UNITED STATES
Vice President Joe Biden hailed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's exit from power on Friday as a "pivotal moment" for the Middle East and insisted Egypt's democratic transition must be irreversible.Biden spoke shortly before President Barack Obama was to step before television cameras at the White House as he weighs the deep uncertainty and huge challenges Washington now faces in dealing with Egypt's potentially volatile power shift.
"The transition that's taking place must be an irreversible change and a negotiated path toward democracy," Biden told a college audience in Kentucky after Mubarak handed over power to Egypt's military. "What is at stake in Egypt and across the Middle East is not just about Egypt alone."
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Higher Military Council that took control of Egypt on Friday, has spoken with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates by phone five times since the crisis began, including as late as Thursday evening.
Washington walked a fine line since the mass demonstrations began, endorsing the democratic aspirations of the protesters but trying not to openly abandon a long-time ally or encourage an abrupt upheaval that could spill over into other parts of the oil-rich region.
Obama, who has repeatedly pressed for an orderly transition to democracy, now faces the challenge of backing broad political reform in the Arab world's most populous country while keeping Islamists from ending up with enough power to undermine U.S. interests in the region.
He will face the test of keeping the power shift in Cairo from unnerving Middle East allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel or emboldening foes like Iran and al Qaeda.
Obama, who had struggled to calibrate his mostly cautious response to a popular uprising against Mubarak's long authoritarian rule, was due to deliver a statement at 1:30 p.m. EST.
U.S. officials will now do everything possible to keep intact close ties with the Egyptian military, which relies on the $1.3 billion in U.S. aid it receives annually and is seen as the key to keep the situation from descending into chaos.
Mubarak's exit came a day after Obama seemed to rebuke the Egyptian leader for not going far enough in a televised speech in which he ceded some powers to his vice president but defiantly insisted he would stay in office until presidential elections scheduled for September.
After Obama's show of impatience, it was unclear whether U.S. officials, who have had constant behind-the-scenes dealings with the Egyptian government and military, helped secure Mubarak's decision to go now.
U.S. LAWMAKERS WEIGH IN
"The president was informed of President Mubarak's decision to step down during a meeting in the Oval Office. He then watched TV coverage of the scene in Cairo for several minutes in the outer Oval (office)," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
U.S. officials have said repeatedly they are entering uncharted waters and see a long period of uncertainty and volatility.
"This is very good news for Obama given that he and his administration so publicly staked out a position that change should happen now. But it is only the start of a process," said Brian Katulis, Middle East expert at the Center for American Progress in Washington and an informal adviser to the White House.
"This is going to be a very long and protracted process over negotiated power. The political opposition had one unifying demand, which was get rid of Mubarak. Now the real work has to begin," he said.
Obama's cautious approach has been based on Egypt's strategic importance: a rare Arab state no longer hostile to Israel, the guardian of the Suez Canal linking Europe and Asia and a major force against militant Islam in the Middle East.
"This is a pivotal moment in history," Biden said of Mubarak's departure. "It's a pivotal moment not only in Mideast history, but in history."
U.S. lawmakers swiftly welcomed Mubarak's departure.
"I am pleased that President Mubarak has heard and heeded the voice of the Egyptian people, who have called for change. It is crucial that Mubarak's departure be an orderly one and that it leads to true democracy for Egypt, including free, fair and open elections," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
(Reuters Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Ross Colvin and Alister Bull; editing by Christopher Wilson)
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