Joint Chiefs Chairman Urges Caution on Egypt

WASHINGTON - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday the U.S. hasn't raised its military readiness or alert status because of the instability in Egypt, even though the Obama administration is very concerned about the instability there.

Adm. Mike Mullen also said there shouldn't be any rush to terminate military assistance to President Hosni Mubarak's government.

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Mullen also reinforced President Barack Obama's call for a "peaceful, nonviolent transition" and said that decision ultimately must be made by the Egyptian people and their government.

As for U.S. assistance to Egypt, which has averaged about $1.3 billion a year, Mullen said Congress shouldn't move too hastily to cancel the program. Mullen says on ABC's "Good Morning America" he would "caution against doing anything until we know what's really going on."

Mullen said he has been in regular communication with his Egyptian counterpart and he doesn't believe the army will attack the demonstrators. He said military personnel in Egypt have sought to remain neutral and "they really want to continue to do that."

The Navy admiral said the United States is in a higher state of "awareness" but not in a higher state of alert.

In Cairo Friday, tens of thousands packed into central Tarhir Square, waving flags and singing the national anthem, emboldened in their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak after they repelled pro-regime attackers in two days of bloody street fights.

Thousands including families with children flowed over bridges across the Nile into Tahrir Square, a sign that they were not intimidated after fending off everything thrown at them by pro-Mubarak attackers — storms of hurled concrete, metal rebar and firebombs, fighters on horses and camels and automatic gunfire barrages.

In contrast to the past two days, the atmosphere was one of peaceful and orderly protest, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

The army appears to have thrown its support behind Friday's demonstration, setting up proper barricades with concertina wire to allow people to come in and out of the square peacefully, showing their identification and being frisked for weapons. The military vowed not to fire a single bullet, and Egyptian state television reported that the defense minister himself entered the square to talk to demonstrators.

"There's a real shift of mood here this morning," Palmer told CBS' "The Early Show."

In the wake of Wednesday and Thursday's violence, more detailed scenarios were beginning to emerge for a transition to democratic rule after Mubarak's nearly 30-year authoritarian reign. The Obama administration said it was discussing several possibilities with Cairo — including one for Mubarak to leave office now and hand over power to a military-backed transition.

Protesters in the square held up signs reading "Now!", massing around 100,000 in the largest gathering since the quarter-million who rallied Tuesday. They labeled Friday's rally the "day of leaving," the day they hope Mubarak will go.

Various proposals for a post-Mubarak transition floated by the Americans, the regime and the protesters share some common ground, but with one elephant-sized difference: The protesters say nothing can be done before Mubarak leaves.

The 82-year-old president insists he will serve out the remaining seven months of his term to ensure a stable process. "You don't understand the Egyptian culture and what would happen if I step down now," Mubarak said he told President Barack Obama. He warned in an interview with ABC News that chaos would ensue.

But the Obama administration was in talks with top Egyptian officials about the possibility of Mubarak immediately resigning and handing over a military-backed transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman.

Such a government would prepare the country for free and fair elections later this year, according to U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the continuing sensitive talks. The officials stressed that the United States isn't seeking to impose a solution on Egypt but said the administration had made a judgment that Mubarak has to go soon if there is to be a peaceful resolution.

The Obama administration talks are being held with the Egyptian military and with Suleiman, but not with Mubarak himself, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Plante.