Hussein's busy arming the enemies of
Israel to the teeth by leaving our US Army
weapons
behind.
Muslim Brotherhood inherits
U.S. war gear (Why on earth are we arming Morsi's
party?)
For Egypt's Muslim
Brotherhood-dominated government, more battle tanks and
jet fighters are on their way from the United States.
Cairo’s military link
to Washington has remained intact, meaning the U.S. will
continue to modernize the biggest military in Africa —
even as President Mohammed Morsi has decreed
near-absolute power for himself and his supporters and
opponents battle outside his palace.
Analysts say Egypt’s
military buildup presents risks for Washington — and
Israel — with the growing influence of the Brotherhood,
whose overriding goal is to establish Shariah, or
Islamic, law worldwide.
A Pentagon statement
to The Washington Times on Thursday said: “We are always
reviewing our foreign assistance to make sure foreign
assistance advances U.S. objectives and is being used
for the right purposes.”
For now, Egypt is due
200 M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, the same mechanized
firepower manned by American soldiers, bringing Egypt’s
inventory to a robust 1,200.
Also in the pipeline
is a squadron of the Air Force F-16 Falcon, a
multipurpose warplane able to dogfight and drop
ordnance. The government awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a
contract in March 2010 for 20 F-16s, the last to be
delivered next year. That would increase Egypt’s total
fleet to 240, according to a company press release at
the time.
“Egypt has far and
away the largest army in Africa,” said Egypt analyst
Robert Springborg, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate
School in Monterey, Calif.
The billions of
dollars in U.S. military aid — in annual $1.3 billion
stipends — have made the Egyptian air force the
fourth-largest F-16 operator among 25 countries. Egypt’s
4,000 tanks, including the 1,000 or so M1A1s, make it
the world’s seventh-largest tank army.
“This is a pretty
substantial capacity that they have developed,” Mr.
Springborg said.