Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-administration-deny-130-mln-military-aid-egypt-sources-2022-01-28/
Recently the Biden administration determined that they would deny $130 million of military aid to Egypt. In recent years the Egyptian government has increased the suppression of the Egyptian people and began cracking down more harshly on dissent and anti-government protesters after the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. The Egyptian government is thought to have jailed tens of thousands of protesters over the past several years. In September 2021, US government officials stated that if Egypt did not address certain human rights issues, including the release of political prisoners, military aid coming from the US would be withheld. Although some saw this as a step forward towards pushing back against human rights violations, others argue that it is purely a symbolic move as a $2.5 dollar weapons sale was approved for Egypt in the same week.
This event is important because although the amount of aid withheld is only worth about 10% of the total of all military aid allocated for the 2020 fiscal year, it still shows that the US government is willing to take some action in support in an attempt to promote human rights. This particular instance is also significant because Egypt is an important ally to the US in the middle east and the fact that the US is willing to withhold military aid even with this relationship shows that they are still dedicated to being a leader for progressing human rights in the world.
This article relates to class because the United States and Egypt are both sovereign states and the US has been supporting Egypt with economic and military aid since 1979. Although Egypt is not formally part of the NATO IGO, it is still considered a major non-NATO ally of the United States. Due to its strategic location in the middle east and their control of the Suez Canal, which is a vital trade route, the US wants to retain good relations with Egypt in order to maintain their influence in the region through Egyptian power in the region and to maintain the security of the Suez Canal.