Egypt has long been a valued customer of the U.S. defense industry. But at least in the near term, the dynamic isn’t likely to change any more than for other business in the nation, which has largely ground to a halt because of the ongoing unrest, said Eric Edelman, a distinguished fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “I would expect that everything would, for the moment, stay on course. There’s no reason [for it] not to,” said Edelman, a former Pentagon undersecretary for policy. He added that recent discussions between Egyptian military leaders and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen were probably to “reassure” the Egyptian military.
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