http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_re_us/us_us_egypt_suleiman
Another laugh as the AP refers to VP Suleiman as a "longtime confidant of the US," without explaining what the US and he confided in. Which was torture. Background on Suleiman the torturer:
"Each rendition was authorized at the very top levels of both governments....The long-serving chief of the Egyptian central intelligence agency, Omar Suleiman, negotiated directly with top Agency officials. [Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt] Walker described the Egyptian counterpart, Suleiman, as "very bright, very realistic," adding that he was cognizant that there was a downside to "some of the negative things that the Egyptians engaged in, of torture and so on. But he was not squeamish, by the way.
"Habib was interrogated by the country's Intelligence Director, General Omar Suleiman.... Suleiman took a personal interest in anyone suspected of links with Al Qaeda. As Habib had visited Afghanistan shortly before 9/11, he was under suspicion. Habib was repeatedly zapped with high-voltage electricity, immersed in water up to his nostrils, beaten, his fingers were broken and he was hung from metal hooks.
That treatment wasn't enough for Suleiman, so:
To loosen Habib's tongue, Suleiman ordered a guard to murder a gruesomely shackled Turkistan prisoner in front of Habib - and he did, with a vicious karate kick.""In an observation that may turn out to be ironic, the magazine wrote, "More than from any other single factor, Suleiman's influence stems from his unswerving loyalty to Mubarak."
"But in secret, men like Omar Suleiman, the country's most powerful spy and secret politician, did our work, the sort of work that Western countries have no appetite to do ourselves."
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/30-2
So, Sec. of State Clinton's contact person regarding the beatings of protesters is a man who is not squeamish about torture, ordered the breaking of fingers, the zapping with high voltage and the hanging by hooks. When these treatments weren't effective, Suleiman then ordered a guard to brutally murder a shackled prisoner in order to loosen the tongue of the he was interrogating.. A man with a history such as this, a Mubarak loyalist is being asked to look into the beating of anti-Mubarak protesters? Come on, Hillary. The world is watching and they aren't as stupid or naive as you give them credit for.
Bibi weighs in on what the Egyptian people must do to ensure a transition to democracy.
"An Egypt that will adopt these reforms will be a source of hope for the world. As much as the foundations for democracy are stronger, the foundations for peace are stronger."
Netanyahu continued, adding that although the protests may not be motivated by religious extremism, "in a situation of chaos, an organized Islamist body can seize control of a country. It happened in Iran. It happened in other instances".
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-a-democratic-egypt-won-t-threaten-peace-with-israel-1.340899
Israel playing the fear card very hard as AIPAC blows up the cellphones of their lackeys in the US government. The situation will soon spin out of their control as the global powers continue to back Mubarak. The world witnessed the peaceful gathering of the anti-Mubarak crowd estimated at two million people as they also witnessed the horses, camels and whips riding into the crowd reportedly sent by Mubarak's Ministry of Spontaneous Protests. If Mubarak leaves, some time will be bought. But, after ruling with an iron fist for over thirty years, his fingerprints and legacy will remain only working to re-ignite the fury of the Egyptians.
If Mubarak doesn't leave, the dividing and conquering of the masses that was witnessed today will escalate. I see no way out for Mubarak or the global powers that seek an "orderly transition," whatever that means. Does an orderly transition infer a return to a so called normalcy under Mubarak or a Mubarak loyalist? An orderly transition that allows commerce to continue as the protesters who seek an American style democracy that does not exist continue on as they did before? There is no way out. Push will soon meet shove.