by Patrick Appel
Max Fisher live-blogs the news:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking this morning on network news shows, called for a peaceful transition to democracy in Egypt. Clinton said the U.S. opposes Egypt becoming a "military dictatorship" but noted that the military has so far shown restraint. Clinton denied earlier reports that the U.S. was "reviewing" its massive aid to Egypt, saying there had been no discussions about canceling or reducing it. In the Obama administration's strongest statement to date, Clinton told Fox News that the U.S. wants an "orderly transition" in Egypt. Given that it's near-impossible to foresee any free election reelecting Mubarak, especially after his crackdown has claimed well over 100 lives, it's difficult to read Clinton's comments as anything but the U.S. calling for an end to Mubarak's rule.
Marc Lynch isn't so sure:
Is Clinton calling for Mubarak to go or not? Hard to parse here, probably in Cairo too unless private communications more direct.