Un-Glad Tidings from Egypt

Hamas was not the only group to condemn the U.S. killing of Osama Bin Laden. Its brother organization in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood—re-formed over the weekend as an official political party that plans to contest seats in September’s parliamentary elections—declared itself “against assassinations.” (So it didn’t go nearly as far as Hamas, but still.)

Meanwhile, The New Republic has an unease-inducing profile of Amr Moussa, the former Egyptian foreign minister and Arab League head who has emerged as the leading candidate for the Egyptian presidency. “Moussa owes his startling political ascendance primarily to one thing: his shameless exploitation of anti-Israel demagoguery for political gain,” writes Eric Trager. He concludes, “While the fall of Mubarak raises hopes that Egypt will enjoy a post-authoritarian future, the prominence of Moussa threatens to revive Egypt’s anti-Western, Nasser-era past. And, most alarmingly, this is apparently what many Egyptians want.”

Egypt’s Influential Muslim Brotherhood Condemns bin Laden Death as ‘Assassination’ [AP/WP]
The Throwback [TNR]