Obama backs Muslim Brotherhood, cuts aid to Egypt's military

Obama Backs the Brotherhood

"People will see it as the United States dropping a friend.”

Officials and experts in Israel responded on with a mixture of disappointment and alarm to the news that the United States planned to reduce its military aid to Egypt.

Israel views the aid as part and parcel of its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, and essential to the maintenance of stability in the region.

But one Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate diplomacy involved, warned that the implications of punitive cuts in Egypt’s aid could go far beyond the issue of Israeli-Egyptian relations. The United States is playing with fire, he said in the New York Times.
      

“You cannot disassemble the peace treaty and take out this part or that part,” the official said. “But there are other elements in this conundrum. This is not just about Israel. This is about America’s standing in the Arab world.”

      

Noting that military aid is not just about tank shipments but also a sign of presence and commitment, he added: “If America is seen to be turning its back on Egypt, an old ally, how will it be seen? People will see it as the United States dropping a friend.”

 

 

Mohamed Soliman, student leader for the Constitution Party, said cutting aid would be "disastrous" for Egypt and U.S. allies in the region.

Egypt "can't fight this war alone — the war on terror, defending the state, trying to secure the border between Egypt and Libya and trying to stop the influx of jihadists to Sinai," he said. "They need equipment, training, international support."

The US is suspending a large part of the $1.3bn (£810m) in aid it gives to Egypt's military.

The delivery of large-scale military systems as well as cash assistance to the Egyptian government would be withheld, said the state department.

It said "credible progress" must be made towards free and fair elections says BBC News.

A review was launched in August after a crackdown by the authorities on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi left hundreds of people dead.

"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.

Officials said the freeze amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.

Washington also plans to halt a $260m cash transfer and a $300m loan guarantee. It is also halting the delivery of Apache helicopters, as well as Harpoon missiles and tank parts, officials said.