We turn next to Egypt and news this week that the U.S. has resumed selling heavy arms to that country.Certain types of training and military equipment never stopped flowing.But in 2013, the flow of weapons deliveries was halted after Egypt's military takeover.One person who would understand the Obama administration's latest move is Tamara Cofman Wittes. She coordinated U.S. policy on democracy in the Middle East during the height of the Arab Spring.The weapons that have been withheld include some F-16 aircraft, some M1A1 Abrams tank kits and some harpoon missiles.And these items are the sort of prestige items,the ones that show how committed and special this military relationship is that the U.S. allows Egypt to purchase these high-grade, sophisticated, big ticket items.And Egypt, of course, would welcome this because Egypt was not happy when these prestige items were kept from it.So I'm wondering, we know the entire region from Egypt's neighbor, Libya, to Yemen, is heated up.Is that why the White House is making what seems like something of a statement now?What the White House has done this week is climbed down from the policy it announced in October 2013,when it said it was going to hold these systems back.It said it wouldn't deliver the systems until the Egyptian government made credible progress toward democracy.
