 CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt criticized the U.S. Sunday after four Congress members met with a lawmaker from the banned Muslim Brotherhood, less than two months after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met the same politician.
The bipartisan delegation headed by Rep. David Price, D-N.C., met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak early Sunday before heading to parliament to talk to a group of lawmakers that included the Brotherhood's Mohammed Saad el-Katatni. "The United States says that it doesn't establish relations with a banned group, whether in Egypt or outside Egypt," said Mubarak's spokesman Suleiman Awaad. "The U.S. says it is meeting with the Brotherhood as Parliament members, but doesn't make the same distinction and refuses to talk with Hamas, who is heading the Palestinian government and is occupying the prime minister's seat."
| Good point, but remember you're dealing with Dhimmicrats, who could teach the Middle East a thing or two about hypocrisy. |
Hamas is loosely affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and some of the militant group's founding members were part of the organization in Egypt and Jordan. However, the Brotherhood, once notorious for assassinations and militant activity, supposedly renounced violence in the 1970s. Hamas continues to advocate violence as part of its resistance against Israeli occupation.
El-Katatni said the talks focused on current challenges across the Middle East, not on Egypt. "We met with the delegation for more than an hour and we discussed the American policy in the Middle East: Palestine, Iraq and Iran's nuclear issue," he said. "The talks didn't address internal Egyptian issues or political reform."
| That would have been most impolite of the Dhimmis. |
Price's spokesman, Paul Cox, said the congressman was unavailable for comment Sunday. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo also declined to comment.
The delegation also included Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.; Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.; and Gwen Moore, D-Wis. The group is on a Middle East tour that will take them to Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Price told reporters. Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, met with el-Katatni twice once at Egypt's parliament and then at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has refused to meet with the Brotherhood. 
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