To the Editor:
President Obama showed both sense and spine in 2011 when he urged President Hosni Mubarak to step down. The marchers of the Arab Spring clearly carried the Egyptian people’s legitimate aspirations for a representative government. Mr. Mubarak — although a longtime ally of this country — had put himself on the wrong side of history.
Since then we have not done as well. By continuing aid, we have legitimized the coup that ousted Mohamed Morsi.
It is never convenient to confess such a mistake. But as long as we underwrite the Egyptian budget and the Egyptian military, the United States has a voice. And that voice must say that Mr. Morsi is the duly elected president of Egypt, that the coup that ousted him is illegitimate and that the dollars won’t flow until legitimate democracy is restored.
BARRY HASKELL LEVINE
Lafayette, Calif., Aug. 15, 2013