Washington Post says Obama admin 'complicit' in Egypt violence

On the bloodbath that took place in Egypt Wednesday, wherein more than 500 supporters of the country's first democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi (ousted by the military in early July) were killed by state police during a riot, the Washington Post writes:

Before the July 3 coup in Egypt, the Obama administration privately warned the armed forces against ousting the government of Mohamed Morsi, pointing to U.S. legislation that requires the cutoff of aid to any country where the army plays a “decisive role” in removing an elected government. Yet when the generals ignored the U.S. warnings, the White House responded by electing to disregard the law itself. After a prolonged and embarrassing delay, the State Department announced that it had chosen not to determine whether a coup had taken place, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry declared that Egypt’s military was “restoring democracy.”

Because of those decisions, the Obama administration is complicit in the new and horrifyingly bloody crackdown...

[I]f the United States wishes to have some chance to influence a country that has been its close ally for four decades, it must immediately change its policy toward the armed forces. That means the complete suspension of all aid and cooperation...

The New York Times also called on the U.S. to suspend the $1.3 billion in military aid sent to Egypt, though just two weeks ago the paper said aid should not be suspended.

During a press briefing Wednesday in Martha's Vineyard, where President Obama is vacationing, White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the administration is "on a regular basis reviewing the aid that is provided by the United States to Egypt."

@eScarry