As Deaths Rise to More Than 500, A Look At Next Steps for Egypt, U.S.-Mideast Relations

The situation in Egypt continues to unravel as security forces and pro-Morsi supporters engage in deadly clashes around the country.
As of Thursday morning, the death toll around the country reached 525 and the number of injured reached more than 3,000, the Associated Press reported.
“The United States strongly condemns the steps that have been taken by Egypt’s interim government and security forces,” President Obama said Thursday during a press conference at Martha’s Vineyard. “We deplore violence against civilians. We support universal rights essential to human dignity, including the right to peaceful protest. We oppose the pursuit of martial law, which denies those rights to citizens under the principle that security trumps individual freedom or that might makes right.”
The president added that the United States has a desire to sustain its relationship with Egypt, but stopped short of turning a blind eye to the status quo. 
“Our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual when civilians are being killed in the streets and rights are being rolled back,” the president said. “As a result, this morning we notified the Egyptian government that we are canceling our biannual joint military exercise, which was scheduled for next month. Going forward, I’ve asked my national security team to assess the implications of the actions taken by the interim government and further steps that we may take as necessary with respect to the U.S.- Egyptian relationship.”
Mona Makram Ebeid is a political science professor at the American University in Cairo and a former member of parliament in Egypt. Hafsa Halawa is an Egyptian lawyer and a former employee of the National Democratic Institute. Both women weigh in on the latest developments from the ground in Cairo, and discuss what to expect for Egypt’s future.
These violent crackdowns in Egypt have major implications for U.S. policy in the Middle East–in addition to the fate of the $1.5 billion in aid the U.S. gives annually to Egypt
Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker, explains what’s at stake right now for the United States in Egypt.