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You may notice that the opposition demands made no mention of turning Egypt into an Islamic republic. Very few of those reporting from Cairo seemed to think that Islamism was what was at stake in these protests. NBC's Engel noted that the Moslem Brotherhood was late to join the protest movement that had been started by the unemployed, by students, and by opponents of corruption. He picked up on worries that the Brotherhood "will try and make a run for power." Later Engel was careful to stipulate that the Brotherhood "denounces terrorism."
Contrast that to those covering the story from outside Cairo. ABC's Martha Raddatz associated the Brotherhood with terrorists thus: "They do not openly back al-Qaeda but several of the founders of al-Qaeda were former members." NBC's Michelle Kosinski, reporting from Tel Aviv, quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as worrying that "Egypt could become another Iran." CBS' Lara Logan, in Alexandria, called the Moslem Brotherhood "extremist" and ABC anchor Diane Sawyer called it a "mysterious fundamentalist group." CBS substitute anchor Harry Smith interviewed Richard Haass, the former diplomat, now think-tank honcho at the Council on Foreign Relations: "The one thing we never want to have in Egypt is the sort of thing we had in Iran three decades ago where the choice is between an authoritarian government and a radical Islamist alternative."
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