The devil you know, is better than the devil you don’t know

Members of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood met with U.S. officials including White House staffers, the administration confirmed Tuesday.

“Following Egypt’s revolution, we have broadened our engagement to include new and emerging political parties and actors,” White House spokesman Tommy Vietor told POLITICO. “The meeting Tuesday with working-level NSS officials is just one in a series of meetings between US officials, members of Congress, and representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The Islamist group, long banned in Egypt by successive autocratic governments, has emerged as a powerful political force in post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt — but is also seen as a threat to secularism in the devoutly Muslim country. The group’s  Freedom and Justice Party is set to control slightly less than half of the seats in Egypt’s new parliament. According to the Washington Post, the group is working on projecting a more moderate image on this visit to the U.S.

via Muslim Brotherhood delegation meets with White House officials – POLITICO.com.