On Tuesday, President Obama lifted a ban on U.S. weapons sales to Egypt that he had imposed after Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, general turned president, overthrew President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The unfreezing of arms deliveries and purchases is widely seen as driven by the U.S. need for allies in the tumultuous Middle East and as a win for Sisi, who has done little or nothing to address the concerns about Egypt's democracy that Obama cited when initiating the ban, says Peter Baker at The New York Times.
But "Obama's decision does include elements that may irritate Mr. Sisi," Baker adds:
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