US refuses to decide whether Egypt events were a coup
The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday it had no plans to determine whether a military coup occurred in Egypt, avoiding a decision that would force most of the annual $1.55bn in US aid to be cut off.
The deputy secretary of state, William Burns, delivered the message in briefings to senior members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, several lawmakers told reporters after meeting him.
The question of whether a military coup took place has vexed the White House. Under US law, most aid must stop to "any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d'etat or decree" or toppled in "a coup d'etat or decree in which the military plays a decisive role".
But the law does not oblige the White House to make a decision.
"The law does not require us to make a formal determination as to whether a coup took place, and it is not in our national interest to make such a determination," said an Obama administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/26/us-refuses-decide-egypt-coup
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