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EGYPT LASHES OUT AT U.S. OVER MILITARY AID SUSPENSION
October 10, 2013 - 14:04 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The Obama administration on Wednesday, Oct 9,
announced a modest and temporary freeze on military assistance to
Egypt, even as American officials emphasized their desire to avoid
rupturing a security relationship that stretches back more than three
decades, The New York Times reports.
To signal its displeasure at the Egyptian military's bloody crackdown
on the Muslim Brotherhood, officials said, the United States would
withhold the delivery of several big-ticket items, including Apache
attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles, M1-A1 tank parts and F-16
warplanes, as well as $260 million for the general Egyptian budget.
But in a sign of how the administration is balancing its interests,
senior officials said the United States would continue aid for
counterterrorism programs as well as for Egypt's efforts to protect
its borders and secure Sinai, which has become a haven for extremists.
In announcing the decision, administration officials reiterated that
the Egyptian military's brutal repression of supporters of the ousted
president, Mohamed Morsi, was not acceptable. But in explaining their
specific steps, American officials sounded as if they were reaffirming
a valuable relationship rather than delivering a rebuke.
"This is not meant to be permanent; this is meant to be the opposite,"
a senior administration official said. "It is meant to be continually
reviewed." Still, the official added, "it's fair to say that holding
up hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance is a pretty clear
message."
"We will continue to hold the delivery of certain large-scale military
systems and cash assistance to the government pending credible progress
toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through
free and fair elections," state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said,
according to BBC News.
Among the assistance that will be untouched, officials said, are
programs to train and educate Egyptian military officials in the
United States; the delivery of spare parts for many American-supplied
weapons; and aid for health care, education and the promotion of
business in Egypt.
Egypt has criticized the decision. Foreign ministry spokesman Badr
Abdelatty said the decision was wrong and Egypt would "not surrender
to American pressure and is continuing on its path towards democracy".
From: Baghdasarian
October 10, 2013 - 14:04 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The Obama administration on Wednesday, Oct 9,
announced a modest and temporary freeze on military assistance to
Egypt, even as American officials emphasized their desire to avoid
rupturing a security relationship that stretches back more than three
decades, The New York Times reports.
To signal its displeasure at the Egyptian military's bloody crackdown
on the Muslim Brotherhood, officials said, the United States would
withhold the delivery of several big-ticket items, including Apache
attack helicopters, Harpoon missiles, M1-A1 tank parts and F-16
warplanes, as well as $260 million for the general Egyptian budget.
But in a sign of how the administration is balancing its interests,
senior officials said the United States would continue aid for
counterterrorism programs as well as for Egypt's efforts to protect
its borders and secure Sinai, which has become a haven for extremists.
In announcing the decision, administration officials reiterated that
the Egyptian military's brutal repression of supporters of the ousted
president, Mohamed Morsi, was not acceptable. But in explaining their
specific steps, American officials sounded as if they were reaffirming
a valuable relationship rather than delivering a rebuke.
"This is not meant to be permanent; this is meant to be the opposite,"
a senior administration official said. "It is meant to be continually
reviewed." Still, the official added, "it's fair to say that holding
up hundreds of millions of dollars of assistance is a pretty clear
message."
"We will continue to hold the delivery of certain large-scale military
systems and cash assistance to the government pending credible progress
toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through
free and fair elections," state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said,
according to BBC News.
Among the assistance that will be untouched, officials said, are
programs to train and educate Egyptian military officials in the
United States; the delivery of spare parts for many American-supplied
weapons; and aid for health care, education and the promotion of
business in Egypt.
Egypt has criticized the decision. Foreign ministry spokesman Badr
Abdelatty said the decision was wrong and Egypt would "not surrender
to American pressure and is continuing on its path towards democracy".
From: Baghdasarian