Obama halts delivery of F-16 jets to Egypt after Muslim Brotherhood removed from power
Pentagon spokesman George Little said the U.S. no longer believes it is "appropriate to move forward with the delivery" of the jets.
The announcement contradicted statements two weeks ago by Pentagon officials that the U.S. would continue to send the jets as part of a large arms package.
Washington’s annual $1.5 billion aid to Egypt has been under the spotlight since the July 3 ousting of elected President Mohammed Morsi by the country’s military.
The army has installed an interim government and says it will seek fresh elections, but supporters of Morsi – including regional allies such as Turkey – have denounced the move as a coup.
U.S. law requires that aid be cut off to a country that undergoes a military coup, but Western leaders have stopped short of declaring the July 3 transition as such.
Egypt is the second-largest recipient of USAID support, after Israel. Almost all of it comes in the form of military funding that is mandated to be spent with U.S. defense companies. In 2011, a Cornell economist estimated that U.S. aid made up one-third of Egypt’s broader military budget, the Washington Post noted.
Little said Obama made the decision to delay the delivery "with the unanimous consent" of his national security team.
He would not elaborate on what had happened in Egypt to change the administration’s mind over the delivery, saying the decision was based on "the dynamics on the ground in Egypt," which he described as "a fluid situation."
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