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| President Barack Obama |
Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama announced
Thursday that the United States has canceled joint military training
exercises with the Egyptian military and alluded to the fact that his
administration could take further steps to deal with the violence in
Egypt.
"Going forward, I've
asked my national security team to assess the implications of the
actions taken by the interim government and further steps we may take as
necessary with respect to the U.S.-Egyptian relationship," Obama said.
In a statement from his
vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, the president, however, refrained
from calling the government overthrow a coup, which would have
implications for the military and humanitarian aid the United States
sends to Egypt.
"The United States
strongly condemns the steps that have been taken by Egypt interim
government and security forces," Obama said about this week's Egyptian
military crackdown against protests in Cairo. "We deplore violence
against civilians."
Obama avoided taking sides with any factions in the country, which his administration has done consistently.
"We don't take sides with
any particular party or political figure," Obama said. "We want Egypt
to succeed. We want a peaceful, democratic, prosperous Egypt. That's our
interest."
The president continued: "America cannot determine the future of Egypt. That's a task for the Egyptian people."
Obama put the United
States on the side of the Egyptian people, stating that his
administration believes regular Egyptians "deserve better than what we
have seen in the last several days."
"To the Egyptian people,
let me say the cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop," Obama
said. "We call on the Egyptian authorities to respect the universal
rights of the people."
Bright Star -- next
month's joint U.S.-Egyptian military exercise -- would have involved
thousands of American air and ground forces. Obama administration
officials told CNN on Wednesday that canceling the military exercises --
which are held every two years -- was being considered.
The president is
currently on vacation with his family on Martha's Vineyard, an island
off the coast of Massachusetts. Some Republicans and right-leaning blogs
have criticized that fact that while Egypt fell into turmoil, the
president golfed, went to a cocktail party and ate at an upscale
restaurant.
A senior White House
official told CNN's Jake Tapper Thursday the president was briefed on
the severity of the violence in Egypt in a phone call with key
administration officials involved in U.S.-Egypt relations, including
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Secretary of State John Kerry and
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
Obama's statement comes a
day after the bloodiest day in Egypt since the 2011 revolution that
ousted Hosni Mubarak. At least 525 people were killed and more than
3,700 injured, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry, in clashes
that began when security forces moved in to break up protesters
demonstrating in support of former President Mohamed Morsy, who was
elected to office after Mubarak's ouster.
The number of dead could
go up, as the Muslim Brotherhood has said many of its supporters who
were killed have not yet been counted.
The violent outbreaks mark the bloodiest moment in Egypt's short-lived experiment with democracy.
In July, Egypt's
military toppled Morsy, the country's first democratically elected
president, and remanded him to jail. The Obama administration at the
time did not call the overthrow a coup.
That decision was
roundly criticized by Republicans like Sen. John McCain of Arizona and
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who traveled to Egypt earlier
this month and said Morsy's ouster was clearly a coup.
The terminology could affect the more than $1 billion in foreign aid Egypt gets from the United States.
U.S. law restricts
providing aid in instances of a military coup, and though White House
spokesman Jay Carney has said the Obama administration is evaluating the
"incredibly complex and difficult situation," he also said Washington
is not ready to cut off the aid.
"It would not be in the
best interests of the United States to immediately change our assistance
programs" to Egypt, Carney said in July. When reporters pressed Carney
on the coup question, the spokesman stubbornly repeated a lengthy
response that essentially said the United States would determine how to
proceed at its own pace.
"What we don't believe
is necessary is to hastily reach a determination when the right course
of action in our view is to review this in a deliberate manner, to
consult with Congress, to review our obligations under the law and to,
in the meantime, encourage the authorities in Egypt to hasten a return
to democratic governance in that country, and to a democratically
elected government," he said.
The Obama
administration, when pressed on this issue, has stressed the complexity
of the situation in Egypt -- the most populous Arab country in the world
and one of only two Arab nations to have signed a peace treaty with
vital U.S. ally Israel.
Obama's Thursday
statement echoed much of what Kerry said on Wednesday -- that the
violence was a "serious blow" to reconciliation efforts in the African
nation.
"The United States
strongly condemns today's violence and bloodshed across Egypt -- it's a
serious blow to reconciliation and the Egyptian people's hopes for a
transition towards democracy and inclusion," Kerry said from the State
Department press briefing room.
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