous elections. Both sides see the fate of the country at stake. (voice-over): But the crisis now has some looking for a third option.</s>EIHAB BORAIE, SENIOR WRITER, CAIROSCENE.COM: Well, personally, I am not with the military, but I am also definitely against the Brotherhood. I do think that we are finishing the revolution. Unfortunately right now, there's going to be a lot of ugly days to come before we get to that period where we have normalcy in this country. Despite the large uprising against Morsy, many believe there has to be reconciliation.</s>DALIA AWAD, MANAGING EDITOR, CAIROSCENE.COM: I do think -- and it's very important that the Muslim Brotherhood should not be excluded, should not be driven underground, there needs to be some inclusion.</s>LEE: But with both sides locked in battle, political solution seems all but impossible. Ian Lee, CNN, Cairo.</s>LU STOUT: And now to Pakistan where former President Pervez Musharraf has been charged in the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Now the charges include murder, conspiracy to murder, and facilitation of murder. Now Bhutto, Pakistan's first female prime minister, was murdered as she campaigned for general elections. And Musharraf's spokesman says that the unprecedented charges are part of a smear campaign. This is the first time a former head of the army has been charged with any crime in Pakistan. You're watching News Stream. And coming up next, disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai goes on trial this week for alleged corruption. David McKenzie has a live report. Also ahead, by direct order of the king, one of the world's heaviest men is removed from his home with a forklift truck. Why Saudi King Abdullah is coming to this man's aid. And later, the CNN Freedom project, we'll tell you about one woman's escape from sex trafficking and prostitution in the U.S. State of Florida.