The United States announced on Wednesday that it was “recalibrating” its aid to Egypt, withholding Apache helicopters, F-16 fighters, tank parts, Harpoon missiles and about $260 million in economic aid in a move to push the country's military and interim government down the path to democracy.

The decision came three months after Egypt’s military removed democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi from power — an ouster that Washington has refused to brand a “coup,” drawing international ridicule. That determination would have required a halt of U.S. aid.

“We have decided to maintain our relationship with the Egyptian government, while recalibrating our assistance to Egypt to best advance our interests,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a written statement.

Washington will still provide economic aid that goes “directly” to the Egyptian people in areas like health, education and private-sector development, she said.

And the aid freeze will spare military training and education, spare parts for Egypt’s military, as well as counterterrorism assistance and cash and materiel that goes to enforcing Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel.

“We will, however, continue to hold the delivery of certain large-scale military systems and cash assistance to the government pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections,” Psaki said.

The aid freeze “will be reviewed on a periodic basis,” a senior administration official told reporters on a conference call organized by the State Department. The reductions will affect "hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance," another official said. But they were chosen for minimal impact on America's core interests — keeping Egypt as a strong counterterrorism partner and guarantor of its peace treaty with Israel.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel outlined the decision in a “very friendly” 40-minute call with his Egyptian counterpart, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, another official said.

The officials said they would leave it to reporters to assess whether the aid reductions amounted to a mere slap on the wrist, lacking in leverage to push Egypt's military or interim government toward democratic reforms.

Several news outlets had reported late on Tuesday that a shift in aid was underway.

Obama said 10 days ago on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly that he had “concerns” about the political turmoil in Egypt but said he was “committed to a constructive relationship” in part because of the country’s peace treaty with Israel.

“So we will continue to work with the Egyptian government, although urging them and pushing them in a direction that is more inclusive and that meets the basic goals of those who originally sought for more freedom and more democracy in that country,” Obama said as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Obama was even more blunt, saying that the United States would keep working with countries that do not embrace democracy as long as they "work with us on our core interests," like fighting Islamist extremists.

"Going forward, the United States will maintain a constructive relationship with the interim government that promotes core interests like the Camp David Accords and counterterrorism. We’ll continue support in areas like education that directly benefit the Egyptian people. But we have not proceeded with the delivery of certain military systems, and our support will depend upon Egypt’s progress in pursuing a more democratic path," he said.

In the subsequent months since Morsi's removal, Egypt’s military has banned the Muslim Brotherhood and taken other actions against the group, which won a narrow majority in the country’s first democratic elections since the removal of longtime dictator (and close U.S. ally) Hosni Mubarak.

In the past, Israel has urged the United States not to withhold aid in a way that might upset the balance kept by the peace treaty or send Egypt plunging into the kind of chaos that extremists could exploit to attack the Jewish state.

In August, the United States denied it was freezing aid to Egypt’s military, effectively treating Morsi’s ouster as a coup despite publicly refusing to say so.

At the time, officials indicated that a review of roughly $585 million in unspent funds was ongoing and confirmed that the United States was considering withholding the delivery of 10 Apache helicopters, had suspended the delivery of F-16 fighters and had canceled a prominent biannual joint military exercise known as “Bright Star.”

Egypt is the fifth-largest recipient of international aid from the United States, behind Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. Though the amount of annual aid to Egypt fluctuates from year to year, the U.S. has sent Egypt an average of $2 billion in annual financial packages since 1979.

The U.S. is "recalibrating" its assistance to the country in an effort to "best advance our interests."
Large-scale military systems targeted

NYPD Cop Charged in Motorcycle Attack on SUV

An off-duty undercover New York City cop was officially charged today for alleged his role in the assault of an SUV driver while the police detective was part of a group motorcycle ride.

Undercover narcotics officer Wojciech Braszczok, 32, was charged with gang assault, assault and criminal mischief in connection with the attack on SUV driver Alexian Lien on Sept. 29. Those charges include felonies -- upgraded from the initial misdemeanor charges of riot and criminal mischief announced by authorities when he was arrested Tuesday.

Braszczok's attorney John Arlia called the gang assault charge an "absolute overcharge" and said there's no evidence the detective knew the other bikers. The riders are a loosely knit group that arranges rides via the Internet, Arlia said.

During his appearance in Manhattan's criminal court, Braszczok wore army fatigues and a black hooded sweatshirt. He stood motionless as the charges were read.

Braszczok initially told his superiors days after the incident that he saw the attack but did not stop it for fear of blowing his cover, police said. But video captured at the scene revealed that he actually participated by smashing the back window of Lien's Range Rover, law enforcement sources said.

Braszczok's attorney said his client is accused of breaking "what was already broken." There was a "gaping softball [sized] hole" in the window that the detective is accused of breaking, Arlia said during the court appearance.

While Braszczok is not accused of directly assaulting Lien, prosecutors said he terrorized the driver's family. He was captured on video kicking the passenger-side rear door multiple times where, prosecutors pointed out, Lien's 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat.

Braszczok is the latest in a string of arrests connected to the incident. Five other motorcyclists have been charged, and police say they are continuing to search for suspects.

