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is history. history unfolding right now as all indications point to this dramatic development, but we need to emphasize that at this moment it's just still unclear what exactly the egyptian leader will say. the protesters hard-fought battle which first erupted january 25th may not necessarily be completely over. several top military officers and government officials held a high-level meeting earlier today on the crisis. senior government official says president mubarak will hand over power to the egyptian military. the official says the move would take the government outside constitutional authority, but stop short of calling it a military coup. meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of anti-mubarak protesters are tahrir square, and they were quick with their reaction and their shouting "civil, civil, not military." with this scene unfolding state television reported that president mubarak met with his new vice president and prime minister in closed-door talks. here's what the excitement in the square sounded like before word of a possible military takeover. today's fast-moving developments came as pressure mounted for president mubarak to step aside. in addition to the mass demonstrations in cairo, anti-government protests were also held in other major city as cross egypt and for the first time numerous labor group s thrw their support behind the pro-democracy demonstrations by going on strike. the obama administration, of course, is following all of these developments. the cia director leon panetta telling a congressional hearing what he had heard about mubarak. >> and as you can see, i got the same information you did, that there is a strong likelihood that mubarak may step down this evening, which will be significant in terms of where the hopefully orderly transition in egypt takes place. >> many of the extraordinary events have been centered on cairo's tahrir square, but they've also spread to other areas in the city as this map indicates. to the right of the square is mubarak's presidential palace, that's about six miles, ten kilometers away. another key site, the parliament building over recent days, though, protesters have spilled out out of the square, marched to these two sites voicing their demand that mubarak must go and must go now. ben wedeman is on the scene for us. he's been in the thick of things from day one of all of these protests. he's joining us now live from cairo. first of all, ben, do we have any indication if mubarak's televised remarks will happen this hour, next hour or later? >> reporter: no, we know this evening and, of course, here they're saying momentarily, so we have no indication, however, what's interesting is that according to egyptian tv, the address will be live, which is unusual for president mubarak. it's been a few years since he gave a live address, the last time was 2003 he was opening parliament and he collapsed during that address, so he hasn't had such a live speech since then. now, i did speak with a senior egyptian official who said that it's early to speculate that the decision to resign is president mubarak and president mubarak's alone, and so we're hearing conflicting things, some ministers apparently saying that he will not be resigning, but all indications are that he will make a major address with potentially a decision to step down but at this point nothing is clear, wolf. >> and it's certainly not clear whether he will actually leave cairo, go to sharm el sheikh, the southern tip of sinai in egypt or go abroad or what he will do. we have no indication of any such plans, is that right, ben? >> reporter: that is connect, wolf. there are so many rumors flying around. we've heard rumors he's already in sharm el sheikh. he's heading to bahrain, to dubai, to germany for medical treatment. it's in these moments when sort of things become very unclear and we really just have to wait for him to make this address. so we'll understand what's happening next. certainly in the crowd behind me in tahrir, the assumption is he is stepping down, and that's why there's already an air of celebration, and just looking down below me, i can see that there's a very long line of people trying to get in the square, more than we've seen yet, in fact, people are parked all along the 6 october bridge, as well so people are flocking to the center of the city in anticipation of reason to celebrate. wolf? >> ben, i want you to stand by. i want all of our correspondents to stand by, hala gorani, our cnn international anchor, will be co-anchoring me for the next few hours. hala, you just came back from egypt. we saw your remarkable reporting from there. you know, for those of us who watched the situation in egypt unfold, in my case, for decades, this is not only history, this is powerful history unfolding and the ramifications, not only in egypt but throughout the region and maybe even throughout the world are enormous right now. >> they are, and you talk about region-changing potentially game-changing developments in egypt that could affect the rest of the region. it is absolutely the case, what's happening in egypt right now is historic. we are just going to have to wait and see what president mubarak says when and if he addresses his people live on state television. who takes over then. tomorrow is full of uncertainty in egypt, as well as the rest of the region but for now the mood is a celebratory one in tahrir square. fred joins me now. fred, i hope you can hear me. i understand it's loud and very much crowded in tahrir square. tell me what demonstrators and pro-democracy activists there are telling you right now, fred. >> well, hala, they think this is a done deal. people have been coming up to me telling me this is the day that hosni mubarak leaves. one young protester just told me this is the day that freedom is born for egypt. i can tell you, i'm right in the middle of a massive celebration of people who are really a gigantic egyptian flag shouting the people and army, we are one, obviously in a very cheerful mood so appears people here believe hosni mubarak is either going to step down today or announce that he will step down soon. one of the interesting things that i've found out from people and that three or four people have told me they don't think it's such a bad idea for the military to take over for awhile. i've spoken to a couple of people that said that would be the best way they believe that there would be an orderly transition, something that they would rather have then seeing someone like omar suleiman remain in power or take over power from hosni mubarak. >> is it your understanding what people you've been speaking with they would be okay with military rule or are some saying they want a civilian rule and they will continue to protest? if this is what we hear from president hosni mubarak, will the square empty out or will demonstrations continue until a transition to a more democratic civilian rule in egypt? >> reporter: i think the chances are quite good it would empty out a little bit. it seems to me from the people i've surveyed and obviously this isn't representative or anything but of the 10 or 0 people i've spoken to i would say about 15 or 16 told me they would be perfectly fine with having the military in power at least for awhile. now, i'm not sure that they told me trust the fact that the military would give up power. they say that obviously this could only be for a transitional period and should lead -- a lot of that has to do also with the fact that many people here say they simply trust the military more than they do the people who are currently also in the government of hosni mubarak and those obviously are per sewn tied by the person of omar suleiman who many people here don't have trust in. they feel it's part of the old gar. however we do have to say, of course, there are a lot of people here, as well, who would like civilian rule to ensue immediately. i do feel a lot of people think that having the military in power at least for awhile would guarantee that the transition would be peaceful and somewhat orderly and that is something a lot of people value a great deal even though from what i'm seeing the mood is sverev lucienary. >> all right, frederik pleitgen in tahrir square as they wait for president mubarak to address the people. possibly a live address. no exact time on that speech yet. wolf, back to you. >> hala, this is a dramatic investmen development. state television in egypt is quoting the egypt information minister as saying that mubarak will not, repeat, will not step down. we don't know what that means. we don't know precisely why he is saying this, what his information is, but once again state tv quoting the egyptian information minister as saying hosni mubarak will not step down. if, in fact, he doesn't step down, if he says that on state television in the coming minutes or within the hour or so, you can only imagine, hala, the disappointment in tahrir square and elsewhere in egypt right now. i want all of our anchors and reporters and analysts and guests to stand by for a moment. there's breaking news coming out of egypt. history unfolding. we'll take a quick break and continue the coverage right after this. ♪ you don't know [ male announcer ] you know her. ♪ hey, what you do to me [ male announcer ] we know diamonds. together we'll find the perfect gift this valentine's day. ♪ you don't know [ male announcer ] that's why only zales is the diamond store. basic. preferred. at meineke i have options on oil changes. and now i get free roadside assistance with preferred or supreme. my money. my choice. my meineke. very dramatic breaking news unfolding in egypt right now. we're awaiting a statement from the egyptian president, hosni mubarak, a statement in which he may or may not announce he is stepping down as president of egypt after 30 years of iron-clad rule in that country. hala gorani is watching all of this unfold. hala, you and i have seen a lot of dramatic developments happening over the past two or three weeks in the middle east beginning in tunisia, now spreading to egypt. who knows where it may be going next, but we're getting this conflicting statement now from the information minister in egypt saying mubarak will not step down, so i guess we're just going to have to wait and see what mubarak does once he appears on state tv. >> yes, i think protesters, observers, anyone who cares about the middle east and its strategic importance around the world holding their breath right now, wolf. wondering what president mubarak is going to say. what time will he speak, will it be a live address? will he transfer power to the military, and, if so, what happens tomorrow? what's important now is what's happening at the epicenter of this entire movement in tahrir square. cnn's ivan watson joins us now live with more on the mood and what demonstrators are saying they want to hear tonight, ivan. >> reporter: well, hala, just moments ago we heard some of the crowd chanting "civil, civil, not military." clearly showing at least one group of demonstrators that they'd prefer to have a civilian government than perhaps military rule and that's one of the scenarios that has been floating around that possibly hosni mubarak would hand power over to some temporary transitional military government. again, as you mentioned, all depending on the words from the president himself. let's just remind everybody how fast the events have changed over the last 2 1/2 weeks here, the balcony i'm standing on, below here a week ago were first aid clinics that there