Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer said the Obama administration should have "changed the damn law" governing the restriction of aid to countries where coups occur Wednesday on Special Report.
Krauthammer noted the law is not only fraying America's relationship with the geopolitically critical ally Egypt, but the military in Mali has been unable to quell an Islamist resurgence in the country after the U.S. cut off aid following their coup.
Our Middle Eastern allies, columnist Jonah Goldberg noted, are watching these developments with grave concern:
BRET BAIER: That said, Jonah, if you look at public opinion polls people say, you know what? Stop all the aid. Forget it.
JONAH GOLDBERG: Yeah. No, some opinion polls they seem to think that foreign aid is 30 percent, 40 percent of the federal budget, too. I agree with Charles and Kirsten on this. I think there is legitimate arguments on both sides. If the law says that coup can't be supported and that has to have an effect on aid, I understand why there are people on both sides of that argument. What I don't understand is why the administration decided to do this so publicly. What they could have done is just sort of slow walked some aid privately, send through channels the message hey, look, he we are not happy. Work a little bit harder towards the democracy thing. Instead, they have basically sent this message that we're not a reliable ally. They are and they are freaking out the -- our other allies in the region at the same time.
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: If the law says you have to suspend aid, change the damn law. That's what they should have done on day one. You have got to have an exception that's one of the reasons that the Islamists have taken over in Mali because there was a law and we had to cut off aid and it caused the collapse of the army.