US Arms Industry Would Lose Big from Egypt Aid Cut-Off [View all]

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/08/17-0



An Egyptian army M1 Abrams tank placed near Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian protests.

US Arms Industry Would Lose Big from Egypt Aid Cut-Off
by Thalif Deen
Published on Saturday, August 17, 2013 by Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS- The United States, which has refused to cut off its hefty 1.3 billion dollars in annual military aid to Egypt, continues to argue that depriving arms to the 438,500-strong security forces will only “destabilise” the crisis-ridden country.

There is perhaps a more significant – but undisclosed – reason for sustaining military aid flows to Egypt: protecting U.S. defence contractors.

Virtually all – or an overwhelming proportion – of the 1.3 billion dollars granted under Foreign Military Financing (FMF) is plowed back into the U.S. economy, specifically into the U.S. defence industry.

William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Centre for International Policy (CIP), told IPS U.S. President Barack Obama’s refusal to cut-off military aid to Egypt while U.S. weapons are being used to murder protesters is “unconscionable”.



unhappycamper comment: And this is the primary reason we continue to send money to Egypt.