were doctors and medics stitching up in front of our eyes wounded demonstrators who had been hit by the scores and clashes and seriously wounded in battles with pro-government supporters. let's pan the camera down right now, hala, to get a sense of what the scene looks like tonight, just yards away from where medics were trying to take care of wounded demonstrators. you can see, we've been watching down here a street party. people dancing in the streets, joyously, you know, a real evening of euphoria down here with massive crowds here. after 8:00 in the evening and a lot of anticipation from these people that something will change in the near future. and we've been getting messages from the government here, we've been getting messages from the government and even from state tv tonight. take a look at this video we want to show you that shows protesters shaking hands with soldiers and then there's a message that is put on to the state television broadcast saying "change, egypt is changing." and we've heard from a number of government officials, as well, including the senior ranking general here who addressed the protesters yesterday coming through the crowd and saying that your demands are going to be met and i think that has helped raise the expectations of the people here. >> all right, ivan watson, thanks very much. this movement, as ivan mentioned, impossible to predict one day from the next what will happen. exactly one week ago there were clashes in the streets. many deaths, many wounded. right now a celebratory mood in tahrir square with so many of the protesters hoping that this is truly the end for this regime. we're going to have to wait and see, wolf, back to you in washington. >> hala, as you know, if president mubarak announces he's not stepping down, that disappointment in tahrir square and elsewhere will be enormous and we can only imagine what that reaction will lead to. but we'll stand by. we'll await president mubarak's remarks. we're also just told that president obama who is on a visit to michigan right now, he's got a speech on an unrelated subject coming up in about 15 minutes or so, we're told at the beginning of his speech he will address the situation in egypt. we're anxious to hear what president obama has to say, as well. let's bring in jill dougherty our state department correspondent, though, right now, jill, tell us what you're hearing over at the state department. >> reporter: well, the state department is not saying very much of anything, wolf, because they are watching along with everyone else to see exactly what is going to happen. because until you hear it from president mubarak, nobody knows precisely what he will say and how he will say it. and there are a lot of details that are in question and it's a very important that this get defined exactly, because as we've been reporting, a senior egyptian government official has been saying, you know, there will be a transfer of power to the military, but it's not a coup in the traditional sense. well, what is it? and is president mubarak totally on board? now, it would appear if he is the man who is going to be making this announcement that he is on board in some fashion. but you have to ask yourself, wolf, you know, how is it defined? what does it mean if the military steps up and takes charge? do -- let's say, does the vice president suleiman have some type of role? is that enough for the protesters and the opposition? because they've been asking, to the president demanding he step down, is that enough? so there are a lot of questions, in fact, probably more questions than answers or facts at this point. >> yeah, it's going to be -- it's going to be fascinating and critical, jill, to see the precise wording of the president of egypt, hosni mubarak, does he say he's stepping down temporarily, not saying -- using the word temporarily. is he leaving the country? is he staying in the country? is he trying to hand over authority to the vice president, omar suleiman? we don't have any of those answers right now, but we do know, jill, that if he says he is not stepping down, but staying in power, at least wanting to stay in power until the next scheduled elections in september, jill, you can only imagine the disappointment, the anger, the frustration that will develop on the streets of cairo. >> reporter: oh, absolutely, wolf, and, you know, to give a bit of background about that senior egyptian government official talking to cnn saying that they were working on constitutional ways of bringing some type of change about, but they couldn't get there. he said, you know, the process wasn't getting the confidence or the support either from the opposition or notably, he said, the international community, so you could read the united states into the international community. so that they decided that they couldn't do it in a constitutional way, you know, in a technical, legal, constitutional way, so what they had to do was go outside the constitution. now, that sounds kind of legally scary, but i think what this government official, if he is to be believed, what he's saying is the constitution just wasn't written in a way to allow us to do that. so we're going to change things, the military is going to take over, but this is not a coup, so that's kind of where we stand. but it will be very important to listen very carefully and that's why people in the building at the state department, at the white house are reluctant to really have any official comment. >> all right, jill, stand by. i want everyone to stand by. we're awaiting two presidents that are expected to speak, the president of egypt, hosni mubarak, and the president of the united states, barack obama. he is getting ready to speak in marquette, michigan, the upper peninsula. you see a live picture of the podium where president obama will speak. at the beginning of the speech we are told he will have brief comments on what's going on in egypt, and we'll await, we'll, of course, have live coverage of that and live coverage of president mubarak and see what he has to say. our special breaking news coverage of the crisis, the turmoil, the upheaval in egypt will continue after this. )%)%)%% we're following the breaking news out of egypt right now. reports that the egyptian president, hosni mubarak, getting ready to step down. we'll see if he actually does. he's getting ready to speak on egyptian television. we're told that speech is supposed to be live. we're waiting for that and also awaiting president obama momentarily he'll be speaking in michigan on a totally unrelated subject but his aides say at the top of his speech right at the top he will have brief remarks on egypt. we're anxious to hear what president obama says and much more importantly we're much more anxious to hear what hosni mubarak has to say. hala gorani is co-anchoring with me here on cnn and cnn international. you know, a lot of viewers are anxious to know, hala, right now why today. what has happened between yesterday, the day before and today that would force the egyptian president after 30 years to step down and the only thing i can imagine, not only lost the people but he then lost a lot of the workers who began going on strike yesterday, he lost state media, state television began reporting fairly nice comments about the protesters and then he finally in my opinion he finally lost the military. if he didn't have the support of the military, there was no way he was going to stay on as president of egypt. so all of these pillars started crumbling. you were there from the beginning of this crisis. you saw that crumbling unfold, and it's just reached a crescendo today. >> i think importantly, wolf, you mention all the other factors. i think probably the most important factor right now for president mubarak and the men who surround him is the sheer size of the crowd in the streets of cairo and in tahrir square. the expectation was that the movement would lose some of its steam, some of its passion, it didn't, quite to the contrary. it actually gained momentum. several things contributed to that wael ghonim, gave that interview on egyptian television but also the determination of this pro-democracy movement to take this ruler down to make sure he steps down, that nothing less would satisfy them. they've been saying it for weeks. many predicted they would not continue to occupy the square. they have. michael holmes joins me now with more on these rulers -- on president mubarak but really president mubarak it seems, michael, potentially is going to announce if he's not stepping down that many of the powers he holds will be transferred. how about omar suleiman, the vice president. the man really calling the shots. >> well, yeah, he's an interesting character. i think one thing we've got to know about this guy, he's 74 years old. he is the former head of the intelligence services, which automatically makes a lot of the people on the street there that you're watching on the other side of the street nervous about this guy. he as head of the intelligence service since 1993 up until last week when he became the vice president, interesting enough foreign policymakers in '09 dubbed him the most powerful spy chief even more than mossad. you have to do a lot to gain that title. >> what's interesting is to wait for the crowd's reaction because let's underline one thing. omar suleiman is not a break with the past in egypt. >> no. >> he's a military general. he's been around the intelligence chief, how will protesters react is a big question. what is his relationship with the united states? >> it's fair to say that over the years the united states has viewed the incumbent vice president as a bit of a fix-it man in many ways. they've done business with him. he's a man that has been able to go around, negotiate cease-fires, he's mediated in the arab/israeli talks. he even allegedly had a role in the very controversial allegations of extraordinary rendition when prisoners were spirited off to egypt and allegedly tortured. he was the man that is said to have been actually involved in dealing with the united states on those things. >> it's an open question whether protesters who are now asking for president mubarak to step down will be satisfied with this man you're seeing on your screen there taking over power, the military also taking over power. do they want 9 emblem of this dictatorship gone, the face of the dictatorship as embodied by president hosni mubarak or as many have told us, do they want a complete and radical change? >> the problem with the complete and radical change as you know we've been discussing, you can't have a complete and radical change now. if mubarak steps down today there has to be something else. if you factor in the military, a lot of the crowd as you've been reporting on the streets, they like the military being there. the military is of the people but let's remember the military is also being -- protecting the regime throughout this whole protest, this whole uprising and even been allegedly involved in arresting protesters as well. the other thing is will an institution of such great power and standing in the egyptian society, beneficiaries of much lar largesse over the years will they step in and allow democratic institutions to be set up and allow a free election and civilian government? are they likely to do that? >> what model will they decide to follow? what shape will the leadership of egypt take? >> they're so woven into egyptian society, not just on a military level but in the economy, in the society, aren't they? >> and at the highest levels of politics. thanks very much, mike. >> good relationship with israel, suleiman, as well, a hot line, has done business with this man for some time so interesting to see how it plays out. >> it will, indeed. wolf, back to you in washington. >> hala, i want you to stand by, please, as well. remember, we're waiting for two presidents, the president of the united states and the president of egypt to speak momentarily we're told the pressdent of the united states will speak. he had a totally unrelated issue to discuss. aides say he will address this crisis in egypt right now. we're also awaiting the comments of the egyptian leader hosni mubarak. the crowd there is cheering. they're thrilled because they believe he will formally announce he's stepping down and may even be leaving the country. his information minister said on state tv that is not happening but we will see what the egyptian leader does. our special breaking news coverage here on cnn and cnn international will continue. there are two kinds of heroes. heroes who travel thousands of miles to face the unknown... and those who stay behind to do the same. for every warrior who charges into the fight... is another who fights to keep moving forward until their return. military lives are different. at usaa we've been there. we understand. that's why our commitment to serve military, veterans and their families is without equal. usaa. for insurance, banking, investments, retirement and advice... we know what it means to serve. let us serve you. