400 US Troops Will Be Deployed to Egypt

Troops Will Be Part of Anti-Riot Force in Sinai

A group of over 400 US ground troops are going to soon be deployed to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, as part of a 13-naton force aimed at preventing riots in the area around Israel’s border.

The troops have been training for months for the deployment, which comes on the eve of planned protests against the Morsi government in Egypt, which many fear could lead to a violent crackdown and further demonstrations, as has been so common in the past.

The Egyptian government downplayed the deployment, saying the troops are being sent “merely as a formality” and that they won’t have any weapons. This is likely aimed at preventing another controversy surrounding foreign troops occupying Egyptian soil.

Issues over the military bases for foreign forces in Sinai caused major concern among Egyptians last year, with the Egyptian Army eventually dismissing the reports as a “lie” and claiming that the bases were merely “multinational forces facilities” and not real military bases, even though they are bases for foreign military forces.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.