Thus far in Egypt

They say a week is a long time in politics, in Egypt its an age, two nights ago President Mubarak stated he would not run for re-election as President but would stay in till September. The reaction from the protesters was not good, the Oval wanted a faster change of guard, thus today we see violent fights between pro and anti Mubarak groups. The Western news on the whole has reported that the pro Mubarak groups are a rent a crowd, but it should be noted that a Sky reporter in Cairo stated that these groups also had pro Mubarak supporters. Lets recall the Regime is not just President Mubarak, you have the police the security services, a civil service that looks to Mubarak for their jobs. Thus they might not have the same political opinions of those protesting in Liberation Square. The interesting question is the Army, they are sitting on the fence, they have to get off it if the protesters march on the Presidential Palace! Lets be clear this violence by either side should be stopped, but and this is the BUT, the Western interest is for peaceful transfer from the old older to a new order, a kind of secular liberal democracy, but one that keeps the extreme Islamists out of power and keeps the agreement with Israel. Lets see what the night and early morning brings; thus so far scattered fights between the groups; to Cairo, one thing folks, if your in Cairo don’t burn down your cultural heritage, in other words no destruction of the Cairo Museum, without its past a country is nothing.