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy 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[ male announcer ] it's a new year. so, ask your doctor about chantix. and find out how you could save money on your prescription go to chantix.com to learn more and get terms and conditions. we're following the egypt uprising. you can see on the right side of your screens the tahrir square where thousands and thousands of protesters are thrilled, they're chanting "down, down mubarak, always be free, egypt." they're thrilled. excited amid the reports that the egyptian leader after 30 years in power will finally step down. on the left you can see a podium. the president of the united states is in marquette, michigan, scheduled to speak on a totally unrelated issue involving the worldwide web and i'm getting all homes in america connected but he's going to top his speech with comments about what's happening in egypt right now. we're told momentarily the president will walk up there and he will begin his comments and get a nice round of applause presumably from the folks there in michigan and then will speak about the crisis in egypt. this has enormous, enormous ramifications for everyone. not own i in the region but around the world we're watching and wondering if, in fact, mubarak does step down, if, in fact, he leaves the country and there are rumors to that effect, what will happen next, tunisia, egypt, which countries will go forward? the president is now being introduced. you can see the folks there standing up. he'll walk up to the microphone and will speak out about egypt first and foremost. there he is, president barack obama. we know that he has been really preoccupied with the crisis in egypt now for more than two weeks. hala gorani is co-anchoring with mow as he shakes hands and gets ready to speak, hala, we really haven't got a first statement from the obama administration over these past two weeks whether or not they want mubarak to step down, only they want change and they want change right away but here he is. he's smiling. he's happy although i suspect he's got a lot of other stuff on his mind. let's listen to them. >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. everybody, please have a seat. have a seat. it is wonderful to be here in the upper peninsula with so many u-pers. how many of you are green bay fans too? yeah. i've been seeing too many green bay fans lately. it is great to be here. it is great to be in northern michigan university. we've got some wonderful guests here that i just want to mention. first of all, somebody who is as good a public servant, not just good at what he does, but good at heart, and works tirelessly on behalf of the entire state. your senior senator carl levin is here. now, his partner in the senate could not be here because she's actually leading a democratic caucus retreat but has been fighting for manufacturing, broadband, a lot of the things we're talking about here today so i want to acknowledge debbie stabenow who deeply cares about the work you do up here. i want to thank the great hospitality of mayor john cav cavella who has been showing me around town. thank you so much, mayor. the president of northern michigan university, dr. les wong is here. and all of you are here. and you guys are pretty special. absolutely. before i begin, i just want to say that we are following today's events in egypt very closely, and we'll have more to say as this plays out, but what is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfold. it's a moment of transformation that's taking place because the people of egypt are calling for change. they've turned out in extraordinary numbers representing all ages and all walks of life, but it's young people who have been at the forefront. a new generation. your generation, who want their voices to be heard. and so going forward, we want those young people and we want all egyptians to know america will continue to do everything that we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in egypt. now, as we watch what's taking place we're also reminded that we live in an interconnected world, what happens across the globe has an impact on each and every one of us. and that's why i've come to marquette today. not only because it's beautiful and the people are really nice, which is true. but i've come here because in the 21st century, it's not just the big cities where change is happening. it's also in towns like this where the jobs and businesses of tomorrow will take root and where young and talented americans can lead. it's towns like this where our economic future will be won. on the short term, the best thing we can do to speed up economic growth is to make sure families and businesses have more money to spend and that's exactly what -- i got a little applause there. that's exactly why we passed those tax cuts in december. that's what it's doing, because democrats and republicans came together, americans' paychecks will be a little bigger this year and businesses will be able to write off their investments and companies will grow and they'll add workers. but we've got more to do. our measure of success has to be whether every american who wants a job can find a job. >> all right. the president of the united states, he's moving on to domestic, economic issues right now. he's got his prepared remarks, but we heard just now the president saying this is a historic moment in egypt right now, a moment of transformation. the people of egypt are calling for change and he promises that the united states of america will do everything it can to help the people of egypt with an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in egypt. hala gorani is here with me, as well. hala, nile tv, the state tv in egypt, it's fascinating. they were broadcasting live what the president of the united states was saying just then about egypt. it indicates to me and as a longtime observer of what's going on in egypt one state television, the state media begins to report stuff that normally they wouldn't want to report especially live, it's a sign of the end of the regime over there for all practical purposes. we saw that cracking yesterday with the workers at the suez canal, with other union workers. we saw it with the state tv and all of a sudden now it certainly looks like it's over for hosni mubarak. >> well, when state television decides to air live a speech by president barack obama saying that we're watching history unfold and that the people of egypt have asked for change and that the united states will support an orderly transition of power in the country, it certainly seems to indicate that protesters have won a battle there in egypt. we saw it with the promo, wolf, you saw it earlier with the egyptian people there featured in tahrir square shaking hands with the military. state television and the state through the state television there, nile tv and others signaling that a change is about to happen. the big question is when will mubarak speak? what will he say, as well? is he going to step down? if he does step down, who takes over? is it the military? if the military takes over, who will then lead the country? will it be the military transitioning and helping the country transition into a true pluralistic democracy or will it be something of military rule for the foreseeable future? it is a big question, and we, you and i, wolf, the protesters in egypt and the world are waiting for this speech. >> yeah, there's no doubt that this is going to be historic, whatever president mubarak says. we don't know precisely what he'll say but there are indications he will announce he's stepping down, indications that his vice president, his personally appointed vice president will be the acting president. we don't know if that will happen. we have to wait and see but you heard the president of the united states speaking. for all practical purposes as if this is the moment right now, this is the key moment where all of this will unfold. they're shouting in tahrir square and you can see the live pictures, "down, down, mubarak, always be free, egypt," that's the translation from arabic and, hala, you're absolutely right. that one of the heroes, if, in fact, this happens the way that pro-democracy demonstrators want it to happen will be wael ghonim, the google executive who came back after, what, ten days in captivity and inspired so many people that remarkable interview he gave in egypt. all right. let's take a quick break. we'll reassess what's going on. we'll continue to await the president of egypt, hosni mubarak. we'll see what he says on this very historic day. 