Mubarak Should Step Down to Preserve Chances for a Successful Transition

James Phillips / February 02, 2011

As expected, President Hosni Mubarak’s promise not to seek re-election has not appeased the huge crowds of Egyptians who are determined to remove him from power immediately. The regime mobilized thousands of supporters, who clashed with protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Such clashes are sure to inflame the situation and risk dragging the army, the most important force for stability in Egypt, into a spiraling series of confrontations with opposition demonstrators egged on by radical anti-democratic groups. Such an escalation of political violence would discredit the army and undermine its ability to oversee a transition to a stable democracy. The longer President Mubarak clings to power, the more likely the situation will further deteriorate and create a situation even more favorable to the eventual triumph of the anti-freedom Muslim Brotherhood. (more…)