[h=3]By MATT BRADLEY[/h]CAIRO—After her first meeting with Egypt's new president, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded cautiously into a divisive domestic debate over the role of that country's military, offering U.S. support for the armed forces' "return to a purely national security role."
Mrs. Clinton said in brief comments following her meeting with Mohammed Morsi that she pledged American support to mend Egypt's economy, including following through on a $1 billion financial package U.S. President Barack Obama promised to Egypt last summer.
Mrs. Clinton's meeting with Mr. Morsi marks a watershed moment in the shifting U.S. relationship with one of its strongest allies in the Arab world. Mr. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an 84-year-old group that American foreign policy makers have kept at arms length for decades.
In the 17 months since the fall of U.S.-backed President Hosni Mubarak amid nationwide street protests, the Brotherhood has taken control of Egypt's presidency and its now dissolved parliament, forcing the U.S. to shift its diplomatic heft behind the Islamist group.
Mrs. Clinton used her remarks to stress continuity in an alliance that has buttressed regional peace for decades.
ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, speaks with Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr in Cairo on Saturday.
"We believe America's shared strategic interests with Egypt far outnumber our differences," she said.
Mrs. Clinton made no direct reference to Mr. Morsi's Brotherhood. But the startling sight of an American Secretary of State seated next a bearded Islamist president has stirred recrimination and even hostility from the secular-minded political factions who once counted on American largess.
The Egypt Mrs. Clinton visited on Saturday afternoon is reeling from a constitutional crisis, as Mr. Morsi seeks to assert his elected, civilian authority over a military institution that has jealously guarded its power with the help of considerable public support.
That row escalated over the past week when Mr. Morsi defied leading judges that many Egyptians believe enjoy military backing.
Though the military dismissed the Islamist-dominated legislature last month following a high court ruling that called the parliament unconstitutional, Mr. Morsi called the body back into order on Sunday shortly after assuming office—inciting a stay of execution from the country's supreme court and harsh warnings from the generals who laid the groundwork for Mr. Morsi's election.
U.S. diplomats stress that they are not backing Mr. Morsi directly but only encouraging the military to yield power to elected civilians. Mrs. Clinton urged both sides to use "dialogue and compromise, real politics" to resolve the tense impasse.
"The United States supports the full transition to civilian rule with all that entails," said Mrs. Clinton in her news conference alongside Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr.
Mrs. Clinton's visit to Egypt is one of the last legs in her global tour that began in Asia. She is scheduled to meet with the head of Egypt's military and former de facto president, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Sunday morning.
The spurned emotions among military supporters were evident on picket signs held aloft outside Egypt's opulent presidential palace on Saturday evening. Protesters denounced Mr. Morsi's Brotherhood and demanded that the U.S. halt "conspiracies" meant to prop up the Brotherhood's leaders.
While encouraging the once-ruling generals to return to their barracks, Mrs. Clinton praised Egypt's military for "representing the Egyptian people in the revolution" against Mr. Mubarak, contrasting them favorably to the Syrian military that resorted to "murdering its own people" during the bloody uprising against President Bashar Al Assad, Mrs. Clinton said.
Mrs. Clinton also touched on Egypt's tense relationship with Israel, thanking the Egyptian government for its long-established mediating role between the Jewish state and the Palestinians. Though Mr. Morsi has repeatedly promised to hew to the two countries' 1979 peace treaty, his ascendancy has been cause for anxiety in Israel.
In urging Mr. Morsi to stick to the treaty's terms, Mrs. Clinton stressed the practical benefits of regional peace.
The treaty, she said, "has brought great benefits to Egypt and will continue to do so, enabling the president to focus on the economic conditions and the internal political situation here in this country."
Mrs. Clinton said in brief comments following her meeting with Mohammed Morsi that she pledged American support to mend Egypt's economy, including following through on a $1 billion financial package U.S. President Barack Obama promised to Egypt last summer.
Mrs. Clinton's meeting with Mr. Morsi marks a watershed moment in the shifting U.S. relationship with one of its strongest allies in the Arab world. Mr. Morsi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an 84-year-old group that American foreign policy makers have kept at arms length for decades.
In the 17 months since the fall of U.S.-backed President Hosni Mubarak amid nationwide street protests, the Brotherhood has taken control of Egypt's presidency and its now dissolved parliament, forcing the U.S. to shift its diplomatic heft behind the Islamist group.
Mrs. Clinton used her remarks to stress continuity in an alliance that has buttressed regional peace for decades.
ReutersU.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, speaks with Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr in Cairo on Saturday.
"We believe America's shared strategic interests with Egypt far outnumber our differences," she said.
Mrs. Clinton made no direct reference to Mr. Morsi's Brotherhood. But the startling sight of an American Secretary of State seated next a bearded Islamist president has stirred recrimination and even hostility from the secular-minded political factions who once counted on American largess.
The Egypt Mrs. Clinton visited on Saturday afternoon is reeling from a constitutional crisis, as Mr. Morsi seeks to assert his elected, civilian authority over a military institution that has jealously guarded its power with the help of considerable public support.
That row escalated over the past week when Mr. Morsi defied leading judges that many Egyptians believe enjoy military backing.
Though the military dismissed the Islamist-dominated legislature last month following a high court ruling that called the parliament unconstitutional, Mr. Morsi called the body back into order on Sunday shortly after assuming office—inciting a stay of execution from the country's supreme court and harsh warnings from the generals who laid the groundwork for Mr. Morsi's election.
U.S. diplomats stress that they are not backing Mr. Morsi directly but only encouraging the military to yield power to elected civilians. Mrs. Clinton urged both sides to use "dialogue and compromise, real politics" to resolve the tense impasse.
"The United States supports the full transition to civilian rule with all that entails," said Mrs. Clinton in her news conference alongside Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr.
Mrs. Clinton's visit to Egypt is one of the last legs in her global tour that began in Asia. She is scheduled to meet with the head of Egypt's military and former de facto president, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, on Sunday morning.
The spurned emotions among military supporters were evident on picket signs held aloft outside Egypt's opulent presidential palace on Saturday evening. Protesters denounced Mr. Morsi's Brotherhood and demanded that the U.S. halt "conspiracies" meant to prop up the Brotherhood's leaders.
While encouraging the once-ruling generals to return to their barracks, Mrs. Clinton praised Egypt's military for "representing the Egyptian people in the revolution" against Mr. Mubarak, contrasting them favorably to the Syrian military that resorted to "murdering its own people" during the bloody uprising against President Bashar Al Assad, Mrs. Clinton said.
Mrs. Clinton also touched on Egypt's tense relationship with Israel, thanking the Egyptian government for its long-established mediating role between the Jewish state and the Palestinians. Though Mr. Morsi has repeatedly promised to hew to the two countries' 1979 peace treaty, his ascendancy has been cause for anxiety in Israel.
In urging Mr. Morsi to stick to the treaty's terms, Mrs. Clinton stressed the practical benefits of regional peace.
The treaty, she said, "has brought great benefits to Egypt and will continue to do so, enabling the president to focus on the economic conditions and the internal political situation here in this country."