The State Department has refused to cancel or delay the delivery of
several American-made F-16 fighter jets to Egypt, claiming that the arms
deal serves America’s “regional security interests,” according to an
official State Department document obtained by the
Free Beacon.
The news that the Obama administration would uphold an aid package to
Egypt that included the military hardware prompted concern on Capitol
Hill from lawmakers who said the deal was not prudent given the
political situation in Egypt, where Muslim Brotherhood-backed President
Mohammed Morsi has clashed with democratic protestors.
“Sixteen F-16s and 200 Abrams tanks are to be given to the Egyptian
government before the end of the year under a foreign aid deal signed in
2010 with then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,” Fox
News reported Tuesday.
“President Morsi has failed to promote promised democracy in his
country and neglected to continue Egypt’s legacy of maintaining peace in
the region,” said Senator James Inhofe (R., Okla.). “I am alarmed and
disappointed in the Obama Administration’s decision to decline my
request to delay delivery of F-16s for further consideration.”
The State Department maintained in a January 8 letter to Inhofe that
the arming of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood serves the U.S.’s “regional
security interests.”
“Delaying or cancelling deliveries of the F-16 aircraft would
undermine our efforts to address our regional security interests through
a more capable Egyptian military and send a damaging and lasting signal
to Egypt’s civilian and military leadership as we work toward a
democratic transition in the key Middle Eastern State,” the State
Department said.
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