The Egyptian regime's price for clinging to power is more lives and more bloodshed. Confirmed reports from Cairo that the so-called Hosni Mubarak supporters are plain clothed police men (how on earth can civilians get huge amount of tear gas to use against the people in Tahrir Square?) prove that his offer Tuesday night was a lie designed only to buy time. He didn’t offer to lift emergency laws, or dismantle the apparatuses of suppression and he did not promise free expression.

Mubarak said he has no intention of running for re-election, but he may still want his son to run, and is only buying time. Egyptians I spoke to are asking President Obama to suspend all aid to Egypt until Mubarak pulls his thugs out of the street.
Mubarak has long used the phantom of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as fears the peace with Israel will go if he goes. He has been proven wrong. Muslim Brothers couldn't hijack the protest on the Mosque and there were no pro-Islam slogans. Also there was not a single pro-Palestinian slogan, nor did the protesters march on Israel’s embassy or the U.S. embassy ( just behind Tahrir Square)hence America exposed his game and Obama ushering him to go.

Other thoughts:
• The Army’s call for the people to go home is likely to be largely ignored.
• The population of Egypt is suffering from some food and cash shortages (due to bank closures) as well as petrol shortages. Some medical centers are also asking for blood donations (for transfusion).
• There is an agreement amongst all major opposition groups (including the Muslim Brotherhood) that they will back Mohammed ElBaradei to represent them in any dialogue or talk, although not necessarily as their leader.
• The old opposition parties -Wafd, Tagamogh ( Marxist), Umma, Labour, Ghad, Muslim Brothers and the like do not lead the mainly secular broad-base "Lotus Revolution.” The groups on the street have no one leader. The neighborhood watch "people's committees" are beginning to become semi-organized. The Facebook/Twitter group that originally coordinated these demonstrations are known as "The 6th of April Movement" after the April 6, 2010 event when they successfully called a general strike demanding the removal of President Mubarak. That effort shocked the regime and was a pre-cursor to this Lotus Revolution.
• The Muslim Brotherhood, while not taking an overt lead in the current situation, may potentially play a key role and are well organized but the degree to which they have broad support is debatable. Many Egyptians regard them as a weak group (despite Western notions to the contrary). There is a conspicuous absence of "pro Muslim" slogans, or call for Sharia during current demonstrations.
• Opposition groups currently and very tentatively agree to a caretaker, military-backed government until free and fair elections can be held. However the momentum is with the street and they may not tolerate this compromise so it just remains one of the options on the table. Note that current opposition groups do not per se represent the protesters who are drawn from all walks of life.
• Opposition groups very tentatively agree that Omar Suleiman, the Secret Service chief, be president for a brief interim period.
• The greatly respected former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Frank Wisner, has been dispatched to Cairo to provide President Obama with a personal assessment of the situation and to try to provide assistance to the Egyptian President to enable a smooth transition of power
• Major western nations' diplomats are holding talks with all opposition groups, and the French and Germans joined the British in openly calling for the process of transition of power to start now.



Newsmax asked Adel Darwish, a renowned Middle East correspondent and political editor of Mid East News for his take on the revolution underway in Egypt.