we were watching as the police station right behind our building was attacked by the protesters. all of the police had put on civilian clothing and ran away. and we re hearing reports of all the police stations around cairo have been sacked. there is no longer a police forceful it is the army and the republican guard that seem stre. john? ben, if it is the army now that is the key barrier if you will, when you have civil demonstrations in the morning, is that when we will learn how the army will react, whether the army will be aggressive in its response, and i assume the next 24 to 48 hours whether we are truly at a tipping point when it comes to president mubarak? a tipping point indeed, john. the army so far seems to be very restrained. very hess tent to use the sort of violence that the police did quite liberally against the people. and that may be the critical
the same numbers as today or will it die down? that s the first measure of understanding how important it is. and neil, as we watch, that as we watch what happens in the next 24 to 48 hours in egypt, not only in cairo but across the great swath of jip, what is your number one question from what happens within the borders and then address the potential domino effect in the region, given egypt s historic role as the beacon in the region? i think that the government has to walk a very fine line about how much violence they use the suppress it. the more violence they use, it may have the opposite effect and drive more people on to the streets. the military, president mubarak has made sure to tamp down any political aspirations in the military. they have to ask how far they re willing to go to suppress this. the foreign ministry, the ministry of communications. using them to protect buildings is one thing. using them to fire on crowds is
streets. obviously this situation is being watched here in the united states, across the arab world and in israel. israel made peace with egypt years ago and is watching now to see if the mubarak government can withstand this pressure. kevin, is the israeli government watching quietly or are they speaking out? reporter: very quietly. the sounds of silence here, john. the israeli government has yet to comment in any way for the past couple of days. but nothing tonight as the events in cairo and the rest of egypt got a lot more dramatic. a couple of days ago we did hear from a few government officials saying they thought that the president mubarak could weather this storm. i think tonight israeli officials are taking a closer look at those assessments and wondering what will happen here. this israeli government does not want to see a regime change in egypt them do not want to see revolutionary change in egypt.
that the people don t trust us. a lot of anti-american sentiment. should we be more public in this new age of open communication? of the internet and social networking? it the answer is yes. and i think that the administration has been pretty clear today. you also want to do it in a way that doesn t invite recklessness. doesn t invite more violence. that really helps, i think, the art here is to have effective diplomacy that make it clear as the president did, i think, in his statements in the last few days. that the united states is first and foremost concerned that the rights of people. and first and foremost concerned about the protection of people in the street. and to try to avoid a violent confrontation between the military and the citizens of the country. and i think we are, as the president made clear in cairo, ironically, where he gave his
tendencies but i don t think it will be the massive revolution you saw in iran in the 1970s. as always, appreciate your insights. sth pleasure, john. you re looking at live pictures. our military tank on the street outside. it is coming up on 3:00 in the morning saturday. a peaceful scene at the moment. some people, you see them on the top. military vehicles lining the street. this isout side cnn s cairo bureau. woman: good night, gluttony a farewell long awaited. good night, expected. ( yawning ) good night, outdated. ( click ) ( whimpers ) good night, fluffy. and good night, stuffy. ( clinking ) ( chewing )