Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak

Omar Suleiman has always been at the vortex of power. As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's most trusted loyalist, he headed his country's intelligence service and handled its most sensitive dealings with Israel and the Palestinians. His relentless pursuit of Islamic radicals in Egypt made him a natural ally of the Bush and Obama administrations. Now a man most comfortable in the shadows finds himself operating under the lights of state television, a vice president armed with the powers of the presidency casting for some formula of words and actions that might douse the rage in the streets.

The Obama administration's shifting response to the crisis in Egypt reflects a sharp debate over how and when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should leave office, a policy decision that could have long-term implications for America's image in the Middle East. After sending mixed signals, the administration has appeared to settle on supporting a measured transition for easing Mubarak out of power. That strategy, which remains the subject of vigorous debate inside the administration, calls for a Mubarak crony, Vice President Omar Suleiman, to lead the reform process.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak refused to step down Thursday but said in a nationally televised speech that he would hand more authority to his vice president, a move that drew rage and bewilderment from hundreds of thousands of protesters packed into Cairo's Tahrir Square. The nation was anticipating an address that would mark the end of Mubarak's 30 years in power but instead was told he was going nowhere. Protesters shouted "leave, leave," and chants of disapproval echoed across the Nile at the prospect that the 17-day standoff with the government was not over.

In one of the largest demonstrations yet at Cairo's vast Tahrir Square, boisterous crowds continued to press for the end of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's regime, while officials offered another set of compromises to try to appease protesters. Vice President Omar Suleiman said Tuesday that a pair of special committees would begin work immediately to bring about political reforms. A third committee, to be launched soon, will investigate the bloody clashes a week ago between anti-government protesters and Mubarak's supporters, he said.

As protesters in Egypt continued to call for the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, former Vice President Dick Cheney urged U.S. leaders to remember that Mubarak was "a good man" and important friend to the United States and said he hoped that the Obama administration would seek "balance" in its approach to the fast-moving events overseas. Cheney's remarks came in the midst of a discussion of former President Ronald Reagan's legacy at a panel in Santa Barbara on Saturday night.

Israel likes to call itself an island of democratic stability in a Mideast sea of dictatorships. But now that democratic winds are blowing through the region, Israelis have been reluctant to embrace mounting calls for regime change beyond their border. Even as the U.S. applies pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down, Israel's leaders are urging caution, fearing that free elections in neighboring Arab nations will usher in governments that are more hostile. Simply put, Israel would rather have autocratic friends than democratic enemies.

Loyalists of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak attacked foreign journalists Thursday, drawing Washington's censure and international rights groups' accusations that the beatings and detentions were desperate moves by a teetering regime trying to cling to power. Although the abuse of reporters and camera crews risked discrediting Mubarak in the eyes of already wary democratic allies, it also served to mobilize his supporters against a 10-day-old campaign for his ouster and block some of the damaging imagery from reaching readers and viewers around the world.

Gunfire erupted in downtown Cairo again Thursday afternoon when anti-government protesters broke out of their barricades on the edge of Tahrir Square. It was the second day of violent clashes between opponents and supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. A few dozen army soldiers fired over the protestors' heads in an attempt to push them back. But pro- and anti-government protestors are well aware that the army has pledged not to use force, rendering the small number of soldiers on the ground ineffectual, reduced at times to trying to wave protesters away.

As the blows and electric shocks, the taunts and degradations rained down on him, Khaled Abou el Fadl never imagined that the perpetrator of his torture ? the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ? could ever be shaken. Now, more than 25 years later, the UCLA law professor is awestruck and incredulous that the people of his native land have risen up in the biggest demonstrations ever against Mubarak and a government that seemed, for three long decades, all powerful and all pervasive.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's promise on Tuesday that he will not stand for reelection in September was too little, too late. The Egyptian regime is fatally wounded, with protesters demanding nothing less than a complete break with the past. Mubarak may not relinquish power tomorrow, but his days are numbered. And the government that replaces him is likely to include the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement as well as one of its most feared. In the coming days, the prospect of the Brotherhood's rise is likely to be one of the big stories out of Egypt.