US-Egypt military exercise canceled

The Associated Press is reporting that this year's joint military exercises involving Egypt, the United States and other coalition nations have been canceled as Egypt moves away from the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

The State Department said yesterday that the Egyptian government and the U.S. mutually agreed to postpone the 2011 exercise "in light of ongoing transition events."

Egypt and the U.S. also agreed to start formal planning in June 2012 for the next installment of what is called Exercise Bright Star in 2013.

Exercise Bright Star is a biennial, multinational exercise sponsored by the U.S. Central Command. It is designed to improve military-to-military relationships among the U.S., Egypt and other nations, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Turkey and Britain.