US Softening Towards the Brotherhood

Does a five-minute conversation at a cocktail party signal the beginning of a change in US policy towards Mubarak's Egypt? When House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer visited Cairo last week, he was introduced to Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, who is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and an MP who leads an independent bloc within Parliament. This wasn't just a chance meeting -- inviting Katatni was "cleared by the State Department," and represents US "concern" over the recent Egyptian crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood leaders.