Mubarak resigns, hands power to military

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Yahoo News:

CAIRO – Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday, bowing down after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands. "The people ousted the president," chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential palace in Cairo.

Several hundred thousand protesters massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square exploded into joy, waving Egyptian flags, and car horns and celebratory shots in the air were heard around the city of 18 million in joy after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.

Mubarak had 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 soliders stood by, besieging his palace in Cairo and Alexandria and the state TV building.

"In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic," a grim-looking Suleiman said. "He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor."

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, "This is the greatest day of my life."

"The country has been liberated after decades of repression," he said adding that he expects a "beautiful" transition of power.
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So it looks like it's official. This is indeed a historic moment for Egypt; the question now is what happens next?

[pollyannaish]

This is very good news at this point. I am thrilled for the Egyptian people and pray that they now make REAL choices for freedom.

[Casino67]

I don't think anyone outside of Egypt is really comfortable with this just yet.

 

I heard a talking head on Fox describe it as an earthquake, now the rebuilding starts and no one knows if there will be after shocks. Still a lot to watch and learn there. And we have Urkel in the WH, who has lost the confidence of most of the other ME countries. Probably the only one that likes what he has done is Iran.

 

If only the protesters had a definitive leader. Who, outside of the military, is going to step into that position? Is the VP strong enough to hold off a Muslin Bro takeover? Will the military give up their political power when the time comes? Lots of unknowns at the moment.