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WASHINGTON -- The White House is reviewing whether last week's removal of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi constituted "a coup" -- a decision that will affect billions in U.S. aid to the embattled nation."This is a complex and difficult issue, with significant consequences," said White House spokesman Jay Carney on Monday.Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and other lawmakers said what happened in Egypt last week was clearly a coup, as the military removed and detained a democratically elected Morsi, established an interim government and called for new elections.They have called for suspension of aid, if only to pressure the Egyptian military to follow through on its promise to hold new elections as quickly as possible. "If millions of Egyptians come to believe that democracy offers them no opportunity to advance their goals peacefully, it will only fuel violence and extremism," McCain said.U.S. law forbids aid to countries where an elected official is deposed by a military coup; the United States supplies about $1.5 billion in annual aid to Egypt, much of it to the military.Carney said that cutting off aid to Egypt right away wouldn't be in anybody's best interest, and that the administration would work with Congress moving forward.The White House spokesman noted that many Egyptian citizens do not believe that the actions constituted a coup, saying the military intervened against an increasingly authoritarian government and it has intense public support.SNIPSaid Carney: "We call on all parties to exercise restraint."
