Despite rising criticism by lawmakers, the US Congress is reportedly unlikely to reduce the $2 billion in aid it sends to Egypt each year.
Congressional sources were quoted by the Middle East Newsline (MENL) as saying that “the critics in the House and Senate assess that a cut in US aid to Egypt would escalate tensions in the Middle East.”
The sources added that the critics have concluded that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is perhaps the only Arab leader who can stop an Arab-Israeli war.
On Tuesday, for the first time in 20 years, Congress publicly challenged the administration over US aid to Egypt, said the news service.
Senator Mitch McConnell, chairman of the Senate's appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations, said he and his colleagues would examine the prospect of reducing US aid to Egypt in view of its policies toward Israel, the report said – Albawaba.com
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