The melee began around 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29, when Lien, who was driving on the highway with his wife and 2-year-old daughter on an outing to celebrate the couple's wedding anniversary, tapped the back of a motorcycle that cut in front of him and slowed down, police said. The rest of the bikers then closed in on him, prompting Lien to speed off, hitting three bikers as he accelerated away from the group, according to the NYPD.

The group chased Lien and then pulled him from his car and beat him, cops said.

Police released photos of additional suspects to the public on Tuesday.

Braszczok is being held on $100,000 cash bail or $150,000 bond. He is a 10-year veteran of the NYPD, according to a law enforcement source. He is an undercover detective who spent much of his police career in narcotics but recently transferred to another division, the source said.

Investigators believe that while Braszczok was one of three cops on the ride in the general area of the attack, he was the closest to the beating and the only one to have a clear view of what was happening, a law enforcement source said. They believe another detective was further away from the attack and a third, an officer, was "in the way back" of the motorcycle pack, the source said.

The other two officers' conduct was being probed, but investigators said they were not expected to face criminal charges, the source added.

Internal Affairs had been reviewing Braszczok's former narcotics cases as charges against him were being contemplated, the source added.

Clint Caldwell, 32, was also expected to be arraigned today for his role in allegedly helping to pull Lien out of the SUV and beat him.

"In the last few days, serious charges have been brought against several defendants in last Sunday's attack," Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, said Tuesday. "As we said from the beginning of the investigation, the NYPD and the district attorney's office are methodically scrutinizing the evidence to build the strongest possible cases in our continuing effort to hold accountable those responsible."

Much of the chase was caught on a helmet camera video that was then uploaded to the Internet. Police said they have used the video and images taken at the scene to identify suspects. Detectives have also obtained additional footage and photographs from others that have helped them piece together what went on, sources said.

A grand jury is already hearing evidence in the assault cases that have been filed, and Lien is expected to make a video statement for prosecutors for the grand jury, authorities said.

ABC News' Josh Margolin and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.

NYPD undercover cop charged in biker melee

Detective Wojciech Braszczok is accused of breaking an SUV window during a violent incident.
Five other motorcyclists arrested

Fugitive Snowden's father in Russia, hopes to see son

Lon Snowden, the father of fugitive former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, is interviewed by Reuters in Washington August 7, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden's father arrived in Moscow on Thursday to see his son, who was granted asylum in Russia after he leaked details of government surveillance programs and fled the United States.

Speaking at the same Moscow airport where his fugitive son was stranded for weeks this summer, Lon Snowden said he had no direct contact with Edward Snowden but that he felt "extreme gratitude that my son is safe and secure and he's free".

The younger Snowden, 30, is wanted in the United States on espionage charges and Russia's decision to grant him temporary asylum aggravated already tense relations between Moscow and Washington.

Russian authorities and the Russian lawyer who is assisting Snowden, Anatoly Kucherena, have not disclosed his location.

"I am not sure my son will be returning to the U.S. again. That's his decision, he is an adult, he is a person who is responsible for his own agency," Lon Snowden said, standing beside Kucherena at Sheremetyevo airport.

"I am his father, I love my son and I certainly hope I will have an opportunity to see my son," Snowden said.

Edward Snowden was the source of disclosures about U.S. government surveillance that included details about a program that collected e-mails, chat logs and other types of data from companies such as Google Inc and Facebook Inc.

"I really have no idea what his intentions are," Lon Snowden said, citing his lack of direct contact with him.

But he said he believed Snowden had not been involved in the publication of any information since he arrived in Russia and was "simply trying to remain healthy and safe".

Directly from the airport, he and the lawyer drove to a state television studio to give an exclusive live interview, indicating the visit was under strong government control.

Kucherena, who said he last saw Edward Snowden on Wednesday, expressed hope the former intelligence contractor would soon find a job in Russia - possibly in IT or human rights sector - because he has largely run out of his savings and was living modestly, mainly of donations.

He also said the fugitive American lived under security in Russia and was avoiding publicity because of the U.S. chase after him.

NO HANDOVER

Snowden, who worked as a systems administrator at a U.S. National Security Agency facility in Hawaii, fled to Hong Kong in June and then flew to Moscow. The United States annulled his passport and urged nations in Latin America and elsewhere not to take him in or help him find refuge from U.S. prosecution.

President Vladimir Putin rejected repeated American pleas to hand Snowden over to the United States but has denied Russia had any role in Snowden's disclosures or that its intelligence agencies were working with him in any way.

Putin has used Snowden's case to accuse the United States of preaching to the world about rights and freedoms it does not uphold at home.

After Snowden was granted asylum, on August 1, U.S. President Barack Obama pulled out of a summit with Putin that had been scheduled for early September in Moscow, but then met Putin at a G20 summit in St. Petersburg.

Edward Snowden is in the running for the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, a European human rights award whose past winners include Nelson Mandela and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The winner is to be chosen on Thursday.

(Additional reporting by Alessandra Prentice and Gabriela Baczynska; Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Lon Snowden hopes to visit his son, who has been living in a secret location since being granted asylum by Russia.
No direct contact in months