Egypt's Military: We're Not a Legitimate Gov't
CAIRO - Egypt's military said it will not act as a substitute for a "legitimate" government after President Hosni Mubarak resigned and transferred his power to the armed forces.
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A military spokesman, in a brief televised statement, said the armed forces would later announce measures and arrangements to introduce the changes Egyptians want.
He also praised Mubarak for his contribution to the nation.
Later, President Obama said in a televised address that the Egyptian military has served patriotically and responsibly and now must ensure a transition that is credible to the Egyptian people.
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Mr. Obama said the military, in power in the wake of Mubarak's resignation, must lay out a clear path toward fair elections.
Mr. Obama said Mubarak's resignation and the military's decision to step into the void raises questions that he said Egyptians will be sure to answer.
He said the military must end the state of emergency that Mubarak imposed and protect the rights of citizens.
"The people ousted the regime," rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo's central Tahrir, or Liberation, Square and outside Mubarak's main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital.
The crowds in Cairo, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and other cities around the country erupted into a pandemonium of cheers and waving flags. They danced, hugged and raised their hands in prayer after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the resignation announcement on national TV just after nightfall. Some fell to kiss the ground, and others chanted, "Goodbye, goodbye" and "put your heads up high, you're Egyptian."
"Finally we are free," said Safwan Abou Stat, a 60-year-old protester. "From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great."
The success of the biggest popular uprising ever seen in the Arab world had stunning implications for the region, the United States and the West, and Israel.
Mubarak was the symbol of the implicit decades-old deal the United States made in the Middle East: Support for autocratic leaders in return for their guarantee of stability, a bulwark against Islamic militants and peace — or at least an effort at peace — with Israel.
The United States at times seemed overwhelmed throughout the 18 days of upheaval, fumbling to juggle its advocacy of democracy and the right to protest, its loyalty to longtime ally Mubarak and its fears Muslim fundamentalists could gain a foothold. Those issues will only grow in significance as Egypt takes the next steps towards what the protest movement hopes will be a true democracy — in which the Muslim Brotherhood will likely to be a significant political player.
Neighboring Israel watched the crisis with unease, worried that their 1979 peace treaty could be in danger. It quickly demanded on Friday that post-Mubarak Egypt continue to adhere to it. Any break seems unlikely in the near term: The military leadership supports the treaty. While anti-Israeli feeling is strong among Egyptians and future ties may be strained, few call for outright abrogating a treaty that has kept peace after three wars in the past half-century.
From the oil-rich Gulf states in the east to Morocco in the west, regimes both pro- and anti-U.S. could not help but worry they could see a similar upheaval. Several of the region's authoritarian rulers have made pre-emptive gestures of democratic reform to avert their own protest movements.
The lesson many took: If it could happen in only three weeks in Egypt, where Mubarak's lock on power had appeared unshakable, it could happen anywhere. Only a month earlier, Tunisia's president was forced to step down in the face of protests.
Mubarak, a former air force commander came to power after the 1981 assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat by Islamic radicals. Throughout his rule, he showed a near obsession with stability, using rigged elections and a hated police force accused of widespread torture to ensure his control.
He resisted calls for reform even as public bitterness grew over corruption, deteriorating infrastructure and rampant poverty in a country where 40 percent live below or near the poverty line.
Up to the last hours, Mubarak sought to cling to power, handing some of his authorities to Suleiman while keeping his title.
But an explosion of protests Friday rejecting the move appeared to have pushed the military into forcing him out completely. Hundreds of thousands marched throughout the day in cities across the country as soldiers stood by, besieging his palaces in Cairo and Alexandria and the state TV building. A governor of a southern province was forced to flee to safety in the face of protests there.
Mubarak himself flew to his isolated palace in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, 250 miles from the turmoil in Cairo.
His fall came 32 years to the day after the collapse of the shah's government in Iran.