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some sort of transition of power in egypt, 2 1/2 weeks into demonstrations that have rocked the country. >> it's really an amazing situation that's unfolding, hala, and i don't think we can overly exaggerate how significantly potentially the developments in egypt are. it's one thing for there to be a revolution, if you will in tunisia, as important as that north african state is, let's be honest, it's no egypt. egypt is the largest of all of the arab countries, 80 million people. militarily it's the most significant. strategically controlling the suez canal. it's got enormous power. economically it's very significant. culturally throughout the arab world it is the leader in terms of films and everything else, what happens in egypt has dramatic ramifications and as we will see in the coming days and weeks, whatever happens to president mubarak presumably will have ramifications in other middle eastern countries, as well. we don't know what the next country will -- that will have this kind of domino effect, will itting jordan? will it be syria, north africa? but as you well know, hala, what's happening right now is clearly dramatic and could be potentially a major international game changer. >> absolutely. it started quietly and tragically in egypt with the suicide of one young unemployed man, led to protests rather i should say in tunisia, led to protests for several weeks. the president of tunisia ben ali forced to step down to seek exile. after tunisia we saw egypt, street demonstrations then clashes then more demonstrations, re-energized by one activist, wael ghonim, the google executive in detention for 12 days, now we are expecting the president of egypt to take to the podium and address his nation and all of us live with more on what he expects to do and whether or not he will step down. arwa damon is among the protesters in tahrir square. they were chanting earlier, down, down, mubarak, always be free, egypt. i imagine there is a huge sense of anticipation in tahrir square right now. >> reporter: yeah, definitely. it's something of an electric atmosphere. people really hoping, waiting for that -- this is going to be the moment they have all been waiting for where they will see the president finally relinquish power. this is what they have been calling for all along or one of the main things that they have been calling for, but at the same time, many people telling us they don't want to get their hopes up too high, because this is, after all, a country that has disappointed them time and time again and simply do not trust him. one young musician says if he does step down, the cheer of the crowds will be louder than a volcanic eruption. older businessman we spoke to said, i'm already learning something from all of this. he said he used to go through life with blinders on, but that the youth down in tahrir square have taught him how to be positive again. he says the regime made us all old. a lot of made us all very negative. a lot of divided opinion about what should happen afterwards and whether or not people will find it acceptable if president mubarak decides to hand over the rains of power to suleiman. a lot of people saying that that would not go over well with the crowds here. they say that after vice president suleiman made that statement on egyptian television, he said that egypt wasn't ready for democracy, people do not want to see him in power either. there does seem to be consensus there should be some sort of military takeover for a period till elections can be held, hala. >> one of our producers there on the ground just tweeted, we're learning so much about what's going on there in egypt through social media, just tweeted, this is the loudest i've heard the crowds in the last two weeks. let's listen to the crowds in tahrir square right now as they all await the president's address. there, wolf, just chants that are overwhelming tahrir square in downtown cairo. it's a very festive mood, and it's the loudest it's been, according to our producer amir, people are really, really in a state of anticipation hoping that this means victory for them, that what they've done over the last 2 1/2 weeks will finally pay off. >> hala, you think if mubarak does announce that he is stepping down, let's say he's going to even leave the country but handing over power on a temporary basis to the vice president, is that going to satisfy that crowd in tahrir square? >> i have stopped making predictions, i can tell you that because so many of the predictions we've made, what we thought would happen based on events in egypt have not materialized. of course, him stepping down, leaving the corrupt is not what protesters say they want. they want him to step down and be president of egypt anymore. they want orderly transition to democracy. some say well suleiman empowers more of the same. others say at least it can prepare the country for a transition to democracy. so you have several reactions which we heard from our reporters there what they want and what they will accept. it's just going to be a question of after the speech, wolf, and tomorrow and the coming days, what form will this egyptian leadership takes and will those pro democracy activists be satisfied. >> i want you to join me in questioning an expert on what's going on, profess ter tra rec massoud, john f. kennedy school of government joining us on the phone. tell us what you think right now. i don't know if you have any inside information on what president mubarak is going to do. give us a little sense of history. >> yeah, i don't have any sense -- any inside information, but if in fact the president is planning to resign tonight, this is historic. this is a guy who's been in power for 30 years. the idea that he would step down in this fashion, it's never really the last time something like this happened in egypt was in 1952 when king farouk left power. and i'll note that king farouk went a lot more quietly than mubarak seems to be going but it would it be pretty remarkable if that's what happens tonight. >> will the crowd there be satisfied if he a, leaves, but b, the vice president omar suleiman takes over? >> that's a great question, wolf. i think that a lot of people might be satisfied. omar suleiman is somebody who prior to all of this drama had a fair bit of credibility, including with a lot of the opposition figures that you see around elbaradei. for them the real concern was that mubarak was going to hand this over to his son. suleiman was an acceptable option to people several months ago. i think now that people have had this taste of the possibility of genuine democracy, plus, they've seen omar suleiman come out and speak and he really looks like a throwback to the 1960s, will people be satisfied with this? i'm not sure. >> go ahead and ask. >> thanks. it just seems as though the government is always two weeks late with everything that it does. in this case, announcing a transition of power that according to so many observers should have been announced two weeks ago for the provide testers to be satisfied. but what about the military in all of this? are they still the entity in the end calling every shot in egypt right now? >> i think that's exactly right, hala. first of all, in terms of the time frame, yes, it's been two weeks but that's two weeks shorter than tunisia. maybe they're a little bit ahead of the game. it is the military calling the shots. that's what we're hearing is that there's going to be a transfer to some kind of military authority in the country. so one wonders if what's happened here is that the military has sacrificed mubarak in order to save the regime because you know, this always was a military-based regime. so that may be what's happening here. >> just what about the muslim brotherhood, the opposition groups, the youth movement in the square? with the military in charge, what representation will they have in the end? >> it completely depends on what the military wants to allow to happen. so if the military says that we want to engage in a process of dialogue and constitution writing and reform, then it's reasonable to assume that these folks who have been meeting with omar suleiman might actually be part of this kind of process. it's just not clear because as you know the, the military establishment really is calling the shots right now. >> you know, hala, i want to keep tarek masoud with us. stay with us, tarek. i want to bring in ben wedeman into this conversation, as well. assuming, ben, and this is a big assumption that mubarak steps down, omar suleiman, the vice president takes over on a temporary basis, is there someone else, is there one individual, whether the former head of the international atomic energy agency, mohamed elbaradei or the current head of the arab league, is there someone who is a likely future president of egypt that is emerging as a sort of consensus capped out there? >> no, wolf, there isn't. mohamed elbaradei has made it clear that he will not be satisfied with the ouster of president hosni mubarak. he wants a completely different political setup. as far as amar moussa he is seen as a political opportunist who for years was very much a mubarak man and only very recently has come out and expressed support for the ant anti-mubarak movement. so this is really the problem, wolf. there are no figures with adequate political standing who are out there who could run for president at this the point. so really in the new egypt, if this is the new egypt we're seeing behind me it, figures will have to emerge, some consensus will have to be formed around certain individuals because at the moment, this is a movement in too rear square that seems to take pride in the fact they don't have a leader, they don't have somebody they have to follow. and i think that's part of the phenomenon. it's in a sense a revolt against a paternalistic attitude that president mubarak was very much identified with, sort of the i know best, you kids shut up and let me do my job. so, the next few months, as the situation evolves, we will see people emerge. but at the moment, there are no clear and likely candidates for the presidency here. >> but what about wael ghonim, the google executive who was imprisoned for about ten days, now has become an inspiration to so many of those protesters. is he someone, potentially, i don't know if he wants to have that kind of responsibility, but is he someone that would like to emerge as a political leader in egypt? >> reporter: well, my impression of wael ghonim is that he has no interest and he's made it clear that as soon as this phase is over, as soon as the tahrir demonstrators achieve their goals, he's going back to his old day job. >> he's got a day job at google, although he's taken a leave. i know you have to go. let me thank you very much. ask you a quick question before i let you go. is there one individual in egypt you see right now as potentially someone who could unite the country and take charge? >> reporter: you know, that's a very tough question, and i just don't know the answer to it. again, it depends on what the military is willing to allow to happen. i will note that amar moussa although he has a reputation of a political opportunist, i think on the street of egypt, he's very popular. >> tarek has to go, he's an assistant professor of public policy at harvard.thanks very much. you can see the crowd, still so excited there in egypt right now, tahrir square. they've heard all the rumors and reports saying that president hosni mubarak is getting ready to go on egyptian television and announce that heal step down. we'll have to wait for the official statement, presumably it's going to be live. halah gorani is here coanchoring with me here on cnn and cnn international. it's the top of the hour. let's update viewers on what's going on right now. first of all, here's a timeline of what has happened. back on january 25th, it's not very long ago, thousands of egyptians inspired by what happened in tunisia began protests. on january 26th, security forces loyal to president mubarak began arresting some of those protesters. 