Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered the following remarks on Egypt moments ago, the most detailed remarks on the crisis to come from the administration thus far. She did not echo Vice President Biden’s statement, that Mubarak is not a dictator. And she did not say very much else. She did call on the Egyptian government to restrain its security forces, and for the protesters to express themselves peacefully, and for the government to turn the communications infrastructure back on. She called on the government to respect basic human rights, and to see its people as partners, not a threat. Nothing much to quibble with in what the Secretary of State said but her demeanor suggests to me that the administration is being extremely cautious and as of yet doesn’t know that much more about the situation than what is being reported in the media. I could be wrong, but this statement strikes me as lengthier than anything the administration issued during the height of the Iranian uprising.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s foreign ministry is reportedly on fire now. The crisis seems to be spiraling out of control.
Tatler has multiple update posts: here, here and here.
Update: Stephen Green reports that the US has suspended aid to Egypt, a sign that we’re giving up on Mubarak.
Update: Fox just reported that the US is reviewing, but not yet suspending, aid to Egypt. Mubarak is not yet under the bus.
Update: Reports that the protesters are defying the curfew.
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