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
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.
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,
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 f
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 understan