WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Monday for the first time that it supports a role for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist organization, in a reformed Egyptian government.
The organization must reject violence and recognize democratic goals if the U.S. is to be comfortable with it taking part in the government, the White House said. But by even setting conditions for the involvement of such “non-secular” groups, the administration took a surprise step in the midst of the crisis enveloping Egypt for the past week.
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Incredibly naive and ignorant. The muslim brotherhood renounce violence? Of course they will say yes to this but then there is that tiny problem of taqiyya in islam. The Baron adds his thinking to the above:
"This is the first rub — and there are a lot of rubs in this deal.
Anyone who has studied the Muslim Brotherhood, or Islam in general, knows that a believer is not just permitted to lie, not just encouraged to lie, but required to lie if the action in question is required. It is mandatory for believers to work to establish the rule of sharia in any Muslim state. Therefore, when necessary, it is mandatory for believers to lie in order to achieve that end.
The Muslim Brotherhood will be more than happy to “reject violence”. No problem!"
More from the article: The statement was an acknowledgment that any popularly accepted new government would probably include groups that are not considered friendly to U.S. interests, and a signal that the White House is prepared for that probability after 30 years of reliable relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Monday’s statement was a “pretty clear sign that the U.S. isn’t going to advocate a narrow form of pluralism, but a broad one,” said Robert Malley, a Middle East peace negotiator in the Clinton administration. U.S. officials have previously pressed for broader participation in Egypt’s government.
Gibbs said the U.S. government has had no contact with the Muslim Brotherhood because of questions over its commitment to the rule of law, democracy and nonviolence. But the Brotherhood is not listed on U.S. terrorism lists, as are the Hamas and Hezbollah organizations.
From Baron, again in response to the above statements from the expert on islam, Robert Gibbs: "This is either the stupidest or most disingenuous comment ever to emerge from the White House press office. Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. It is known as the “Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine”. Its status as a franchise of the MB is officially established in its own covenant, as pointed out by Dr. Andrew Bostom earlier today.
The stupidity of American political leaders is unsurpassed. It seems that they never, ever learn. And they can’t see something that’s right there in front of their eyes."
Here is the complete article form San Jose Mercury.
By Paul Richter and Peter Nicholas
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON--The Obama administration said Monday for the first time that it supports a role for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist organization, in a reformed Egyptian government.
The organization must reject violence and recognize democratic goals if the U.S. is to be comfortable with it taking part in the government, the White House said. But by even setting conditions for the involvement of such "nonsecular" groups, the administration took a surprise step in the midst of the crisis enveloping Egypt for the past week.
The statement was an acknowledgment that any popularly accepted new government would probably include groups that are not considered friendly to U.S. interests, and a signal that the White House is prepared for that probability after 30 years of reliable relations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Monday's statement was a "pretty clear sign that the U.S. isn't going to advocate a narrow form of pluralism, but a broad one," said Robert Malley, a Middle East peace negotiator in the Clinton administration. U.S. officials have previously pressed for broader participation in Egypt's government.
The Bush administration pushed Mubarak for democratic reforms, but a statement in 2005 did not address a role for Islamists.
"This is different," said Malley, now with the International Crisis Group. "It has a real political edge and political meaning."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said a reformed government "has to include a whole host of important nonsecular actors that give Egypt a strong chance to continue to be (a) stable and reliable partner."
Gibbs said the U.S. government has had no contact with the Muslim Brotherhood because of questions over its commitment to the rule of law, democracy and nonviolence.
His remarks came after a White House meeting at which administration officials briefed outside Middle East experts, leaving some of the participants with the impression that the administration was not counting on Mubarak to remain in power.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest and best-organized Egyptian opposition group, with an estimated 600,000 members, many of them educated, middle-class men. It has disavowed terrorism and violence, but its inclusion in any government would likely be deeply controversial among U.S. allies, especially in Israel, because it advocates tearing up Egypt's peace treaty with the Jewish state.
Its members run for elective office as independents. It won 20 percent of the seats in parliament in 2005. But in elections in November, Brotherhood members didn't win a single seat in balloting that was tainted by allegations of fraud.
U.S. conservatives such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have warned about its rise, and many draw comparisons to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. But others contend that fears of the Brotherhood, which has been suppressed for decades by the government, are overstated.
No, those who fear the muslim brotherhood and all it represents are very well founded in their fears. As are those of us who study and follow islam and sharia law. Many of us KNEW this was just around the next corner with this administration. It is quite obvious to this counter jihadist that obama and his ilk were ambushed by what has spread throughout the arab world like the spanish influenza or black plague. I will move on to finish this out with Baron's surgical analysis of this travesity that will cost many, many innocent lives before it is over.
Baron concludes and quite accurately, I must add:
"The new official narrative about the Muslim Brotherhood is now being constructed. Like its subsidiary Hamas, it will have a “military wing” and a “political wing”, and we gullible Americans will work to strengthen the political wing, which will do all the usual good deeds — feeding children, building schools, running social services.
They’re good little socialists, those Brotherhood guys! And naturally they have no interaction with or control over those evil terrorist dudes in the military wing.
In addition to its political efforts, the Muslim Brotherhood runs social and economic programs that help fill the gaps in Egypt’s public services.
This is deeply pernicious stuff. And how about this?
It rejects the possibility of a woman or a Christian being president of Egypt, and would press for stricter adherence to Islamic codes.
Sound familiar? Take a look at Lebanon and hezbollah.
Will the human rights crowd pass judgment on that one? Want to hold your breath? No, we do not want to hold our breath. Maybe our weapons and the 2nd Amendment, a little bit closer.
U.S. conservatives such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich have warned about its rise, and many draw comparisons to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. But others contend that fears of the Brotherhood, which has been suppressed for decades by the Egyptian government, are overstated.
Well, we’ll find out who’s right before very long.
The stupidity of American political leaders is unsurpassed. It seems that they never, ever learn. And they can’t see something that’s right there in front of their eyes."
Here is the original article from the San Jose Mercury.
Of course, here is the link to Gates Of Vienna and much thanks to Baron Bodissey and Dymphna. Two of the best people out there.
