The situation in Egypt is fluid, to say the least. Mubarak is clearly clinging to every scrap of power he can. The news has clashes in Cairo, and stories of government provocateurs.
If you'd like a smart take on the internal factions (Mubarak, various military sub-elites, newly-appointed VP Omar Suleiman, and Elbaradei), Juan Cole is your best bet. This discusses those factions. And a comparison of Egypt to Iran 1979 is here.
A fluid situation; a drama with many actors. Joe is right to point you to Al Jazeera; the U.S. press has performed less well.
Omar Suleiman's appointment as VP adds an interesting aspect to this. For years, the presumed heir apparent was Mubarak's son Gamal. (Interesting isn't it, the notion of inherited power in a "democracy".) Gamal is widely opposed, however, and Suleiman provides an odd alternative. (Gamal is reported in some circles to have already fled to England, but this is so far unsubstantiated.)
Jane Mayer provides more on Suleiman in this recent New Yorker profile:
One of the “new” names being mentioned as a possible alternative to President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, is actually not so new to anyone who has followed the American policy of renditions for terror suspects. After dissolving his cabinet yesterday, Mubarak appointed Suleiman vice-president, and according to many commentators he is poised to be a potential successor, and an alternative to Mubarak’s son and intended heir until now, Gamal Mubarak. Suleiman is a well-known quantity in Washington. Suave, sophisticated, and fluent in English, he has served for years as the main conduit between the United States and Mubarak. While he has a reputation for loyalty and effectiveness, he also carries some controversial baggage from the standpoint of those looking for a clean slate on human rights. As I described in my book “The Dark Side,” since 1993 Suleiman has headed the feared Egyptian general intelligence service. In that capacity, he was the C.I.A.’s point man in Egypt for renditions—the covert program in which the C.I.A. snatched terror suspects from around the world and returned them to Egypt and elsewhere for interrogation, often under brutal circumstances. ...There's more in this short, excellent piece.
Further documentation of Suleiman’s role in the rendition program appears in Ron Suskind’s book, “The One Percent Doctrine.” Katherine Hawkins, a sharp-eyed human-rights lawyer who did legal research for my book, points out that, according to Suskind, Suleiman was the C.I.A.’s liaison for the rendition of an Al Qaeda suspect known as Ibn Sheikh al-Libi. The Libi case is particularly controversial, in large part because it played a role in the building of the case for the American invasion of Iraq.
Many actors, many scenes. Some are playing out abroad, others in the U.S. Is Omar Suleiman "our man in Cairo"?
GP
