Why Obama isn't sure if Egypt is an 'ally'

In an interview with Telemundo on Wednesday, President Barack Obama's made a comment that left many Egyptians scratching their heads.

Here's the key excerpt from the transcript:
Jose Diaz Balart – Would you consider the current Egyptian regime an ally of the United States?
Pres. Obama: I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy.

The thing is, Egypt is technically an ally of the United States — it became a "Major Non-NATO Ally" in 1989. It is also the second biggest recipient of US foreign aid after Israel, receiving almost $2 billion a year.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor attempted to clarify the statement to Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy today.

"I think folks are reading way too much into this," Vietor told Rogin. "‘Ally' is a legal term of art. We don't have a mutual defense treaty with Egypt like we do with our NATO allies. But as the president has said, Egypt is longstanding and close partner of the United States, and we have built on that foundation by supporting Egypt's transition to democracy and working with the new government."