Egyptian VP Tell Protesters To Go Home Ahead Of Mass Protests Scheduled For Friday

The new vice-president of Egypt Thursday told demonstrators their demands have been met and they should end their sit-in. 

Omar Suleiman, former head of Egyptian state security agencies made the statement in an interview on Egyptian State television Thursday evening on a day when reports of attacks on protesters and journalists poured in.

In his interview, Suleiman went on to blame foreign media organizations for inciting unrest and exaggerating the size of the protests. Reporters for virtually every news organization covering the situation from Cairo this week have been subject to acts of intimidation by pro Mubarak forces, ranging from serious physical attacks to having equipment confiscated. 

Some observers fear today’s crackdown on the press might indicate the government’s intention to intensify attacks against protesters in Tahrir Square tomorrow.

Press freedom groups like the Committee To Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have already released statements denouncing what they call ” a systematic and concerted effort” to silence coverage of the clashes between protesters and pro-Mubarak’s security forces. Paris based Reporters Without Borders has been able to confirm that at least 26 journalists have so far been assaulted, while 19 others were detained by security forces and three others still reported missing. The organization also says it has recorded at least four instances in which media organizations had their equipment confiscated.

Unrest In Egypt Will Fundamentally Affect American Interest In Region, Say Experts

 The Obama administration is scrambling to find a way to address the current protests and civil unrest in Egypt without compromising its long standing ties with the government in Cairo, says Steven Cook Middle East Policy expert for the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR). 

 Cook says the Obama administration’s dual track policy towards Egypt, which consists of privately pressuring Egyptian President Mubarak to back reform while publicly supporting his government, is becoming increasingly difficult to reconcile given the violence and unrest in the streets.

 “The US needs to signal that ultimately, our values have to kick in. Egyptians have to understand that we are not going to allow them to do just about anything to regain control.” said Cook. 

 Robert Danin, Middle East and African Studies fellow for the Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation, says the Obama administration’s statements on Egypt have so far been quite vague and failed to offer any specifics details.

 ” I do not think the administration has handled it as well as it should have. ” said Danin. “My hope is that when President Obama finally does speak, he doesn’t use the word stability and focuses more on the need for, whoever is in charge in Egypt, to respect the rights of people who are demanding freedom.”

 Danin believes that in private conversations,  US officials are pressuring Mubarak to make concessions but that the Egyptian president likely thinks  any such action at this time would be too great a sign of weakness.

Danin says one of the first steps Mubarak can take towards reform and calm the protests would be repealing Egypt’s 30 year old Emergency Law, which allows for indiscriminate arrests, limits freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.  

  “Perhaps there is some sort of roadmap that Mubarak could lay out for the future out of this , to show that this could end in a way that would ultimately not result in his son becoming President.” 

Settlement Moratorium A Deal Breaker For Egypt, Palestine

Ambassador Soliman Awaad, spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency, told reporters at a briefing Wednesday that he, along with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, believe that newly launched peace talks between Israel and Palestine will only be successful if Israel ends their settlement expansion.

President Mubarak said in a New York Times Op-Ed that the success of these negotiations is contingent upon whether or not the current moratorium on Israel’s settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is extended. 

“For its part, Israel should make no mistake; settlements and peace are incompatible,” Mubarak said. “A complete halt to Israel’s settlement expansion… is critical if the negotiations are to succeed.”

Awaad reiterated to the press that the moratorium’s extension plays a very pivotal role in bridging the gap between Israel and Palestine.

“This twenty-sixth day is of crucial importance,” Awaad said. “If [the moratorium] is not extended, all bets are off.”

The spokesman said Egypt wants the moratorium extended and would sympathize with Palestine in breaking negotiations if Israel does not comply. If the 10-month expansion moratorium, scheduled to expire on Septermber 26, is not extended, Awaad said negotiations will likely cease and a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine will end once again.

“The expansion of Israeli settlements have led to a collapse of trust on both sides,” Mubarak said. “For the talks to succeed, we must rebuild trust.”

White House Morning Meeting With Robert Gibbs

President Clinton:
Former President Clinton will meet with President Obama and NSC/State department staff on the situation in North Korea and his talk with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The White House will release a still photo from the meeting. President Clinton has had previous meetings with the NSC staff but not with President Obama. Asked if President Clinton would give remarks to the press at the stake out, Gibbs replied that he does not control who comes to the stake out anymore. President Obama has spoken with President Clinton only one time about North Korea which was when the two women landed in the United States on August 5, 2009.

Health Care: 
Gibbs described an over-reaction to what Health and Human Service’s Secretary Sebelius said was "based on many of your stories".
He said "we have been boringly consistent. Asked if this was a signal, Gibbs said " if it was signal it was a dog whistle we have been blowing for three months." He also said if there are other options/plans "we're certainly happy to look at those plans". Concerning choice and competition he said you may find yourself in a state or group of states where only one insurance company is active in the area and having the ability to choose between plans assures quality and ability to get insurance. 
Asked about car insurance he said that he is not sure that health insurance and auto insurance are totally analogous and that the notion of a public option is to guarantee choice in a market that
is closed to choice. In terms of phone calls, the President has made he has not made any calls either to liberals or lawmakers.

President of Egypt Mubarak Visit to the White House:
Gibbs said that there are responsibilities we see for them [Egypt]. 


Israeli Settlements:
Gibbs said that both sides believe we are making progress on the settlement issue. 


Guns:
Questioned about guns being carried around outside the event in Arizona, Gibbs said laws that govern firearms are state and local laws and that you "can't take one of those into an event with 
the President"

Lockerbee Bomber:
The President's position is that he should continue to serve his full sentence.

Chelsea's Clinton's Possible Wedding:
Did not say if there was an invitation and quipped, "Do you know where she is registered?"

No Apologies Necessary: Obama's Upcoming Overseas Tour

By Courtney Ann Jackson- Talk Radio News Service

While President Obama is scheduled to travel next week to Egypt, Germany and France, his administration has not found its foreign policy footing, according to analysts at the Heritage Foundation.

“This trip next week is going to be watched very closely all over Europe, all across the world,” said Nile Gardner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, “Every statement he makes will be scrutinized very carefully to see whether he is seeking to further atone for America’s past, which I think would be disastrous for the President to do so. The fact is that President Obama is increasingly being viewed as a soft touch on the world stage.”

On the President’s last visit to Europe he discussed American arrogance and Gardner believes it was a “huge strategic error in judgment” for him to “condemn his own country on foreign soil.”

On this tour, Obama is expected to give a speech on foreign policy while in Egypt but James Phillips, senior research fellow of Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation, believes the focus should be on a comparison between the people’s future defined by the Islamists and a future defined by freedom.

The consensus of the analysts was that the worst thing Obama could do on his visit is to succumb to the idea of incessantly apologizing for America’s past and issues like what the Bush administration dubbed the “War on Terror” and instead step up to the challenges boldly.

Gardner said he believes the President “needs to toughen his act on the international stage, project strong international leadership, and stand up to both the threat of a nuclear armed Iran as well as a nuclear armed North Korea.” He added that this is the time for strong U.S. leadership.