The Obama administration has just done more damage to Egyptian relations by denying the shipment of attack helicopters that were to be used to fight terrorists. Reports indicated that one of the reasons for the recent spat of U.S. Congressional delegations to Egypt was to help soften relations between the U.S. and Egypt, which has increasingly been warming up to Russia. As the Obama administration cedes ever more ground to Putin, it now appears to be driving a deeper wedge further between Egypt and the U.S.
Obama administration keeps driving el-Sisi into Putin’s camp.
Via the Free Beacon:
The Obama administration has turned down an urgent appeal from Egypt’s government for the delivery of U.S. Apache attack helicopters needed for counterterrorism operations in the Sinai Peninsula.
U.S. officials and a Western diplomat said the 10 AH-64 attack helicopters had been blocked from delivery in October in response to the administration’s opposition to the military ouster of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammad Morsi last year.
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo within the past several weeks relayed the Egyptian government’s appeal to send the new Apaches in a cable to the State Department.
According to U.S. officials, the Egyptians said the attack helicopters were urgently needed for Cairo’s fight in the Sinai against a new al Qaeda-linked terrorist group called Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, or Ansar Jerusalem.
As we relayed here, according to Arabic source Al-Mogaz, the reason for the recent congressional delegations to Egypt are two-fold:
- To discuss Barack Obama’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood / terrorism.
- To discuss losing Egypt to Russia.
The Obama administration’s denial of Apache helicopters to the new Egyptian government speaks directly to both of those concerns.
By blocking weaponry (attack helicopters) that would be used to fight terrorists, the Obama administration is essentially aiding terrorists. In so doing, relations between Egypt and the U.S. are only further frozen and Russia is subsequently more attractive to Egypt.
If Rep. Rogers meets with el-Sisi last month.
As far as Rep. Rogers’ trip to Egypt last month, we had information that part of his visit involved a discussion about the Malik Obama case. We’ve said it before and will repeat it here. If that is true, then it would seem that the best way for these Congressional delegations to show good faith with the Egyptian government would be for them to help draw attention to that case.
So far, that has not happened and the Obama administration’s decision to shut the door on the Apache attack helicopter delivery makes preventing Egypt from running into Putin’s arms all the more difficult.
As long as Congress avoids the biggest scandal in the history of the United States, Barack Obama will be allowed to show deference to the Muslim Brotherhood along with its affiliated terrorist groups and Egypt’s new government will continue to strengthen relations with Russia.