Kerry, White House Split on Egypt Policy

Rice Uncomfortable with Coup, But Kerry Calls the Shots

There is a growing split on US policy toward Egypt between Secretary of State John Kerry and the White House National Security Council, with National Security Adviser Susan Rice bringing the dispute increasingly public.

Rice was very clearly uncomfortable with Egypt’s military coup, urging a return to “elected democratic government” and insisting the US couldn’t maintain business as usual with the junta.

That position seems to have support among others on the NSC, but Kerry has been very public in his support for the junta, and as the top US official actually going to Egypt, he seems contented to call the shots.

That explains the split between the administration cutting aid to the junta and Kerry acting like nothing is wrong with US-Egypt relations, they reflect two dueling factions within the administration, both of which are trying to push their own agenda to the fore.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.