Conference of Presidents urge Trump not to withdraw from Sinai
Twelve lawmakers representing key Senate and House of Representatives committees called for continued U.S. support of the international peacekeeping force in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
By OMRI NAHMIASUS Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks to reporters at the Pentagon on March 5(photo credit: YURI GRIPAS/REUTERS)
WASHINGTON – Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations called on the Trump administration to continue its participation in the Multinational Force and Observers peacekeeping group in the Sinai.“We strongly caution against the United States withdrawing from or diminishing its participation in the MFO,” COP chairman Arthur Stark, CEO William Daroff and vice chairman Malcolm Hoenlein wrote in a statement released on Sunday.“The absence of American leadership in the MFO would be detrimental to its ability to carry out its mission, particularly given the rising activity of ISIS in the Sinai,” the statement reads. “We urge sustaining a strong US role in the MFO, as it is a critical component of maintaining regional security and protecting the interests of the United States and its allies.”The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is pushing to withdraw the 454 US troops who serve there, despite opposition from Israel and the State Department.The MFO is an independent international organization, created following Israel and Egypt’s peace treaty in 1979. The organization’s headquarters are in Rome. Thirteen countries are part of the group, including the UK, Italy, France and Japan.Israel, the US, and Egypt share the cost of the MFO, $25 million each annually. In addition, the US is giving $6m. a year for the force protection fund.Meanwhile over the weekend, a bipartisan, bicameral group of 12 lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Esper in support of maintaining strong US support for the MFO.Sens. Jim Risch and Bob Menendez, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively, led the group. Reps. Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul, chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, respectively, endorsed the letter as well.“The MFO’s credibility to both the Egyptian and Israeli governments depends, in large part, on America’s continued leadership role in the MFO, including the US military men and women who are currently deployed to the Sinai Peninsula,” the lawmakers noted. “The US force contribution to the MFO is also critical to encouraging 12 other US partners to contribute their own troops to the organization. Today, those other countries’ contributions represent more than 60% of the MFO’s overall force.“It would be a grave mistake if the US withdrew its forces from the MFO,” they said.The lawmakers mentioned that while resourcing the National Defense Strategy means reexamining aspects of US force posture in the Middle East, the US should maintain adequate support for an organization that has bolstered regional stability through its peacekeeping role.“Failing to do so could result in a less stable Middle East and ultimately make it more difficult to implement the NDS,” the letter reads.
