Thursday, September 5, 2013

Pentagon Official: Canceling Foreign Military Aid To Egypt Will Cost Billions

Egyptian soldiers keep guard on the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

U.S. Faces Substantial Losses If Egypt Aid Halted: Official -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S. government faces billions of dollars in potential costs if it decides to cancel foreign military aid to Egypt, a senior Pentagon official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Richard Genaille, deputy director of the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, said he hoped the Obama administration reached a decision soon on whether to continue $1.23 billion in U.S. military assistance to Egypt, given the large number of weapons shipments in the pipeline.

"We're kind of antsy about that," Genaille said after a speech at the ComDef industry conference in Washington. "There's a whole bunch of contracts out there. The bills keep coming in and we've got to be able to pay them somehow otherwise we go in default."

Washington is reviewing the U.S. military aid to Egypt and an additional $241 million in economic aid after the country's military ousted the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government on July 3 and then cracked down on protesters last month.

Read more ....

My Comment: I say .... why give aid to Egypt when many see the U.S. President and the country that he runs like this.

No comments: