Mixed Messages: Obama Says Egypt Is Not An Ally But Not An Enemy, Then State Department Forced To Issue Clarification

Fox News reports:

The State Department, cutting through the confusion over President Obama's claim that Egypt is not a U.S. ally, contradicted his characterization Thursday. For the record, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, Egypt is considered a major non-NATO ally. The comment came as White House aides also carefully clarified the president's remarks. The president made the initial statement in an interview with the Spanish-language Telemundo. "I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we do not consider them an enemy," Obama said, reacting to the ongoing and intense demonstrations outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. The comment raised eyebrows, considering that Egypt - at least before the fall of Hosni Mubarak -- has long been among the top U.S. allies in the Middle East along with Saudi Arabia and Israel. And legally, it is still considered a major "non-NATO" ally, as Nuland confirmed. Nuland and White House aides, though, tried to at the same time suggest that Obama was referring to the fact that Egypt is not part of any formal NATO treaty.

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