Washington loosens Egypt arms embargo
While the Obama administration has allowed US helicopters to be shipped to Egypt, the question of Egypt’s democratic transition will frustrate deeper ties.
Washington is slowly and tentatively scaling back its embargo on the supply of big-ticket military hardware to the new regime in Cairo. The restrictions were imposed after the July 2013 ouster of President Mohammed Morsi by a military committee led by Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The US ban was meant to punish Egypt for deposing the elected Egyptian government and its bloody suppression of pro-Morsi supporters in the aftermath of the coup. Its actions were in large part dictated by US legislation requiring Washington to sanction Egypt for its crackdown on dissent and short-circuiting of the democratic process.
On April 22, the State Department announced that Secretary of State John Kerry "is certifying to Congress that Egypt is sustaining the strategic relationship with the United States — including by countering transnational threats such as terrorism and weapons proliferation — and that Egypt is upholding its obligations under the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty."
The choreographed announcement, with language conforming to congressional mandates governing the provision of aid, was followed by a Pentagon contribution that was more to the point. Ten Apache helicopters collecting dust in US depots will be released to Egypt for use in its growing counterinsurgency campaign in Sinai. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s spokesman said, "We believe these new helicopters will help the Egyptian government counter extremists who threaten US, Egyptian and Israeli security."
