The folly of the Smart Power™ promised by the Obama administration was put on full display again on Sunday when Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood made an announcement that surprised no one.
Well, no one except Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, that is.
AlMasryAlYoum.com has the details:
Mahmoud Ezzat, the Muslim Brotherhood’s deputy Supreme Guide, said in a forum held in the Cairo district of Imbaba on Thursday that the group wants to establish an Islamic state after it achieves widespread popularity through its Freedom and Justice Party.
Meanwhile, Brotherhood leader Saad al-Husseiny, said at the forum that the group aims to apply Islamic legislation and establish Islamic rule. His remarks rattled the leaders of several political parties, who said the statements, which were at odds with the concept of a civil state, would worry liberals.
Of course, back in February we were assured by Clapper that the Muslim Brotherhood had no interest in establishing an Islamic state in Egypt. No, they were just a bunch of guys who got together to do public service. Kind of an Islamic Kiwanis Club.
The Daily Caller reminds us of Clapper’s remarkable ignorance back in February:
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is a secular organization.
Clapper said the Egyptian opposition group, which many American commentators have expressed fears of coming to power in a post-Mubarak Egypt, is a “very heterogeneous group, largely secular.”
Clapper said that the group “has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam” and “have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt.”
He also said the the Muslim Brotherhood, which has branches in many Muslim countries, has “no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally.”
Sigh. Smart Power™ at its finest.
Source: AlMasryAlYoum.com, DailyCaller.com
