Cairo -President Obama has told the embattled president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, that he should not run for another term in elections in the fall, effectively withdrawing American support for its closest Arab ally, according to American diplomats in Cairo and Washington.
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Al Arabiya television, citing unnamed sources, reported that Mr. Mubarak would announce in a nationwide address Tuesday evening that he would not run for another term.
The message was conveyed to Mr. Mubarak by Frank G. Wisner, a seasoned former diplomat with deep ties to Egypt, these officials said. Mr. Wisner’s message, they said, was not a blunt demand for Mr. Mubarak to step aside now, but firm counsel that he should make way for a reform process that would culminate in free and fair elections in September to elect a new Egyptian leader.
This back channel message, authorized directly by Mr. Obama, would appear to tip the administration beyond the delicate balancing act it has performed in the last week — resisting calls for Mr. Mubarak to step down, even as it has called for an “orderly transition” to a more politically open Egypt.
It was not clear whether the administration favors Mr. Mubarak turning over the reins to a transitional government, composed of leaders of the opposition movement perhaps under the leadership of Mohamed ElBaradei, or a caretaker government led by members of the existing regime, including the newly-appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman.
I wish Obama would say the that too. Maybe he will…
Very sorry to hear this . may you & your family be blessed.
Shuckron
Maybe Mubarak has the same advice for Obama
He is going to announce that he won’t run again in SEPTEMBER. This guy is nuts. The people don’t want to wait to get rid of this pro-Zionist puppet. They want to get rid of him now. This won’t work. In another day or two he will quit and join his yingele Jimmy Mubarak and his wife Shoshi in London.
Here we go. The president of US who has the least understanding of the Middle East telling Egypt what to do. What idiocy! Here we have Obama, in his effort to provide world leadership, taking his international microphone to tell Mubarak what many thousands of his own subjects (constituents) are saying. Isn’t Obama just obeying the violent message of those rioting? Perhaps Mubarak leaving is a great idea. But Obama’s silence should have dominated the world scene. He should realize his powerlessness here and behave accordingly. But he grabs the mike and tells another world leader what to do in the face of upheaval. Brilliant. When will he discover that silence is golden, especially his.
Jimmy Carter
Mr. Mubarak is obviously toast…
We can only hope that the government replacing him will follow in his footsteps, at least to some degree, when it comes to relations with Israel and the West, and honoring the peace agreement with Israel.
Mubarak should tell Obama not to run for election.