The aftermath of the deposing of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have sent many a wonk running to his or her lexicon to figure whether the actions of the Egyptian military (buoyed by the visible support of millions of Egyptians) constituted a coup d’etat or not. While this semi-crucial distinction gets ironed out and the United States remains committed to continuing the dangle of its biggest carrot–an annual $1.5 billion in military aid to Egypt–Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have shown up to the party fashionably late and announced they’re going to make it rain. First, the UAE:
The aid package announced Tuesday is the clearest sign yet of shifting policies among the wealthy Gulf nations. Qatar had been a main backer of the Brotherhood, and the ouster of Morsi raises questions about the status of its promised aid and investments.
The official news agency WAM said the UAE offered a $1 billion grant and a $2 billion no-interest loan.
Not to be outdone, Saudi Arabia is pitching in even more, reports Reuters via the Saudi Finance Minister.
Saudi Arabia approved a $5 billion aid package to Egypt on Tuesday comprising a $2 billion central bank deposit, $2 billion in energy products, and $1 billion in cash.
We knew an Egypt less aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood would be the source of considerable excitement in some corners. Whether this excitement was made known to the Egyptian military prior to its decision to overthrow Morsi may be a question worth asking. Of course, let’s wait until the question of the coup is settled first.
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.