Mubarak Names His First Vice President As Reports Surface Of Family Flight To UK

by Frances Martel | 11:31 am, January 29th, 2011

» 9 comments

The possibility that Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will be able to keep to his word yesterday of overhauling the nation’s entire government without giving up power is starting to look increasingly tenuous. While he has begun to appoint new officials to replace the entire government he fired yesterday– even appointing the longtime non-existent position of vice president– his sons have landed in London.

Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman has become the nation’s first vice president in 30 years, since Mubarak acquired the title, and many expect that he may be the next in line to succeed Mubarak. Al Jazeera’s profile of him as intelligence chief notes that suspicions of his ascent have been around for some time due to his proximity to Mubarak: “Suleiman’s position as head of the Arab world’s most significant intelligence agency and his closeness to Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, gave rise to speculation that he could contend with Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son, for the position of Egypt’s next ruler.”

Speaking of the president’s sons, various reports have surfaced that Gamal and Alaa Mubarak have arrived in London, the largest news services reporting this news being the BBC and Fox News. Al Jazeera is reporting that Mubarak’s wife, Suzanne, has also left the continent, while Neil Cavuto is currently reporting on the air that the entire family “and his dog, his pets, his fish” has fled Egypt, though the protests continue and Mubarak continues to hold power (video of Cavuto’s report forthcoming).

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s front page is reporting that Mubarak has also announced the appointment of a new prime minister, Ahmad Shafiq, former chief of air staff. Shafiq would be responsible for appointing a cabinet after the nation’s entire former cabinet resigned. Meanwhile, protests continue on the ground, defying the nation’s curfew and denying any satisfaction with the new appointments until Mubarak himself is out of power.

Egypt, Egyptian Uprising, Gamal Mubarak, Hosni Mubarak, Neil Cavuto, Omar Suleiman

The Lantern of Truth

RRKING on the Foreign Desk . Yes . Mubarak ‘ s entire family is on vacation out of the country , and that is a happy coincidence so they can still be on the Internet and won ‘ t be disturbed by the noisy protesters . Omar is also my choice for V.P. because with his carefree hairdo , he can just shave and go in the mornings . No hair care needed !
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

I’m getting a late start and have only had Al Jazeera running for a little more than an hour.

Judging from the tapes, it looks like it was a less tumultuous day. I see CNN has reported a couple of clashes between police and protesters and Al Jazeera has a guy saying that armed gangs are looting a wealthy neighborhood, but from what I’ve seen, it looks like the people (or protesters) have won and I keep expecting those in the overhead from Tahrir Square to break into a John Lennon song.

Even more than yesterday, Al Jazeera seems to be pushing a post-Mubarak or inevitable narrative and as someone who has studied politics, I really don’t see how he can legitimately remain in power. If it were me and if I were him, I’d probably consider compromising by scheduling elections and announcing that I wouldn’t be a candidate, but there doesn’t seem to be much he can do to remain in place.
Liberal Tormentor (formerly Seeing 2012 From My Window)

Someone joked yesterday that pretty soon Bush would be blamed for this and sure enough Tingles did just that last night on soft boiled.
skyfet

I’d ignore Cavuto’s take on this, he kind of act like a buffoon.
Courteous Commentary

Magister left a very thought-provoking post. The other three are typical of this website. Can’t we do better?
The Lantern of Truth

Courteous Commentary said:
Magister left a very thought-provoking post. The other three are typical of this website. Can’t we do better?

It would be so nice if you would go away , please . Thank you .
Courteous Commentary

The Lantern of Truth said:
It would be so nice if you would go away , please . Thank you .

Why?
ifpff

Courteous Commentary said:
Why?

I agree. What substance is there in your remark about the man’s haircut? get a grip. And you always seem like a bit of an ego-maniac, to boot.

Ironically, if you could stop referring to yourself in the first person, declaring yourself king and the lantern of truth, and trying to censor people, maybe you’d be a bit more able to interpret the article and appreciate what other people have to say.
http://www.facebook.com/people/DrHenry-Kissinger/1768343681 DrHenry Kissinger

Mubarak is making a mistake in calling out the Egyptian Army. He should be calling out the egyptian airforce. Their helicopter gunships can clear a street full of raghead terrorists in short order.
shalom dr.k.