NYTimes sees Mubarak slipping -- today could be "decisive"
In its front-page coverage of the deteriorating situation in Cairo , the ever-insightful Times found an important source:
"The army is not a puppet in the hands of anybody," said Mahmoud Shokry, a former Egyptian diplomat and a friend of [new Vice President] Suleiman. "It is not a puppet in the hands of Mubarak. It is not a puppet in the hands of Omar Suleiman. It is not a puppet in the hands of the defense secretary."
"The army does not want to confront the youth," Mr. Shokry said. "If they think this will make a kind of civil war, they will ask Mr. Mubarak to leave the country, I am sure."
...after the surprise announcements from the military and Mr. Suleiman, the protest on Tuesday, optimistically dubbed the March of Millions and set to take place around the country, began shaping up as a potentially decisive moment. Mr. Shokry ... cautioned, "What will happen if there is a flare-up, a few bullets shot into the young men, a Molotov cocktail?" he asked. "A million people in the streets. How will we keep the peace?"
"The army is not a puppet in the hands of anybody," said Mahmoud Shokry, a former Egyptian diplomat and a friend of [new Vice President] Suleiman. "It is not a puppet in the hands of Mubarak. It is not a puppet in the hands of Omar Suleiman. It is not a puppet in the hands of the defense secretary."
"The army does not want to confront the youth," Mr. Shokry said. "If they think this will make a kind of civil war, they will ask Mr. Mubarak to leave the country, I am sure."
...after the surprise announcements from the military and Mr. Suleiman, the protest on Tuesday, optimistically dubbed the March of Millions and set to take place around the country, began shaping up as a potentially decisive moment. Mr. Shokry ... cautioned, "What will happen if there is a flare-up, a few bullets shot into the young men, a Molotov cocktail?" he asked. "A million people in the streets. How will we keep the peace?"