While the removal from power of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were historic moments for the entire Arab world, the old regimes in Tunisia and Egypt are still fighting to retain as much power and control as they can.
With no clear leadership emerging from among the Egyptian demonstrators and opposition, the Egyptian military remains the only institution capable of shepherding the country’s political transition.
While the Egyptian opposition wants an inclusive and fundamental reform and a transition to a more pluralist and democratic system, it remains to be seen whether their demands will be met by the military.
While there is no risk-free change in a country that has been under authoritarian government for so long, Egyptians today face the real possibility that they will soon have the right and the ability to choose and to change their government for the first time ever.
What happens next in Egypt depends on what steps the military and the protesters take, not on what Washington says.
The Egyptian military will play a critical role in Egypt's transition period, but whether they will support a democratic transition or the status quo remains to be seen.
As protests and youth movements continue across the Middle East, U.S. policy will be reacting to, not shaping, the changes occurring throughout the region.
There is little doubt that Hosni Mubarak's legacy in Egypt will primarily be seen as economic stagnation and lost regional influence.
While there is an irrational fear in the United States that Egypt's move toward democracy will be hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian uprising has been democratic—not ideological—and there is no real danger that Islamists will take control.
Egyptian President Mubarak's refusal to step down has made protesters even more determined to oust him, decreased the probability that Suleiman will be an acceptable interlocutor to members of the opposition, and increased the probability of a military takeover.