Obama Cancels Military Exercise With Egypt
President Barack Obama today announced the U.S. military will not take part in Operation Bright Star with the Egyptian military, which was slated to begin next month. The president cancelled the United States' participation in the biennial joint military exercise as a response to the escalating violence in Egypt.
The American Forces Press Service reports the president has called on his national security team to come up with additional ways to pragmatically respond to the crisis in Egypt.
In a statement made from Martha's Vineyard, Obama said, in part:
“Let me say, the Egyptian people deserve better than what we’ve seen over the last several days. And to the Egyptian people, let me say, the cycle of violence and escalation needs to stop. We call on the Egyptian authorities to respect the universal rights of the people. We call on those who are protesting to do so peacefully, and condemn the attacks that we’ve seen by protesters, including on churches.”
To hear Obama's entire statement, watch the video posted up top, courtesy of Bloomberg News.
