Israel Matzav

Great news: Muslim Brotherhood's Morsy coming to Washington

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsy, who was elected President of Egypt last month, has been invited to visit the United States while he is in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly in September (Hat Tip: Sunlight).

"President Obama extended an invitation to President Mursi to visit the United States when he attends the U.N. General Assembly in September," Egyptian aide Yasser Ali said after Mursi met U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns in Cairo.

Burns, who did not mention the invitation at a news conference earlier, pledged U.S. support for Egypt's battered economy and said he welcomed Mursi's promise to uphold international treaties, which include a peace deal with Israel.

"We have taken careful note and appreciated President Mursi's public statements about a commitment to international obligations and we certainly attach great importance to Egypt's continuing role as a force for peace," Burns said.

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 mobilise 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. We understand the challenges that lie ahead and also the president does," Burns told reporters after his two-hour meeting with Mursi.

The question is whether the Obama administration is willing to lean on Egypt to live up to its obligations under the treaty. I wouldn't bet on it.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mohammed Morsy

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:34 AM