Obama administration holding up Apache helicopters to Egypt
Apache helicopters remain in storage six weeks after the Obama administration announced their release to the Egyptian government.
The Obama administration is still waiting to ship 10 Apache attack helicopters whose release was announced back in April, bowing to pressure from Congress, but angering newly elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the process.
The helicopters are already paid for under a 2009 agreement with Egypt to fight militants in the Sinai desert. Secretaries of State and Defense John Kerry and Chuck Hagel announced their release April 23, but they remain in storage in the United States amid concerns they could be used against civilians.
"The aircraft are in storage at Fort Hood, Texas," a State Department official confirmed to Al-Monitor. "We are making decisions with respect to our assistance to Egypt in consultation with Congress, and are working to determine when the Apaches would be shipped."
The delay has frustrated the new Egyptian government, which has started a full-court press to get Congress and the administration to restore the $1.3 billion in annual military aid the country has been receiving since its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
