US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the unrest in Egypt and across the Middle East posed a "diplomatic challenge" and played down any chance of sending US troops to the area.
"Given the kind of instability we're seeing now in the Middle East, it's hard for me to imagine the circumstances under which the United States would send forces into that situation," Gates said.
Speaking in the House of Representatives Committee on Defense, Gates pointed out that it is primarily a diplomatic challenge, reports AFP.
He praised the "professionalism" of the Egyptian military in the country's political crisis, arguing that their restraint was "proof of the value" of US military aid and training over the past three decades.
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