500 of them were immediately arrested. that sparked more anger. on january 28th, president mubarak decide he was going to send in some troops, sort of a warning shot to the protesters but the protesters did not back down at all. also on january 28th, 24 people were killed, but 1,000 were injured in these clashes with security forces. mostly the police in egypt. on january 29th it, mubarak sacked his entire cabinet, but he refused to leave saying he was not going to seek re-election in the next scheduled elections of september. his gone would not run for office but stay in power till september. he announced that omar suleiman who was in charge of the intelligence services all of them in egypt would be named the new vice president. this was the first time that egypt had a vice president since mubarak hipz as a former vice president took over when president sadat was assassinated in 1981. a new government was sworn in on january 31st, but tens it of thousands of people were swarming tahrir square in downtown cairo. they were not backing down at all in the face of what was going on. they were certainly not satisfied. they were moving ahead with their demonstrations. they wanted dem creation, they wanted democracy now. and they wanted mubarak to go, and they wanted him to go right away. he was resisting all of those calls. and as we see now what's going on, this is a dramatic moment, and i think just to point out, a couple more leapts in this time line, hala, on february 1st it, mubarak made another televised statement saying he's staying, in effect, he would work towards a transition but he was staying. he said he would leave only in september. and that's when the next scheduled elections were going to be taking place. finally on february 2nd, it the violence really erupted in tahrir square. all sorts of pro-mubarak elements started coming in. the suspicion was many of them were representatives of the interior min sti, many of them were police plainclothes and the violence got broughtal. hala, you were there and remember some of that violence was directed at the international news media, human rights workers, and others. you were in the middle of all of that. >> yes. >> who would have thought only a few days later on this day, we would be seeing what we're seeing. >> it does feel like a lifetime ago when you mention those clashes. it was only a week ago. very few people would have predicted a week ago that president mubarak would address his people live and possibly hand over power to his vice president. possibly indicate that the military is now politically in control of the country. we understand that he's going to announce possibly, again, it's always important to sort of nuance whatever predictions we make when it comes to egypt, that constitutional changes will be made, will be rushed through in order to facilitate a transition of power. ivan watson is -- are you in tahrir square or overlooking tahrir? where are you exactly? yes, i'm in tahrir square where the street party continues. and i think part of what's so remarkable about this is just last week, for instance, underneath our balcony, there was a first aid clinic where some of these demonstrators were being stitched up after being wounded in clashes with pro-mubarak supporters and now it's a massive street party under way with people jumping and dancing and we're going to pan down so you can see this remarkable scene right now. if we can get the live feed on. there was a man who had some kind of a torch that was blowing a second ago. really a remarkable scene. and you know, it rained this morning. that has not dampened the enthusiasm here at all. when i came through the lines of security that are run by volunteers here, demonstrators who search your body and check your i.d., one of them was smiling. he had a big broad smile and i asked him why are you so happy. he said i think all of this is going to be over soon. >> what will -- ivan, let me ask you this. will they be okay with vice president suleiman sake taking over and the military playing a lead role politically, or will protesters according to those you've spoken with still continue to demonstrate in tahrir? >> reporter: i think it really depends. some of the more radical activists here, for instance, wael ghonim, the google executive who was detained and we spoke to yesterday who helped organize the first protests on january 25th, he has said he does not want to talk to omar suleiman. he said the time for negotiation with him is over. he says that omar suleiman is part of a regime that hosni mubarak symbolizes and that that entire regime needs to go. i think some of the other activists here and some of the other demonstrators don't take such a hard line position and some say they could live with him. the main point is for significant change to start and that has to begin with hosni mubarak stepping down. >> you were talking there about the mood in the square. it's important also to listen to those people in the square. these are the individuals who are responsible for it all, the pro democracy activists who came day in, day out to that rear square in downtown cairo demanding change. it seems as though their actions are going to lead at some point, whether it's today or in the next few weeks to a change of regime in egypt. let's listen a little bit to the atmosphere coming from tahrir square right now. we're going to continue to follow this story with our team of reporters. ivan watson, frederik pleitgen, arwa damon and others all following the latest developments. wolf, back to you. >> thanks very much. i want to bring in an expert right now. nick burns is joining us once again. he's at the kennedy school at harvard university and nick is familiar to our viewers. he's retired u.s. state department official, former undersecretary of state. nick, talk a little bit about what the challenges are for the united states at this very, very sensitive moment. >> wolf, i think there are enormous challenges ahead. this is the very beginning perhaps of this drama. the decision by president mubarak to resign. look what's ahead of the united states. we have to try to help behind the scenes a new egyptian government to organize a transition. that transition is going to have to be open. it's going to have to open itself up to other political figures and some of those young people in the streets of tahrir square right now because if it isn't, my strong suspicion is that's not going to be enough. that a transition that looks like president mubarak's regime won't be enough for what these people have been protesting for in a very positive and peaceful way over the last three weeks. so it is likely to be a very turbulent chaotic period in egyptian history unfortunately moving forward and a very difficult transition in a country that does not have a democratic tradition because it's been governed by authoritarian leaders for 60 years. >> you heard president obama say a little while ago that america will do everything it can to create an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in egypt. but some are suggesting what we're about to see in egypt is what might be called a soft military coup or a takeover of egypt by the egyptian military. is that fair? >> i think it's a strong possibility. there's no question that the military is going to play a deseesive role in the transition. whether the military is open to having some of those young people come into a conference room with them top talk about amendments to the constitution, to talk about elections, to talk about freedom of political party formation, that's an open question. and so if omar suleiman is to be the new face of egypt in this transitional period, the big question is, wolf, whether we'll just see a continuous of authoritarian rule with other people in office. obviously the united states has an interest in seeing that the voices of these people in the streets of cairo are still heard inside the corridors of power in cairo. that's the contribution that the u.s. has to making to encourage the egyptians to open that up. >> nick burns, thanks very much. former undersecretary of state. now at the hard yard university helping us appreciate the history of what's unfolding. these are live pictures from tahrir square. folks there are so excited. teps it of thousands of people are gathering there. they want to hear from president hosni mubarak that he is stepping down, that he is giving up power and that he may or may not be leaving egypt but they want him gone and anything short of that will be deeply disappointing to them and there will be anger on the streets if he announces anything less than that. he's supposed to go. he's supposed to deliver these remarks on egyptian state television soon. we'll of course, have live coverage here on cnn and cnn international. let's take a quick break. as we go to break, let's listen in on the crowd at tahrir square. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to 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information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. tens of thousands of people have gathered at tahrir square in cairo. they're anxiously awaiting word from the egyptian president hosni mubarak. they expect that he will announce on egyptian television shortly that he is stepping down. we don't know for sure. we have heard a little while ago the information minister of egypt saying he will not step down, that mubarak will not step down. we're anxious to hear what he has to say. we do know that president obama said just a little while ago that the united states will do everything it can to help egypt achieve an orderly and genuine transition to democracy. easier said than done i must say. halah gorani is coanchoring with me right now. halah, our viewers in the united states and around the world, they are watching because they appreciate the history of the moment in egypt right now. >> reporter: absolutely not only because as you mentioned before, what's happening in egypt will be transformative for egypt, it will be transformative for the rest of the world. there are many dictatorships in that region that might be looking with a tinge of concern and worry. many governments have announced what some have called preemptive reforms in order to try to placate demonstrator who's might be organizing protests in their own countries. if president mubarak steps down, the big question is what next. that is the $64,000 question. we don't know what exact role the military will play, whether or not they will under the military's tutelage usher in an era of true democratic transition in the country or whether the military and vice president suleiman will continue to hold on to power in a more determined and deliberate way. jim clancy is here, my colleague. jim clancy has looked into the military's role in egypt and what might transpire if and when they take over more deliberately politically in egypt. >> is it really a takeover? egyptian military is big, half a million men, half a million in reserve. it is strong. it's involved in things like road building and other activities. it protects some of the resorts in egypt, that tourists visit. it is popular. it's a con description army. every family feels they have a part of it. but all of those things don't matter so much as the history of egypt's military since 1952 when it is takened a coup four presidents have come from the military. hosni mubarak who has served for almost 20 years was the former commander of the air force. they are absolutely, if there is a military handover of power to the military, they are going to be in the driver's seat. they are going to dictate what kind of democracy egyptians will have, what kind of real change comes out of all of these things that we have witnessed over the past two weeks. hala, there is no guarantee that it's going to go in a different way than it has gone in the past. >> there are no guarantees. >> we get excited about this stuff. we look at this and support it. but you have to see where it's going. >> symbolically though, emblematically, president mubarak being forced by his own people to admit that he must step aside, that in itself is a historic event. you're right, jim. it's a question of what next. wolf? we continue to watch live pictures as we continue to await president mubarak's address. it's going to be interesting to see what he says. >> we'll see what he has to say. the egyptian leader. we will have live coverage here on cnn and cc international. we just got a tweet by the way, halah, you'll be interested that we'll gee people