News Roundup: Obama Agrees to Meeting with Muslim Brotherhood

Bee's note:  There are three bits of news reported that may be of interest:  #1, while Congressmen have suggested the Muslim Brotherhood be added to the US "Terrorist" list, here we have Obama inviting them to the WH.  What doesn't he understand about this organization?  Or, about the Egyptian people refusing to live under Morsi's Sharia laws?;
#2 - Egypt has spoken: MB leaders to be put on trial; 
#3 Are you kidding?!  Is this the WH's way to punish Egypt for rejecting Morsi? And, for rejecting Anne Patterson?! During the protests that ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi from power on July 3, 2013 Patterson was singled out specially by the protesters for being too close to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. The United States may want to hold off assigning a "new" ambassador until after Egypt has set up their new government.

.. Envoys In Egypt Visit Jailed Muslim Brotherhood Leader « Pat Dollard

1.  OBAMA AGREES TO MEETING WITH MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN WHITE HOUSE ACCORDING TO SOURCES - August 5, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama has agreed to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives at the White House, sources told Egypt Independent. Obama would reportedly meet with Brotherhood officials to “hear their opinion” on developments in Egypt, in the presence of Turkish diplomats. Egypt Independent heard from sources inside the Muslim Brotherhood that Islamist-linked billionaire Hassen Malek requested a meeting through Obama’s office manager. The meeting with Turkish officials is expected to take place this month. Turkish diplomats are expected to push for Mohamed Morsy’s reinstatement as Egyptian president, sources said, if not that the Muslim Brotherhood would be assured of political survival following a month-long violent stand-off with the armed forces in the wake of Morsy’s overthrow. Over 300 people have been reported killed since army chief and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Morsy’s ouster on 3 July. The U.S. has repeatedly supported the Muslim Brotherhood’s ascendancy in Egypt, researcher Mohamed Hasanein Heikahl said. While a number of Brotherhood leaders have publicly criticized the U.S. stance, accusing the Obama administration of “playing a role in Morsy’s overthrow,” they are said to be hoping for a shift as tentative talks continue with Egypt’s interim administration. Egypt Independent

2. Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood leaders to be tried August 25

An Egyptian court on Sunday set an August 25 trial date for the Muslim Brotherhood’s supreme leader, Mohammed Badie, and five other members of the Islamist movement, over their alleged involvement in the deaths of protesters.

An Egyptian court on Sunday set a trial date for Muslim Brotherhood leaders in a move likely to enrage supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

It came as US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met the army chief amid intense efforts to try to resolve the political crisis since the army ousted Morsi in a July 3 coup.

Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie, who is currently in hiding, and his two deputies – Khairat al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi – who are being held in Cairo's Tora prison, are accused of inciting violence against protesters outside the Islamist group's headquarters on June 30.

They will face trial on August 25 together with three Brotherhood members who are accused of killing protesters.

Morsi himself has been formally remanded in custody on suspicion of offences committed when he escaped from prison during the 2011 revolt that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.  CONTINUE

3.  Egypt rages against likely US ambassador on Twitter  

US media reports that Robert Ford, former top US envoy to Syria, will be Washington’s next ambassador to Egypt has sparked a vitriolic Twitter campaign over a Canadian conspiracy website's claims that he once ran “death squads” in Iraq.

A little over two years ago, on July 8 2011, a convoy carrying the then US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford made its way through army checkpoints to the besieged city of Hama, then the centre of protests against the rule of the Assad regime.

The surprise visit was seen as the first concrete sign of US support for the Syrian opposition. It sparked a furious response from the government but won the ambassador hero status in the eyes of the opposition and, as he arrived in Hama, protesters were seen greeting Ford with flowers and olive branches.

But these days, the veteran US diplomat is being showered with invective and diatribe – on Twitter.

The latest social media campaign against Ford was sparked by media reports over the weekend that US Secretary of State John Kerry had recommended the former envoy to Syria as the next US ambassador to Egypt.

But a number of Egyptians on Twitter were having none of it.

Within hours, hashtags such as #NoToRobertFord in English and in Arabic, “We refuse the American ambassador to Egypt,” appeared on the microblogging site.  CONTINUE