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close ties with the Egyptian military, which still receives $1.3 billion
in American aid each year. American officials hope that whatever
government emerges will continue to support American policy,
including maintaining ties with Israel and distance from Iran.
At the same time, the United States’ standing in public opinion in
Egypt and around the region continues to suffer because of decades
of support for undemocratic governments like the military-backed
system that controlled Egypt under Mr. Mubarak. Remaining aloof
from the debate over the military’s future role here risks reinforcing
those criticisms at a time when democratic changes are giving public
opinion new weight.
As part of its broader outreach, the Obama administration has also
met with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group whose political
party is poised to win a major role in the country’s new Parliament
and remains the biggest political counterweight to the military
council.
Jacob Walles, a deputy assistant secretary of state, met for the first
time this week with the leaders of the Brotherhood’s newly formed
Freedom and Justice Party at its new headquarters in Cairo. While
American diplomats have had intermittent contacts for years with
Brotherhood lawmakers in the Egyptian Parliament, officials here
said Mr. Walles’s meeting appeared to underscore Mrs. Clinton’s
pledges to cooperate with Islamist parties that respect democracy.
Others said it might instead have been a sign that Washington simply
realized that the Brotherhood was certain to play a crucial role in
Egypt’s future and was likely to win a large bloc of seats in the
parliamentary elections that begin this month.
“They confirmed that they are keen to support the democratic
process, and they will accept any results of the elections and deal
with any government that respects human rights and the rights of
women and minorities and the democratic process,” said Essam el-

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