In its frenzied paternalistic attempts to influence events unfolding in the uprising in Egypt, the media is finally stepping back and allowing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world leaders the opportunity to assess the situation and offer meaningful support to the Egyptian people in seeking a peaceful transition to a more democratic form of government.
In his almost professional report of Secretary Clinton's remarks today, Mark Landler at the NY Times can't refrain from injecting his personal biases occasionally; nevertheless you can get the gist of what Clinton had to say:
MUNICH — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned on Sunday that removing President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt too hastily could threaten the country’s transition to democracy.
Her remarks were the Obama administration’s most explicit sign yet of its growing emphasis on averting instability in Egypt, even at the expense of the key demand from the Egyptian protest movement: Mr. Mubarak’s immediate removal.
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Citing the Egyptian Constitution, Mrs. Clinton said that if Mr. Mubarak stepped down now, Egypt would have to hold elections for a new president in 60 days — too little time for the government or the opposition to organize a credible vote.
Her comments, made to reporters on the way home from a conference in Munich, echo what administration officials have said privately and some of what the White House’s temporary diplomatic emissary to Cairo, Frank G. Wisner, said publicly on Sunday: Mr. Mubarak is likely to remain in the picture, at least a while longer.
Mrs. Clinton reiterated that Mr. Mubarak’s future was up to the Egyptian people and declined to discuss what role he should play between now and September, when Egypt is scheduled to hold an election in which he has said neither he nor his son Gamal will compete.
