“After the dust settles and the Egyptian government is reformed, the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan) will certainly ease their way into significant positions of power, not at all unlike Hezbollah in Lebanon… In a dramatic and portentous shift, the U.S. and even Israel will be forced to recognize and deal with the strengthened Ikhwan Party in Egypt.”

-Joel Richardson, What’s next in the Middle East? January 31, 2011

Five months later, the Obama administration has acknowledged that it is reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood:

ԗe believe, given the changing political landscape in Egypt, that it is in the interests of the United States to engage with all parties that are peaceful, and committed to non-violence, that intend to compete for the parliament and the presidency,Ԡ

-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, June 29, 2011