Identifying the radical ideology is something America needs to do in order to defeat Islamic terrorism, Egyptian officials told Donald Trump's foreign policy advisor.
Walid Phares appeared on Tuesday's "Fox & Friends" program and said after meeting with a Muslim cleric and members of Egypt's parliament, it's clear what needs to be done stateside.
"Well, I was just in Egypt as you just mentioned," Phares said. "What I did there, I met with a top Muslim cleric, I asked him how do you do it, how do you make a differentiation between extreme and not extreme, they told me you got to identify the ideology."
Phares, who is Lebanese, said Egypt employs "extreme vetting" practices when screening people who want to either enter the country or become citizens.
"They have the tools for extreme vetting. They know what the ideology is," he said.
Regarding America's relationship with Russia, Phares added, "Egyptians are very smart. They would like to establish relations with us but Russia is in Syria. Russia is everywhere. We need to talk with the Russians and tell them what we want in the Middle East."
Phares also worked for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign. Last month, he said Trump is acting like a president already, with a group of advisors giving him advice on several key issues.
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