Most Americans support cutting military aid to Egypt, according to a poll released by the Pew Research Center.
The report said 51% of Americans said the United States should cut military aid to Egypt in order to pressure the Egyptian government, while only 26% of respondents said the United States should seek to maintain its influence by maintaining the aid.
Fifty percent said US President Barack Obama has not been “tough enough” in dealing with the Egyptian government and its violence against protesters. Six percent said he has been “too tough”, while 12% say his response has been “about right.”
Forty five percent of Americans said the military would provide better leadership for Egypt, while only 11% said the Muslim Brotherhood would be better off doing so, with 19% saying neither would.
While public interest in the developments in Egypt has climbed since former president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster, they did not reach the levels they did in 2011 when Hosni Mubarak resigned. Fifteen percent of Americans said they were following events in Egypt “very closely” when Morsi was removed from power, a figure that rose to 22% when violence between the security apparatus and protesters in August. Pew’s figures showed that 39% of its respondents were closely following developments in Egypt in February 2011.
The figures were based on 1,000 telephone interviews conducted on 15-18 August.