in, the google executive arrested in cairo spent about ten days in a prison, but then spoke so passionately and dramatically about what's going on, he has now just tweeted he's heading towards tahrir square right now. he's a familiar face to the people who have gathered there. i'm sure they will be inspired once he gets there. anderson cooper is joining us right now. anderson, only a few days ago, you were down in tahrir square. you remember vividly what was going on. and i suspect, maybe i'm wrong, did you anticipate, anderson, that the situation cogs dramatically unfold as quickly as it is right now? >> reporter: well, you know, i remember talking to ben wedeman last week and him saying, look, this cannot go on much longer. back then, he was predicting two weeks. we're just past the two-week mark. it is extraordinary, wolf, as we have all witnessed what's been going on, all of us around the world. we've all seen what's been happening in that square. to think that just a week ago, there were pitch battles on the streets all around that square. the people in that square were fighting for their lives as they were attacked for hours and hours for two days by pro-mubarak thugs, the mirt watching it happen, molotov cocktails being thrown. what a difference just a few days makes. a lot of people, wolf, as you know anticipated that these demonstrations would crest and they would begin to fade, but that is not happening. if anything, they've just increased over the last couple of days. we've seen the largest demonstrations just two days ago. strikes beginning to break out. the momentum clearly shifting now for the protesters. >> you know, once the workers started striking yesterday and the day before, anderson, at the suez canal, once egyptian state media began showing positive images of the protesters and once the military began making statements that maybe, maybe mubarak should step down, he lost that entire base, and it was only going to be a matter of time before the situation would unfold. let's go back to ben wedeman in cairo right now. the crowd, i take it more and more and more people every minute are showing up in tahrir square, even though it's getting late into the evening right now, ben. tell us what you're seeing and hearing. >> reporter: well, it's an hour and 20 minutes into the nightly curfew. what i've seen is a line of about five people thick going back hundreds of meters all trying to get into tahrir square. and that, wolf, is only one entrance to the square. so clearly, everybody in cairo or many people want to be in tahrir square for what they expect to be a historic moment when president mubarak makes his speech. >> it certainly will be. do they have some sort of speaker system? i assume they do, ben, that they he will be able to hear mubarak as he speaks? >> why, there are many speaker systems down there playing at the moment, music. others making speeches. but we've seen in the past that there is a big screen down there where people will be able to listen to whatever speech comes out, and i would like to be down there myself to see what the reaction is. >> yeah, i'm sure a lot of folks are going to be looking at this moment. anderson cooper is still there. just the other day, anderson, we saw you and ben wedeman and halah gorani reporting from cairo. it was a brutal situation that was unfolding as the secret police and the security forces, pro mubarak forces were going after human rights activists, going after rel folks and journalists. right now, and as ben wedeman just said and you pointed out, what a difference one week makes. >> reporter: it certainly does. it is important to point out though that they are all still there. the security services by some estimates, the interior ministry has more than a million and a half employees, informants, secret agents, secret police. so all of that is still there. that infrastructure is still there. real questions now remain, a, what is hosni mubarak going to say tonight? is he going to pass over power to his vice president suleiman, a man who has run those security services, the intelligence services for mubarak for more than a decade now. a man who is the closest confidante, some call him the con sig gli aere to hosni mubarak. is he really the man? will the protesters believe he is the man to shepherd egypt toward a real democracy? if the military in fact takes over, what will the transition period look like? will they be willing to transition and allow democratic institutions to grow as most obbers say they need to in order to have free and fair elections in which egyptian voters have a choice of who they want to run their country. there's a lot of questions that remain, and as we look at these pictures and as we watch the kroo jubilation spread, not just from tahrir squaretahrir square out across egypt, it's important to remember the apparatus of repression that is still in place and may be in place down the road. ben, have you lived in this country for so long. i remember speaking to you last week. you said you thought it couldn't go on much longer than two weeks. it's been just a little bit over two weeks. did you, when this began, did you have any idea that it could end up like this? >> reporter: well, really it all began so suddenly on the 25th of january when we were covering what seemed like a routine demonstration that suddenly got massive with thousands of people coming into the middle of the city to that rear. and what we saw is between the 25th and the 2th when you had that massive demonstration that ended in the burning down of the ruling national democratic party headquarters, that's when i realized that this regime was not as solid as everybody thought. the feeling was, before was that there are too many people with vested interests in the regime, government employees, the army, the interior ministry, which like you mentioned has more than a million employees. but what we discovered, and i think to the surprise of everybody here, even you know, egyptians, obviously the government, is that despite its facade of strength, of omnipoten omnipotence, that this was actually a very -- is a very weak regime that has been shaken to its corby this, a few hundred thousand young people dedicated activists who said enough is enough. and i think this is what really tear phis all the other regimes in the middle east is that this massive egyptian regime is being brought down by a popular nonviolent movement. if they can take egypt down, they can take anywhere down. anderson? >> ben, i just have a quick question. sorry. ben, yeah, i have a quick question. is -- will the -- is the military, do you think in egypt now looking at it as the world watches live pictures of this popular uprising, is the military in a position that it must usher in true change because it knows these demonstrators are determined at this point two and a half weeks into this movement? >> well, i think that's a question that we can't answer at this point. but in fact, let's keep in mind one thing. if president mubarak steps down, and of course, at point we don't know that for sure, it's only changing the head. the body, the state structure, it the ministry of the interior, which is massive, the army, it's a regime that has made egypt what it is today, not president mubarak by itself. and the army is very much part of that regime. in fact, in 1952, egypt had what later he call a revolution but it was a military coup d'etat. and since then all the presidents have been from the military. we're not talking about the united states where voters vote out an unpopular president, no. we're talking about an entire system of government that's based upon a military structure, based upon police state methods. there's so much that needs to be changed. and many of the people in the square said yes, we want mubarak to go, but we want to change the whole system from top to bottom. that's a real revolution. and i suspect the army isn't going to go along with that. hala? >> reporter: well, if it doesn't, then really what kind of changing will egypt really -- will egypt really experience? that's the question, wolf. we're still waiting to see. there are various reports and really we don't want to attach ourselves to any kind of stipulated speech right now, but many reports that possibly, would he have, president mubarak will speak in about 35 minutes live. of course, the most accurate way to predict the speech is after it happens. that's not something we necessarily want to announce with any degree of confidence. >> we could be waiting for minutes, we could be waiting for hour. it's now approaching 9:30 p.m. in cairo, hala. we've also, it's a fascinating development for those who watch these kinds of nuances, we're now told that state tv, nile tv in egypt is showing these pictures of tahrir square, which is pretty impressive in and of itself. ben wedeman, willet me bring back ben to talk about that. when state television in egypt are showing these pro democracy demonstrators in cairo, as a long-time observer of egypt, what does that say to you, ben? >> i think we've seen an amazing change, wolf, in egyptian tv. now along with these live pictures of the square, there's also a little promo which has a picture of people in the square. it says, egypt is changing. just a few days ago, egyptian television was running the most sort of real low, hard propaganda against the demonstrators, suggesting they're all agents of foreign powers working perhaps for israel, the united states, hamas, hezbollah, iran. egyptian tv has featured in preview days interviews with people who they said were activists from the youth movement here who had a change of heart and suddenly decided that actually they supported president mubarak and they would go on with these stories about how they were paid by freedom house in the united states $50,000 to cause a revolution in egypt and that some of them received training from the israeli intelligence organization mossad. and some of them had received training in qatar, which is, of course, where ja zeer ra is which is one of the egyptian regime's main enemies at the moment. very complicated stories of sinster plots against egypt being aired on an almost continuous basis on egyptian tv and presto, everything has changed. now it's all light and happiness regarding tahrir square. admiration for the youth who are changing egypt. flip-flops happen even here, wolf. >> it was amazing earlier in the day when top egyptian general, the army chief went into tahrir square and told the protesters, i'm fair paraphrasing, but he said effectively, all your demands will be met. that was the clearest signal yet that president mubarak was getting ready to step down. was that the correct interpretation? >> well, certainly that's how many people are reading it. when a senior army officer goes down to that square where the demands are so vividly being made, whether it's in chants, in songs, in posters, in arabic, english, french, i've even seen chinese posters down there, that sends a very clear message to the people in tahrir that the army is listening very carefully to you, and in fact, no one from the regime, obviously, other than the army has come down and sent that same message. so that's certainly is an interpretation that many in the square have made of those remarks, wolf. >> let me bring anderson cooper back into this conversation. when you were there in egypt, did you get a clear difference of attitude from the police, the secret police, the security forces opposed to the egyptian army, the egyptian military? was it obvious to you that they were behaving