Obama: Public Caution and Secret Negotiations with Egypt

He never got to ask him to resign. However, President Barack Obama acted cautiously and asked President Hosni Mubarak to “listen to the voice of people” urging him to resign.

During the press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Obama struggled to maintain control. He said repeatedly that the Egyptians should determine how the transition to Democracy unfolds. Meanwhile, he insisted that an orderly transition takes place “now,” and threw all kinds of warnings. “If you end up having just gestures towards the opposition but it leads to a continuing suppression of the opposition, that’s not going to work. If you have the pretense of reform but not real reform, that’s not going to be effective.”

The New York Times revealed yesterday morning that the White House is negotiating a solution to the crisis with the Egyptian military. During the press conference, they strove to clarify that the formula would not be “made in the USA.” Many will see this as another example of “U.S. dynamic hypocrisy,” said retired U.S. diplomat Edward Peck, whose long diplomatic career includes assignments in Egypt and Tunisia.

“Asked why they don’t have Mubarak step down, the administration says that is not its role, it’s up to the Egyptian people, while tacitly admitting involvement in efforts to pull together acceptable elements to form a government,” said Peck.

According to Times magazine, one scenario that is being debated is that Mubarak will hand over the presidency to his vice president, Omar Suleiman, who would lead the transition towards the elections in September. “This alternative is not going to work,” said an ex officer of the United States in Cairo, who did not want to be identified. “Suleiman is very dear to the U.S. He was a former boss of the Egyptian intelligence service and was who lead the interrogatories to the prisoners that were imprisoned and tortured illegally by the CIA in Egypt. But the Egyptians hate Suleiman. Furthermore, legally the Vice President cannot replace the President. The one that should replace him is the President of Parliament.”

Upon the confirmation of the ongoing negotiations, the White House left clear that there was not only one scenario about the table, but instead there were several. “Anyway, I believe that everything has been set up because Obama said everything without doing anything. He talked about heritage, as if Mubarak was already something from the past,” said the director of Egyptian television in Washington, Mohamed Elsetouhi. According to Washington Post associate editor Karen DeYoung, the White House tried to convince the opposition of the importance of attending a meeting called by Suleiman for today, in which the first steps towards transition should be made, including the abolishment of the laws about state of emergency and the rules to proceed to a of the Constitution. The opposition has said that there will be no dialogue with Mubarak if he does not resign. A diplomatic source told Clarín that the State Department is convinced there is no way to make them change their minds. In parallel, all the contact between the Pentagon and the head of the Egyptian military are intended to convince the army to support this process.