|
But at the same time, she said Mubarak had gotten off to a good start in responding to the mounting protests by announcing he would not seek re-election in a scheduled September presidential vote, removing his son from the succession picture, and naming a vice president who has now begun a dialogue with the opposition. Those "have to be viewed as a very important set of steps," Clinton said. Obama, who was interviewed on Fox Sunday before the Super Bowl, played down prospects that the Muslim Brotherhood would take a major role in a new government. "I think that the Muslim Brotherhood is one faction in Egypt," Obama said. "They don't have majority support." He said it is important "not to say that our only two options are the Muslim Brotherhood, or to suppress the Egyptian people." Even so, Obama acknowledged that the Brotherhood, a banned political and religious group in Egypt, is well-organized and "there are strains of their ideology that are anti-U.S." Still, he said he had confidence that a representative government the U.S. could work with would emerge "if Egypt moves in an orderly transition process." Obama also said the U.S. had long tried to influence Egypt to avoid the kind of revolt that has unfolded over the last two weeks. "We have also consistently said both publicly and privately that trying to suppress your own people is something that is not sustainable," Obama said. "When you resort to repression, when you resort to violence, that does not work."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor