United States in talks to pave way for Mubarak's exit

WASHINGTON: Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak is using the "after me the deluge" argument and raising the bogey of Islamic fundamentalism in a last-ditch effort to resist American efforts to ease him out in response to the popular uprising against him. But having now publicly committed itself, the Obama administration is having to devise ways to overcome his intransigence amid increasingly bloody clashes on Egyptian streets.

More than 100,000 Egyptians massed the streets on Friday on what was dubbed a "Day of Departure" by protesters who braved Mubarak`s thugs to return to Tahrir Square, fulcrum of the movement against tyranny. They were evidently emboldened by world support that strengthened after pro-government goons set after international journalists and thrashed many of them, in a way turning the tide even more against a beleaguered dictator. In Washington, the Obama administration signaled that it was "game over" for Mubarak.

On Friday, Obama administration officials said they were in talks with their Egyptian counterparts on a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately, and turn power over to a transitional government headed by vice-president Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military.

The US proposal calls for a transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country`s electoral system to bring about free and fair elections in September.

From inside his presidential palace though, Mubarak sent word out through an interview to ABC News that he was ready to leave but was afraid there will be chaos if he did. He blamed the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned political party, for the violence and expressed unhappiness about the clashes, saying "I do not want to see Egyptians fighting each other."

Reiterating that he never intended to run for office again, a promise he made in his speech to Egyptians earlier this week in an effort to mollify them, he pledged his loyalty to the country, saying, "I would never run away. I will die on this soil." His son Gamal, who was rumoured to have fled to London with his wife, was with him during the interview, and Mubarak reportedly said he did not intend Gamal to succeed him either.

Asked him what he thought of people shouting insults about him and wanting him gone, he said, "I don`t care what people say about me. Right now I care about my country, I care about Egypt."

The Egyptian dictator, for decades a client of US policies in the region to ensure against rise of Islamic fundamentalism, that in the process also stifled democracy, is evidently feeling let down by Washington. He said he told President Obama, "you don`t understand the Egyptian culture and what would happen if I step down now", when the latter phone him earlier this week asking him to leave.

Mubarak`s obduracy puts Washington in a fix, since it has gone public with calls for his exit after days of dithering. As much as the mood in Egypt, the US disposition too has changed after several American reporters were hounded and thrashed by pro-Mubarak goons.