Source: Politico
An Immediate Exit For Mubarak?Mubarak’s argument for staying in power for more than 30 years — reiterated to Christiane Amanpour in a Feb. 3 interview — was that he was the only bulwark against chaos in Egypt. Paradoxically, Mubarak himself put the final nail in the coffin of the stability argument last week, when he unleashed violence against peaceful protesters, journalists and human rights activists. Egyptians have long been familiar with the security services’ use of agent provocateurs, and it took the international media only a few hours to catch on that these were not really “pro-Mubarak demonstrators” but paid thugs.
Mubarak made a fatal error in using such tactics. His Feb. 2 offer to step down at the end of his term and carry out political reforms in the interim had a reasonable chance of taking the air out of demonstrations and splitting the opposition. But accompanying the offer with brutal coercion — and continuing to lie about his complicity in the violence — completely discredited him in terms of playing a role in a peaceful transition toward democracy.
It also raises serious questions about the reliability of Vice President Omar Suleiman. In light of this, Mubarak should step aside now.