President Obama, in his first punitive response to the ouster of Mohammed Morsi as president of Egypt, has halted the delivery of four F-16 fighter planes to the Egyptian air force.
Obama, administration officials said, wanted to send Egypt's military-led government a signal of U.S. displeasure with the chaotic situation there, which has been marked by continued violence, the detention of Morsi and other leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, and a transition that has not included the Brotherhood.
commander urges demonstrations
The commander of the armed forces called on Egyptians to hold mass demonstrations Friday that he said would give the army a "mandate" to fight violence and terrorism, a call for popular action that seemed to contradict the military's repeated assertions that it would not interfere in politics.
"I've never asked you for anything," said the commander, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who deposed Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, three weeks ago. "I'm asking you to show the world."
El-Sissi's comments, in a speech to military graduates, quickly revived questions about his role in Egypt's political transition while deepening the sense that he, rather than the interim government the generals installed, is Egypt's de facto leader.
new york times
