Rumsfeld worries Brotherhood will hijack Egyptian revolution

ANDREW S. GERACI/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, shown in his workroom, recently completed his memoir, “Known and Unknown.”

By Ben Birnbaum

The Washington Times

Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he fears that Egypt’s revolution could be “hijacked” by the Muslim Brotherhood, adding that early elections would give the Islamist group an advantage over disorganized secular parties.

“Even though it’s a small minority of the country, it may be by far the best-organized political organization and the most disciplined and very likely the most vicious,” Mr. Rumsfeld said in an interview with The Washington Times.

“And I personally worry about Egypt, for example, with respect to the early elections and the fact that there may very well be no other entities, political organizational entities that exist in the country, that could have the capability of managing the process against the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Egyptians overwhelmingly approved a referendum on March 19 that speeds up the transition to civilian rule, with legislative elections to be held as soon as June and a presidential vote possibly in August.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who replaced Mr. Rumsfeld in December 2006, met in Cairo last week with the leaders of Egypt’s ruling military council and reportedly urged them to slow down the election timetable so budding secular parties could have time to bloom.

While the Brotherhood has promised not to field a presidential candidate, it is expected to become a major force in the legislature.

Citing Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and Hezbollah’s recent government coup in Lebanon as two Middle East uprisings “hijacked” by religious extremists, Mr. Rumsfeld dismissed suggestions that the Brotherhood could be a responsible player in the political process.

“It’s an organization that is, by our standards, radical and Islamist and certainly not benign,” he said. “They’re serious people.”

Mr. Rumsfeld, who has been on the road promoting his memoir, “Known and Unknown,” said that events in Egypt are far more important to the region and to U.S. strategic interests than what happens in Libya, where the U.S. and allies are in their second week of military action against Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

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