The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Friday that it's essential that the U.S. try to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood from having a part in Egypt's new government. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said on Fox's "Hannity" that Washington has six months to work with the military leaders guiding the democratic transition in Egypt.
"As Americans we have a strategic interest in the Middle East. We cannot just sit back and say that the Muslim Brotherhood can work itself in," King said.
He said that the group, which was banned under the Mubarak regime, says they are not violent yet "talk violence."
"We as Americans cannot take the risk of allowing a group that fraternizes with terrorists who talks radically to have them get any power in the Middle East," King said.
"Use our influence, considerable influence we have, use it right and do all we can to ensure the Muslim Brotherhood does not insinuate itself into the situation."
King said there is a risk as the Muslim Brotherhood is the only organized opposition party in Egypt.
"We also in Castro in 1959, the so-called democratic revolution Castro said all the right things," he said. "Once he got in power he applied himself with the Soviets same thing happened with Khomeini. I'm afraid it is going to happen with the Muslim Brotherhood. The president cannot stand back. We have a role to play."
He said there was a "real chance" of the Muslim Brotherhood winning power in Egypt, but noted that they don't have much popular support.
"When you have a time like this, when there's a revolution and there's not been a democracy in the country, a well-organized power group can get power far beyond its real support and that's my concern," King said.
"What bothers me about the Obama administration is if sometime in the future there may be some small role for the Muslim Brotherhood that is bad enough," he said. "But we're saying up front the way [Director of National Intelligence James] Clapper did yesterday and the way the president refuses the Muslim Brotherhood, we are giving them an advantage right at the start at the time when there is so much chaos in the country."
