Our tax dollars hard at work.

(CNSNews.com) – A majority of Egyptians (56%) now see closer relations with the U.S. as a bad thing for their country, up sharply from 40% in December 2011, a Gallup poll says.

Egyptians are now more likely to favor closer ties with Turkey and Iran than with the United States, the poll found.

Only 28 percent of Egyptians said closer relations with the U.S. are a good thing.

The poll, released on Friday, comes as the Obama administration announced it will waive democracy requirements so it can send up to $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt, despite concerns that the country is backsliding on its commitments to democracy and the rule of law.

According to the Associated Press, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has decided that it is in the U.S. national interest to allow $1.3 billion in military assistance to flow to Egypt. She also certified that Egypt is meeting its obligations to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, which frees up an additional $200 million in economic aid.