His dream come true. Barack Obama just couldn't wait to invite a Muslim Brother to the White House.
From the Jerusalem Post:
CAIRO - US President Barack Obama has invited Egypt's newly elected Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, to visit the United States in September, an Egyptian official said on Sunday, reflecting the new ties Washington is cultivating with the region's Islamists.
Washington, long wary of Islamists and an ally of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, shifted policy last year to open formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood, the group behind Mursi's win. Mursi formally resigned from the group after his victory.
Mursi's success at the polls mirrors the rising influence of Islamists in countries across the Middle East andNorth Africa in the wake of revolts and protests against autocratic rulers who have led the region for decades.
PASTORIUS CUTTING IN - THOSE REVOLTS AND PROTESTS WERE ENCOURAGED BY BARACK OBAMA. THEY MAY HAVE EVEN BEEN HIS PLAN ALL ALONG, SEEING AS HOW HE INVITED THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TO HIS SPEACH IN CAIRO AT THE VERY OUTSET OF HIS PRESIDENCY.
Israel has watched with growing concern the political gains of the Brotherhood, an inspiration for the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The 84-year-old Brotherhood renounced violence as a means to achieve political change in Egypt decades ago.
Analysts say that one way the United States could influence the direction of policy in Egypt, a nation at the heart of Washington's regional policy since a peace treaty was signed with Israel in 1979, would be through economic support.
Washington provides $1.3 billion a year in military aid as well as other assistance and could help mobilize other donors, lenders and investors. Those could prove vital as Egypt tries to stave off a balance of payments and budget crisis.
"The United States is firmly committed to doing everything that we can to support Egypt's economic revival. Weunderstand the challenges that lie ahead and also the president does," Burns told reporters after his two-hour meeting with Mursi.
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