United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed off on the release of $US 1.2 billion in foreign military financing to Egypt, reported the Associated Press citing the State Department. According to a statement provided to the Associated Press, the State Department announced that Pompeo authorized the release by signing the necessary national security waivers allowing the money to be spent. The US Congress now has 15 days to provide its comments on Pompeo’s authorization before steps will be taken to send the money to Egypt. State Department has ‘Serious Concerns about Human Rights in Egypt’ Pompeo’s authorization, the announcement for which was delayed by three weeks for undisclosed reasons, comes months after the US announced it would be releasing $US 195 million in military had that had been frozen in 2017 by the US State Department over human rights concerns. The $US 1.2 billion which Pompeo authorized the release of includes that $US 195 million. However, in its announcement of the authorization, the State Department said that the US still had “serious concerns about the human rights situation in Egypt”. “At the same time, strengthened security cooperation with Egypt is…