differently? >> without a doubt. i mean, the egyptian police, uniformed police were off the streets by the time i got there because of their crackdown during the early days of the demonstration. they were taken off the streets. the egyptian military went in to try to fillmore of a policing role and largely sort of tried to maintain lines around liberation square. and obvious, there's enormous respect for the egyptian military. they would often chant the people and the military are one, the people and the military are one. you know, the military did stand by and allow pro-mubarak thugs and mobs to go and attack the peaceful protesters. no doubt about that. the world saw it. but then after two days of attacks, they did set up greater defensive lines in between the two sides and keep the two sides apart. so they did finally step in after two days of watching these thugs attack the protesters. but the military really is the only force in egypt which i think still maintains widespread support, still maintains the support of the anti-government protesters who, you know, there's been a festive atmosphere there on many days where people would give the soldiers flowers, give them food, bring them tea. they really do view them as an extension of the egyptian population. >> amazing. >> everyone you talk to has stories about brutality that they have received under the hands of the police or corruption that they have seen. you know, the police are the most obvious representatives of the regime of hosni mubarak in people's day to day lives. just as they are in all countries. they are the probably the biggest representative of any state power. and because they -- there is widespread corruption and because they have a heavy hand, there is widespread hatred of the police in egypt. and the real question remains now, what is going to happen to them? how will they work, if it is a military regime that takes over, how will they begin to work with the security apparatus that's still in place, and you still need to have police on streets. how is that going to work? how is that transition going to be handled. >> let's not get overly carried away because this is still a very, very dangerous moment right now the. anderson, as our friend, my former professor at johns hopkins has said to you and as he's told all of our viewers, potentially, if you can elaborate for a moment on this anderson, potentially this may be an exceedingly dangerous moment that we're watching right now. >> there's no doubt about it. on several factors. one, the world stops paying attention if the protesters leave the square, if everyone starts to believe mubarak is out if that is what he's going to be announcing sometime in the next minutes or hours. people may stop paying attention. reporters may move elsewhere. yet, all of the apparatus of repression, all of the institutions which have, you know, brutalized people in egypt which have arbitrary arrested people, all the power in the state may remain in the hands of people who have been allies to mubarak for nearly 30 years now. it it is still a very dangerous time for the protesters. if they leave the square, if they give up that land that they have paid for literally with blood and so much sacrifice, if they give it up and the apparatus of the state remains in control, they could be picked off one by one, rounded up, arrested, disappear, and the world would no longer be watching. >> i think that's an excellent point. hala, you were there, as well, hala. this euphoria that's developing in tahrir square, that could be dashed fairly quickly. >> you know, it's a great point that anderson made there regarding the interior ministry, the secret police, the state apparatus that functions very much based on the power of the police. i mean, you have to remember the military senior several hundred thousand. the interior ministry has more than a million people working on some level for that entity within the egyptian government. it is very much what is in the daily lives of egyptians. so a very important question for egypt is, how will the military negotiate a new relationship, if it will indeed negotiate a new relationship with the interior ministry, the police, the secret police. this is how these regimes in the middle east maintain power with, the intimidation of the secret police, with intimidation from the police, the everyday police. we've seen over the last few years through the power of social media some scenes of torture, intimidation of egyptian police against their own citizens. this is not going to be dismantled with one presidential speech. so it is so important that we wait and see how the interior ministry and its power within egyptian society is reformed, if at all, in this transition, in this democratic political transition in the country. >> and let me just reset what we're awaiting right now is the president of egypt, hosni mubarak. we're told he's getting ready to address the people of egypt and make a dramatic announcement. will he announce he's stepping down? will he announce he's not stepping down? we'll have to wait and see what he says. we know the egyptian army chief said earlier to the crowd, he said all your demands will be met. leon panetta told congress a little while ago there are strong indications that the u.s. is getting that mubarak will step down. we'll have to wait and see. ben wedeman has been covering the story for a long time. ben, remind me, that historic tweet that you put out and frankly i must say when he got your tweet on that day and you said something to the effect that there is a full-scale revolt under way in egypt right now, i said to myself, well he may be right but it sounds a little premature. remind me when you tweeted that because you were obviously 100% correct. >> reporter: this was i think on the 26th of january, the day after the first demonstration, i was on the roof of the lawyers syndicate watching as hundreds of riot police were trying to put down a protest. and there were cars burning in the street on the sort of one block up. it looks like no matter what they tried with so many forces being mobilized to put down these protests, they just couldn't do it. and it was at that moment it just occurred to me that if this carries on much longer, this regime that, as i said before, we thought was so solid, so strong, so entrenched is being shaken by what's really limited protests limited to the heart of cairo. that's really sort of what inspired me to send that tweet at the time. and i did think afterwards, maybe i may have jumped the gun, but by the 28th when we saw the army come in and the police pull out of cairo, i thought i was probably right. >> you certainly were right. ben wedeman is going to stay with us. anderson cooper is watching what's going on. halah gorani is watching what's going on. we have all of our reporters and anlis analysts working the story. we're waiting for president mubarak to deliver a speech. we're told that will happen soon. we're what, approaching 10:00 p.m. pretty soon in cairo. anderson, one of those first speeches that he gave, as you remember, it was well after midnight. it was a taped speech. this one we're told it may be live, maybe it will be taped. we don't know. but they're sort of night owls over there in egypt. so we shouldn't expect, i wouldn't be surprised if we wait a few hours for this, but it could happen much sooner. >> there's no indication whether it will be a live speech or whether it will be taped. this is not a man known to impromptu talks in front of the nation. and also, you know, there's no predicting what he is going to do. there's conflicting reports he may hand over power to his vice president suleiman, his closest confidante for the last several years or somehow to the egyptian military. we're going to have to wait and see. and but remember the last time, the first time we heard from him during this crisis and the last time he spoke, he surprised a lot of people not by stepping down but by saying he would not run for re-election in september. he also continued to blame, he basically started setting up this idea that somehow these protesters had fallen prey to foreign influence to, agitators, perhaps to islamic extremists. and that's a narrative we have heard ever since then from various representatives of the mubarak regime. the vice president has continued to come out on egyptian television saying that egyptians are not ready for democracy, saying these are foreign agitators, that it's news media, it's foreign reporters. it's satellite news channels. it's the muslim brotherhood, blaming just about everybody, hezbollah, hamas, israel for the protests in the square but gin, i don't think the egyptian people are buying that any longer. certainly the people who are now pouring into the square they have been there, they have seen as we have seen, as all of us have seen around the world who these people are. these are young people. these are men and women. these are old people it, people from a wide cross section of egyptian society who finally after 30 years are tired of the lies and tired of the repression. and tired of being arbitrary arrested under emergency powers that have been in effect every day of the mubarak regime. they want change and now it is within their grasp. again, what happens in the days ahead will be critical in terms of whether democracy really does come to egypt. >> yeah, and it's fascinating that as we watch all of these live pictures develop, it's fascinating to think that they were inspired, these people in egypt, by what happened in tunisia. in north africa, a much smaller country and all of a sudden, they said to themselves, all of the experts in egypt i've spoken to have said, you know what? if these people in tunisia can stand up to a dictator in power for decades and ruled with an iron fist, why capital we, the proud egyptians, the largest of the arab countries, militarily they say the most significant. why can't we stand up to a dictator and they did, in fact, do that. halah gorani and ben wedeman are here. anderson cooper is here as we await the president of egypt. we think hosni mubarak is going to be speaking soon. that element of pride, hala, when you were there a week ago, the element of pride when they were saying if to younecians can do this, we can do this. i assume that came out in a lot of conversations you had. >> it did. even the most hard-core protesters in tahrir square right now would never have predicted within 2 1/2 weeks this government that's been in place, this president in place for 30 years but really this regime that's been in place since 1952 would tremble in the way that it did. this is 2 1/2 weeks of largely peaceful demonstrations with pro democracy activists who are the ages of the grandsons of the people in power today. potentially the people in power in egypt, mubarak and his entourage, do they even know what facebook and twitter is? this has been the virtual meeting point of all these young kids in tahrir square. there is a lot of pride. i remember speaking to one woman in tahrir square before the clashes that took place between the pro-mubarak agitators and the demonstrators pro democracy, she told me for the first time in my life, i am proud of my country. there is a lot of that sentiment being echoed throughout tahrir square and the country, as well as among egyptians watching all of this unfold from outside of their country, wolf. >> let me go back to ben -- go ahead. >> i was going to say that's the last card this regime has been playing trying to play on the understandable pride that egyptians it feel in their country. just