Barack Obama, the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt and Israel

Two pieces have caught my eye this week, neither by themselves would have been worth a blogpost but the combination of the two is interesting.

First Reuters reported that:

'U.S. President Barack Obama plans to accelerate the pace of American aid to Egypt, a top State Department official said on Wednesday, as the most populous Arab nation reaches a critical stage in its uncertain transition away from autocratic rule.

Undersecretary of State Robert Hormats, part of a U.S. delegation that held unprecedented talks last week with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, said Washington wanted to provide "more immediate benefits" to Egyptians, who earlier this month conducted their first democratic elections in decades.

"During this period, we want to be as supportive as we can. This is an historic moment. Egypt's a country of enormous importance," Hormats said.'

Second I read in The Egypt Independentthat:

'The Muslim Brotherhood will not speak or meet with Israeli officials and its stance on Israel is not up for discussion, group spokesperson Mahmoud Ghezlan told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. '

So the coming to power in Egypt of a group that won't meet or speak with Israeli officials is a cue for Barack Obama's administration to accelerate the pace of American aid; interesting...