BREAKING Suleiman: Mubarak has stepped down – military council in charge

UPDATE 15:30 EST: Tamron Hall on MSNBC just argued the Suleiman case vs ElBaradei (yes) in an "expert" interview with Hillary Mann Leverett. That interruptive exchange was shocking in the day's context.

She could be speaking for herself (and if so, she did that vigorously). But the exchange also suggests she's not off the reservation, so to speak, relative to some aspects of the American policy-making establishment she's in touch with. This is clearly far from over, with a great many cards not on the table.

UPDATE 14:30 EST: From the military and from Wael Ghonim. (1) Via The Guardian:

A spokesman for Egypt's military has just appeared on television to read a new statement, "Communique Number Three".

Read aloud in a flat monotone, the statement said that the supreme council of the armed forces was "currently studying the situation to achieve the hopes of our great people" and will issue further statements to clarify its position:

The council will issue a statement outlining the steps and procedures and directives that will be taken, confirming at the same time that there is no alternative to the legitimacy acceptable to the people.

Note that the army's statement made no mention of vice president Suleiman – interesting in the context of the Ahram Online report mentioned below. Further analysis of what this all means when we get the full text.

(2) Also from The Guardian, Wael Ghonim's reaction to the current military posture:

Wael Ghonim seems to be reassured by the military statement[:]

The military statement is great. I trust our Egyptian Army #Jan25

UPDATE 12:15 EST: Here's the video of Suleiman's terse announcement:



From the BBC:

Former Egyptian army General Samah Seif El Yazal tells the BBC: "There are two directions the Higher Military Council can go. The first is to ask the existing government to run the country for a transitional period of perhaps a year. The other option is for the military to run the country by committee. We are very anxious to hear from them about what they intend to do."

What to watch for next.
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Huffington Post (my emphasis):

Egypt's Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday, bowing down after a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands. "The people ousted the president," chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential palace in Cairo.

Several hundred thousand protesters massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square exploded into joy, waving Egyptian flags, and car horns and celebratory shots in the air were heard around the city of 18 million in joy after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall. ...

"In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic," a grim-looking Suleiman said. "He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor."

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young suporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, "This is the greatest day of my life."

Lots to absorb and lots to consider. Obviously there are wheels within wheels in this. More as it develops.

Al Jazeera's liveblog is here. (Our portrait of the Egyptian military is here.)

GP