in the last 48 hours or so, we've heard from vice president suleiman and others in egypt from the foreign minister who gave an interview to pbs saying essentially that foreigners are trying to belittle egypt, that satellite news channels are trying to insult egypt as a country and belittle the country. i think that's clearly an attempt by them to play into the sense of pride. the protesters, the anti-mubarak protesters will tell you it is the regime that has belittled the egyptian people. the protesters will say we are celebrating this country. and in fact, the protesters in the square will say this is the real egypt, this is what egypt can be, a place where people who are muslims and christians can come together, a place where people with different viewpoints can express those viewpoints peacefully. >> yeah, there's no doubt that egypt's potential is enormous. the talent of these people is great as we all know. those of us who have spent time in egypt over the years. ben, willet me just have a reality check on one point because you're there in cairo. ben wedeman is our man in cairo right now. over these past two weeks for all practical purposes, tourism, which is such a main pillar of the egyptian economy has basically try dried up. hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars are being lost. what about day to day commerce? people are losing a lot of money right now. how much of a factor is that in propelling what's going on? >> reporter: well, i spoke to and lis on the 29th of january after that big demonstration that resulted in the army pulling in, and basically, he said that the real important factor to look at is the economic factor that people will start to feel that the country has come to i an stand still. you know, the bankts only recently reopened. the stock market is still closed. and no one at this point knows when it will reopen. schools are still closed. universities are still closed. you go around cairo, there are businesses open. but by and large, tourists, i haven't seen one in quite some time. so really, the country's normal business has come to a standstill. and as this analyst was telling me, there will be intense pressure from the business community to do something to break this bottleneck and this may have been one of the factors behind what we expect to be an announcement from president mubarak regarding his future. the country feeds to get back to work. wolf? >> yeah, it needs to get back immediately because people potentially could start staving if they don't get food and aren't able to go on with their lives. that's why this is moving at least potentially as quickly as it is. halah gorani, i'm sure even when you were there the other day in cairo, you heard from a lot of average workers out there, families, parents, that you know what? they need to put food on the table. they need action. they need some sort of decisive development so that life can go on. >> i did hear that, but then i stopped hearing that after protests became -- the protester numbers swelled again after that interview. it seems as though it's eenergized demonstrators and also given them this feeling that they can taste victory right now. the atmosphere is electric. ben wedeman was telling us, ivan watsonen an other reporters, michael holmes is here with me now. president mubarak potentially the end of an era who has marked the last generation with his sort of management style, his personality. >> yeah. >> his leadership style. >> and going forward in the next hour, we'll discuss what next as we have been. the military, vice president suleiman, who he is? is he the man the protesters are going to like, he's a man that's done business with the united states and done business with israel crucially, as well. those people in your screen right now, are they going to be accepting of that or accepting of a complete military-run government in the interim. >> really, what happens tomorrow, michael holmes, but it's also what happens in six months because this transition is going to begin. much of the power has been transfer unofficially to vice president suleiman. if president hosni mubarak now transfers power to the military, that aspect of things is also in the hands of that particular institution in egypt. but come september, will we see a turkish style democracy that is more pluralistic under military tutelage or will we see a true military-run country once again as it has been in the land of egypt for the last 30 years or so. all these questions we're going to try to answer over the coming hours but difficult ones that don't have obvious answers at this stage. >> critical moment right now. but we will get some answers if and when hosni mubarak goes on egyptian state television and says what he is doing, conflicting rumors right now what he's doing. we will have live coverage of all the breaking news, history unfolding in egypt right now. our coverage continues right after this. at usaa, this is our executive committee. this is our advisory board. our field research team. and our product development staff. we know military lives are different. we've been there. that's why our commitment to serve the financial needs of our military, veterans, and their families is without equal. and why, we'll always be there for you... both here... and here. usaa. for insurance, banking, investments, retirement and advice. we know what it means to serve. let us serve you. thousands and thousands of people have now reached tahrir square in cairo. they're getting ready to celebrate they believe the egyptian president hosni mubarak will announce on egyptian state television shortly that he is stepping down after more than 30 years in power. we want to welcome our viewers on cnn and cnn international around the world. we're covering the breaking news. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. anderson cooper is joining us, as well. anderson, as we get ready, we think that hosni mubarak is going to be speaking fairly soon although you never know. could be within a matter of a few minutes or a matter of a few hours. it's now approaching 10:00 p.m. in cairo right now. so we think it will be fairly soon. let's set the stage for viewers, anderson, because you were just there. you saw history unfolding in cairo. but now it's spread throughout all of egypt, these demonstrations to the point that we believe, we believe mubarak can no longer stay in power, and he has made that major decision to go away one way or another. but we'll see what he does. we'll have to wait and see what happens. >> reporter: we absolutely will. again, i mean, the two options that seem to be being discussed and we can't confirm which one may be the option they choose or maybe another option, one that he would hand over president to his vice president suleiman, a man who's run his intelligence services since i believe 1993. a man who is probably his closest confidante who saved his life in an assassination attempt in ethiopia or would he hand over power to some sort of council run by the egyptian military. the egyptian military obviously a well respected organization, probably the only one that is still kind of respected and not as tainted with the blood of protesters, frankly. they don't have as much blood on their hands as the other institutions of the state in egypt do. though we very seen military police arresting people in the last week or so. but among the protesters, there is still and among many people in the country widespread respect for the egyptian military. so the we don't know what form this new government would take. we have heard from protesters, remember initially their depends were mubarak must go. gradually those evolved to the regime must go with the ralization if mubarak left and the pap rat tus of the state, the secret police are all still in power, then just some other dictator could easily step into the foreand continue things the same as they've been. this is a country which has been ruled under emergency law for the entire reign of mubarak. this man does not know how to govern any other way. there were very real concerns about islamic extremists. it the prior president anwar sadat was assassinated. hosni mubarak was sitting on the podium the day sadat was assassinated. came to power right after that. but that emergency law has allowed secret police to round up people, to arrest people to, torture people, to do whatever they want and no one has been able to get that repealed. even the protesters in the last several days who have been calling for a repeal of the emergency law, vice president suleiman has said no to that. the foreign minister yesterday said you capital repeal the emergency law. there's lots of prisoners released running around on the streets. clearly the demonstrators don't want to just see the mubarak go. they want the regime to change, want democracy. they have experienced freedom like never before. they've experienced it in that square that the world is looking at right now. and they don't want to go back. you know, what you hear, wolf, and what so many people say to me over and over is that fear has been defeated. they are no longer afraid. that's an extraordinary at the same time for people who have been ruled with an iron hand such a young population, a large percentage of the egyptian population is young. they are saying we are no longer afraid. you can do what you will. but we are not turning back. >> once you taste that freedom, entirely the young people, you never ever want to go back to the opposite of freedom. let's go down to the square right now, tahrir square. our reporter fred pleitgen is right in the middle of what's going on. set the scene for us, fred, as we await the president of egypt, hosni mubarak, he's expected to speak we're told fairly soon. >> reporter: absolutely, wolf. first of all, sorry, i have to use this headphone. it's very hard to hear down there. the scene is very much like a festival. i don't know how much you can see. people waving flags, chanting slogans for hosni mubarak to step down. people here are very, very exhilarated at this moment. i've spoken to a lot of people who are down here and they tell me they're sure this is going to happen tonight. one young man told me he believes this is the night freedom will be born in egypt. certainly the people are happy. i don't know how much of that you're going to be able to hear right now but there's a lot of people that walk by here all the time with flags, headbands. so clearly the people who are on the square feel, wolf, that tonight they have within a victory and now of course, all of them are waiting to get that confirmation of what they believe will be hosni mubarak making the announcement that heal step down. for a lot of these people also, keep in mind some of them have been camping out here for days, some of them for up to two weeks. so for a lot of these people, a really, really difficult time for them and now it appears as though they've an requirrived f they believe is their goal. >> fred, if you have a chance, if there is one of those protester who's speaks english and wants to share a thought or two with us, and come over to your microphone, i think that would be good. obviously if they can speak english. do me a favor. >>. >> i'm curious myself right now to hear a little bit of the noise coming from that crowd. stop talking for a moment, raise your microphone and let's listen for a second. snipe just finished the chants. [ chanting ] >> all right, wolf. as you can see. >> fred, thanks. i don't know if ben wedeman was listening.

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