What's Next for Egypt?

The party over former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's departure Friday after 30 years of his rule still hasn't died down, but the country already has a lot of questions to answer.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Marc Ginsberg, told "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" that most important among them is: What will the Egyptian military do with its newfound position of running the country?

"The Supreme Council led by the defense minister and deputy prime minister and the chief of staff are actually in charge of the country," Ginsberg said. "The vice president, Omar Suleiman, seems to have been put somewhat off to the side. And so this military council that essentially has been put in place is going to govern Egypt. The problem is the military, although strong, popular, has never governed anything."

Egypt: The Road Ahead - Complete Coverage

It is easy to argue that the military has ruled Egypt since 1953, Ginsberg added. When there hasn't been a military coup, every president has, since then, has come from the military.

So now, Egyptians need to ask where they believe the military will step aside within the next year to allow presidential elections, as promised, Ginsberg said.

Suleiman, Egypt's current vice president and former intelligence chief, will most likely step aside, despite his numerous ties to the security apparatus of the country.

"I don't think that Omar Suleiman is frankly naive enough in to believing that he's an acceptable candidate for president by the Egyptian people," Ginsberg said.

With Suleiman out and the military in charge, the ultimately lies in the hands of the young people of Egypt who spearheaded the street protests that ultimately forced Mubarak to leave. Among the most important decisions they will either directly or indirectly make is what to do with Mubarak himself, as well as his government apparatus.

"Do they have the sense of anger and recrimination towards (Mubarak) personally that would, in effect, challenge the institutions to put him on trial? I think it's unlikely that the military would permit a trial because, in the end, the military institution is also part of his legacy," Ginsberg said.

CBS White House correspondent Chip Reid told "The Early Show" that the Obama administration has publicly stated its intention to stay out of the way.

"The United States is going to be there, available to the Egyptian people, if they ask," Reid said. "They want to keep the focus on the Egyptian people. They want them to remain in control of the future of Egypt."

There are lots of different factions that will be taking part in mapping out the future of Egypt, and the U.S. is encouraging open participation, Reid said.

"How do you get the Muslim Brotherhood, the protesters, the military, all to work together (for) democracy in a country where they're starting from nothing, really, in terms of understanding how democracy works?" Reid asked.