US Rejects Severing Egypt Ties Over Islamist Win

Rep. West Leads Calls to Denounce Egypt Election

Yesterday, the Obama Administration issued a series of mixed statements on the Egypt vote, congratulating Dr. Mohamed Mursi, the eventual winner, but insisting that in no way does the US support him as Egypt’s president.

Today the White House is struggling to defend their virtual non-reaction against criticism from hawks, notably Rep. Allen West (R – FL), who see the election as a good reason to flip out entirely on Egypt.

Rep. West compared the election, Egypt’s first, to the Iranian Revolution and insisted that Obama should sever all ties with the current Egyptian government, and instead publicly back Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority.

The White House has insisted that they won’t do that, and will judge President-elect Mursi by his actions, and not simply his religious affiliations.

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.