The strategic interests of the U.S. and Israel are on display as the U.S. continues to dodge calling the Egyptian military ousting of President Mohamed Morsi a coup, and Israeli officials mount pressure on the U.S. to not halt its $1.5 billion in annual aid to Egypt.

The White House has avoided using the word “coup,” because, as Reuters explained, “calling the military intervention a ‘coup’…would trigger legal obstacles to continuing aid payments.”

The New York Times‘ Caucus blog adds that

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeatedly dodged any confirmation that Morsi’s overthrow was a coup, saying instead the situation in Egypt was “complex and difficult” and that the Obama administration has no immediate plans to halt aid to Egypt.

The State Department made similar statements on Monday, saying in a press briefing, “Our focus is on returning stability to the region.”

Israel’s interests in the U.S. maintaining its hefty aid to the Egyptian military prompted “marathon phone calls” to U.S. officials this weekend, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday:

Foreign policy analyst Jim Lobe noted similar comments from other pro-Israel voices, including the neo-conservative Wall Street Journal.  Lobe wrote:

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The Guardian reports on the continuing developments in Egypt:

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