Bridenstine Questions Sending F-16s to Egypt

Congressman Bridenstine recently signed a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry urging them to reconsider continuing shipments of F-16 fighter aircraft to Egypt.

Here’s the background from Bridenstine’s blog:

The agreement to provide these military aircraft to Egypt originated in 2009. The aircraft were intended for receipt by the Egyptian government under the leadership of President Hosni Mubarak. In the past three years, Egypt has experienced a revolution that installed a new leader, Mohamed Morsi, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. As President, Morsi has expressed clear hostility towards the United States and her allies. Bridenstine, along with 39 cosigners, advised the Administration to consider any US military support of the newly-established Egyptian government to be conditional.

According to Jewish newspaper The Algemeiner, Israeli statesman Dore Gold believes that although “arms transfer do not change the balance of power overnight, especially if only a few aircraft are involved…investing in weapons for projecting Egyptian military power over long distances should be re-thought…” In a recent op-ed piece in Israel Hayom, Gold stated that America should first wait for the Muslim Brotherhood to clarify what its true intentions are “with respect to its Middle Eastern neighbors.”

You can find Bridenstine’s letter here.