WASHINGTON — The U.S. decision to suspend delivery of tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to Egypt is more of a symbolic slap than a punishing wound to the military-backed government for its slog toward a return to democratic rule.
Egypt is awash in the tanks and planes it would need to fight a conventional war, and spare parts from U.S. manufacturers will continue to be delivered.
The Obama administration’s announcement Wednesday did sound a warning that it no longer can be “business as usual” with Cairo, as President Barack Obama put it, after the July 3 military coup that ousted Mohammed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president.
In the short run, the suspension of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid will have little effect on Egypt’s military and its ability to defend itself.
The State Department did not say how much of the $1.5 billion in annual military and economic aid to Egypt was affected. The U.S. will keep providing support for health and education and counterterrorism; spare military parts; military training and education; and border security and security assistance in the Sinai Peninsula.
“If they really wanted to hurt Egypt, the U.S. would suspend maintenance and logistic support,” said Robert Springborg, an expert on the Egyptian military.
