Israel Matzav

ElBaradei gives Mubarak until Friday to leave

Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei has given President Hosni Mubarak until Friday to leave the country or the latter will be a 'dead man walking' (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

ElBaradei, who won the Nobel Peace prize while heading the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency despite his defense of Iran’s nuclear development, accused Mubarak of trying to deceive the country by not resigning immediately. ElBaradei has said that he is not necessarily interested in replacing Mubarak.

Although the president said he will not run for re-election, he did not mention the name of his son Gamal, who has been groomed to be his successor. Gamal and his family reportedly fled the country last week when it was clear that the protest movement was becoming a threat to his father’s regime.

Working against Mubarak is President Obama’s decision to instruct U.S. ambassador to Egypt Margret Scobey to speak with ElBaradei. The move was "part of our public outreach to convey support for an orderly transition in Egypt," according to U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.

President Obama earlier said in reaction to Mubarak’s speech that an “orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.”

He also sent former ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner, a personal friend of Mubarak, to Cairo to report back on the situation.

Hmmm. I wonder if ElBaradei believes that the army will back him.

Labels: Barack Obama, Egyptian regime change, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed ElBaradei, Politics, World Politics

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:25 AM