Egypt Analysis: Hosni's Defiance
Friday, February 11, 2011 at 6:30
He came. He saw. He stayed.
The newsflashes had started about 5 p.m., Cairo time (1500 GMT), with the head of Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party saying the President was probably making a speech to announce he was stepping down. Other leading Egyptian figures, including the Minister of Finance echoed the claim. The High Council of the Army met and issued Communique No. 1, seen as a signal that it was taking control. Even more stunning was the promise, given by a "high commander" to protesters in the heart of Tahrir Square, that "all their demands would be met". In Washington, the Obama Administration telegraphed its approval of developments, both in leaks to the US media and in the open declaration of the Director of the CIA that Mubarak was out.