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1 1 (May 25, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdaws0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Researh Sevice Possible Withdrawal of U.S. Peacekeepers from the Sinai Peninsula May 25, 2020 Overview U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reportedly is considering w ithdrawing the roughly 450 person U.S. military contingent from the M/lultinational Force and Observers (MFO), an international peacekeeping mission formed in 1981 to monitor the demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula and supervise the implementation of the historic 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. Explanations for the withdrawal proposal have centered on repositioning U.S. forces globally to better prepare for contingencies related to China and Russia, improved Israeli-Egyptian ties, and concern for the safety of U.S. peacekeepers. In recent years, U.S. forces in the Sinai have faced a heightened risk of terrorist attacks by groups such as the Islamic State's Sinai Province (SP). Israeli officials and the leaders ofAencrican Jewish organizations have voiced concern over a possible U.S. withdrawal, asserting that the mission remains important and that U.S. participation and leadership in the MFO is vital for its ongoing success. On May 13, a bipartisan group of congressional committee leaders wrote a letter to the Secretaries of Defense and State arguing against a U.S. withdrawal, stating that a U.S. force contribution to the MFO is critical to encouraging other countries to participate. Background For decades, the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt has been widely hailed as a successful example of how the United States can facilitate Middle East peace, and U.S. leadership of and participation in the MFO has been important in maintaining confidence in the treaty and dialogue between Israel and Egypt. When the MFO was established in a separate protocol between Israel and Egypt in 1981, then U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig sent identical letters to his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts pledging U.S. troops and funds for the MFO's startup costs and annual maintenance, subject to Congressional authorization. Congress then authorized U.S. participation in the MFO in P.L. 97-132, in which lawmakers considered the establishment of the Multinational Force and Observers to be an essential stage in the development of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East. The resolution also capped the number of U.S. military personnelwho could be assigned to the MFO at 1,200. In his 1982 w ar powcrs letter to Congres s, President Reagan wrote that The duration of this involvement of U. S. Congressional Re search Service https://crsreports.congress.gov INI 1403 CRS MNS GHT Prepared -cr Memn bersand Co.. n ft i sofon mcC n g ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------....................................-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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