Hosni Mubarak: beginning of the end?

Fox News:

URGENT: Mubarak Will Step Down, Transfer Power to Military Council

A senior Egyptian official confirms to Fox News that President Hosni Mubarak will step down shortly and transfer authority to the Egyptian Higher Council of the Armed Forces as Egypt's state TV says Mubarak will address the nation Thursday evening.

CNN:

Egypt awaits Mubarak's live address

One senior Egyptian official told CNN that Mubarak is expected to announce that he is yielding power to the nation's military, although the information minister denied on state television that the embattled leader is stepping down.

Al Jazeera:

Hosni Mubarak 'may step down'

The Supreme Council of Egyptian Armed Forces has met to discuss the ongoing protests against the government of Hosni Mubarak, the president.

I would dare say that the last news is the more important in the circumstances. If the army decides that it's time to go, Mubarak will have to go.

Update:Defiant Mubarak refuses to resign

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, has refused to step down from his post, saying that he will not bow to "foreign pressure" in a televised address to the nation.

Foreign pressure... let's see what the army says now.

And for the rest of us: Common sense about Egypt

America, the Europeans and Israel have no policy or a changing one. Mr Mubarak has been in power for 29 years, and there is abundant evidence that Americans and Europeans were well aware of the nature of his regime, yet they lent it unflinching support. Everyone was well aware of the nature of the Muslim Brotherhood; so it is surprising to read both the protestations about support for democracy and euphemistic encomiums to the Muslim Brotherhood that appear with increasing frequency in the foreign press.

Mr. Mubarak ruled Egypt as he pleased and ignored repeated warnings about rights violations from various US administrations. It is absurd to claim that the USA or Israel could do anything about Egypt’s internal policies. They could not change these policies previously, and certainly cannot affect the course of history. The is more especially the case since an endorsement or support from a Western county or Israel would be highly embarrassing.

Egyptians and other Arabs have also forgotten quite a bit, it seems. They allege that Mr. Mubarak’s rule is intolerable, but do not show that it is different or worse really than the relatively benign rule of Anwar Sadat or the despotism of Gamal Abdul Nasser.

More where it comes from.