NEWSMAX: National Intelligence Director James Clapper’s bid to defuse frustration on Capitol Hill over the intelligence community’s performance during the Mideast upheaval appeared to backfire Thursday, when his description of Egypt’s extremist Muslim Brotherhood as a “largely secular” group that has “eschewed violence” sparked outrage.
That characterization by the No. 1 U.S. intelligence official triggered an immediate backlash.
Clapper’s remark was a “head-snapping moment,” said Richard Engel, NBC’s chief foreign correspondent. “That doesn’t make any sense from my knowledge of the organization,” Engel told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, “and I’ve spent a lot of time with them.” He described it as “a complete misreading of the situation here in Egypt.” … (more)
