Kerry in Egypt

[karynnj]

3. Counter terrorism expert defends speaking to the Brotherhood

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry made a quiet trip to Egypt over the weekend, where he met with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood -- the first senior US official to do so. The meeting will undoubtedly set off the country's secularists and liberals, but the bottom line is that the Brotherhood is going to lead Egypt in the very near future, and it's time we get to know each other.
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So why is John Kerry the person to speak first with the Brotherhood? Hillary Clinton passed up the chance on her last trip to Egypt, and the US Ambassador to Egypt hasn't done anything to open a dialogue.

Kerry doesn't have the burden of the Obama team's "policy" on his back, although he can act as a surrogate for the White House when the President needs him to. That's undoubtedly what happened here. Obama wants to talk to the Brotherhood, but he doesn't want to anger US voters who may oppose such an overture. Kerry is the perfect person to do the job. He's a foreign policy heavyweight, he gets things done in difficult situations and in difficult countries, and when he tells an interlocutor that he speaks for the President, that means he really does speak for the President.

I know John Kerry well. I know him to be an thoughtful and deliberate diplomat. There is no doubt that we should be engaging the Muslim Brotherhood. That Kerry is doing it indicates that the White House is serious about ensuring and continuing a productive relationship with Egypt. That can only be a good thing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kiriakou/john-kerry-egypt_b_1143980.html

The author worked for SFRC from 2009-2011 (unclear if that is now - as I would have expected it to say "present&quot He was the one there was a lot of controversy over.

The last part explaining how Kerry is the right person to do this rings true to me - even if it means the President is free to disassociate the administration if he chooses. I think another reason is that at the moment I don't think the administration has a diplomat with anything near Kerry's statesmanship and ability to listen more than speaking. Both Clinton, and to a lesser degree, Biden can be "bulls in a China shop".

After Mubarak fell, there was a Kerry commented where he admitted the error of the past support of dictators, who suppressed their people, because they were "our" people and could be counted on for support in some way or another. This, in some ways, is a logical extension. I'm sure that Kerry and all Americans would have preferred the secular liberals winning, but given that a significant part of their Parliament will be the Islamists, it is important to speak to them.

Politically, it will be easy to demagogue this, but it is the only grown up thing to do - if you really believe in democracy.