In an interview with ABC News correspondent Christiane Amanpour, Hosni Mubarak said he would like to resign but he cannot. After Mubarak, “there will be chaos.”
As the whole world knows, Egypt already is engulfed in chaos, violence and mayhem.
Since Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, despots have cried there is no alternative. “Après moi, le déluge.” But much to their dismay, the people are willing to take their chances.
Indeed, the people of Egypt have declared today “Friday of Departure.”
Anti-regime protesters will march on the presidential palace and demand that Mubarak leave now.
The Obama administration reportedly is pushing Mubarak towards the exit. The New York Times reports:
The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately, turning over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday.Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which, Mr. Suleiman, backed by Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the Defense Minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform.
[…]
The officials cautioned that the outcome depended on several factors, not least of all the mood of the protesters on the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities and the dynamics within the Egyptian government. Some officials said there was not yet any indication that either Mr. Suleiman or the military were willing to abandon Mr. Mubarak.
Hey Hosni, don't let the door hit ya on the way out.
