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Revolution in Egypt: The View from Israel; Egypt in Transition; Egyptian Military States All Existing Egyptian Treaties to Be Honored, Enforced; Protesters and Military Clean Up Tahrir Square; Egypt's Military Promises Democracy; Mubarak Assets Frozen; Markets React to Egypt; Egypt's Political Pivot Man; Behind the Revolution

Aired February 12, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye. I'm glad you're with us.

Celebrations in Egypt as the nation marks its first full day in 30 years without Hosni Mubarak in power. We'll show you the scene on the streets and tell you what the military is saying about Egypt's international treaties.

The chief Palestinian negotiator quits. Hear why Saeb Erakat gave up his post and what impact his move could have on the Middle East peace process.

And later potential GOP presidential candidates deliver a poignant message at a huge conservative gathering in Washington. We'll take you there live.

We begin with a sudden change in the Middle East that could impact the peace process in the region. The celebrations in Egypt haven't even settled yet and now the chief Palestinian negotiator has resigned. This as the Palestinian Authority promises elections in September.

Celebrations break out in Gaza, and Israel deals with a potential new security concern on its border with Egypt.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Kevin Flower joins us live with the latest on these developments. Kevin, what do you make of all of this? Pick one of them.

KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, there's a lot happening. I would say it's worth pointing out that there are currently no negotiations going on between the Israelis and the Palestinians, so the impact of the resignation of the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat is probably -- is not that much since there's nothing being negotiated at the moment.

But what it does underscore is a -- this -- an undercurrent of tension and political tension within -- within the Palestinian authority. So his resignation comes in wake of the publication of some papers that revealed Palestinian negotiating positions with the Israelis. A lot of Palestinians did not like some of the concessions that seemed to be -- that the Palestinian negotiators were talking about making. So that's where all of this pressure on Saeb Erakat came from.

But more importantly today we've her heard, as you mentioned the announcement of elections both legislative and presidential elections; these are long overdue elections that have not -- that are at least two years overdue. This will be a significant marker in the future of the Palestinian authority.

The question is whether the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will run. If not, which leaders are going to step forward to try -- to try to assume the leadership position of the Palestinian Authority -- Randi.

KAYE: And Kevin, now with the military in charge of Egypt's affairs, what do you make of them coming out today saying that they will uphold international treaties? Because we know that the -- the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel is certainly critical, and Israel's been watching that closely.

FLOWER: Absolutely. That is going to be -- that is going to be reassuring to Israeli politicians here in Jerusalem as they formulate some sort of response to the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. We have yet to hear from the Israeli government about that resignation and everything that's happening in Egypt.

A good possibility we might hear from that -- the government of Benjamin Netanyahu tonight or tomorrow morning, but for Israel, that's a good sign at least but they still have a lot of worries about what sort of future government will take place in Egypt -- Randi.

KAYE: It will bring at least a small sigh of relief. All right, Kevin Flower for us in Jerusalem. Thank you, Kevin.

And now to Egypt, where the people have been celebrating nonstop for 24 hours. Hosni Mubarak is out, as you know. The future is theirs. The military has taken control until a new cabinet is formed. Soldiers are working with protest organizers now to reopen Tahrir Square and quickly stepping in to stop anyone who might be causing some trouble.

The curfew has been cut back to six hours starting at midnight. It is 6:00 p.m. there right now. And the military's calling on Egyptians to support the caretaker government as it continues to support all of Egypt's international treaties, as we just said. That includes the peace treaty with Israel.

Former President Mubarak has not been seen since Thursday. Word is that he is still in the Red Sea Resort of Sharm al-Sheikh. Mubarak's last act was to put the military in charge. Mohammed Hussein Tantawi is Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces. That's him there on the right meeting with U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. Tantawi heads the country's military council as Defense Minister, a post that he has held for 20 years. During the protests he was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister. He even went to Tahrir Square to try and calm the protesters.

CNN's Arwa Damon watched the revolution unfold in Cairo's Tahrir Square. And she is there with the people who are in the Square today. She joins us by phone. Arwa, I assume that the celebration continues.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): They most certainly do, Randi. And this has been quite a euphoric atmosphere ever since that announcement came down yesterday that President Mubarak was going to no longer be in power. People realizing that they have seen something that was inconceivable just three weeks ago.

This revolution sparked online by Twitter and Facebook as we have been reporting, taking on a life of its own. And the more violence that broke out, whether it was by the police that initially attacked the demonstrators with tear gas or the pro-Mubarak thugs that charged on to the demonstration's site ending up causing mass casualties, that only galvanized the demonstrators, gave them more determination instead of breaking their spirits.

The energy at the site yesterday and even through today is really difficult to put in to words. Egyptians overcome with emotions, but also what we're seeing emerge is a lot of concern about the future. They realize that they're entering a very sensitive and uncertain period that they have managed to achieve something that they say is truly wonderful for the country. But of course, the big challenge right now is going to be capitalizing on that and making sure that this positive momentum continues in the future that they do achieve their long-term goal and that is having a civilian government that is truly representative of the people and one that works for the people.

Bringing about those much needed economic reforms, better work opportunities, a sense that Egypt is going to be a place where its own youth can thrive and prosper.

And so they do realize that in the mid of all of this happiness there is cause for concern because Randi, there's still so much that is yet to be determined.

KAYE: Arwa Damon for us reporting from Cairo, from Tahrir Square. Arwa thank you.

And CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is also in Cairo. Fionnuala, you and I have been following this -- this effort by the protesters all morning to erect this statue, this marble statue in the Square as a -- as a monument to the victims.

What is the latest on that?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is an ongoing project because the Square is filled with tens of thousands of people. And moving a large marble stone in to the Square is fraught with difficulties and challenges in itself but also erecting it is going to take some time.

This is a tribute to the people who died as a result of the violence here over the last couple of weeks. And as Arwa was saying, Randi, really, a lot of the protesters now the demonstrators turning their attention to the immediate future.

We heard earlier today from the military council saying that essentially as far as they were concerned it was their objective to ensure the safe transition to democracy. They see themselves as safeguarding the people and safeguarding the country.

But the demonstrators have many questions on their minds. First of all, some of them are demanding the lifting of the state of emergency which has been in place since 1981 when Hosni Mubarak took power. There's a question about the political prisoners, thousands of them, still in Egyptian jails.

Questions about press freedoms; will there be a free press in Egypt now that this revolution has taken place? And indeed questions as well as to whether -- as to what kind of revolution has taken place in the sense that Hosni Mubarak may have gone, but many of the people who were in place and put in place by him are now running the country.

But coming from the military authorities, we're hearing that they will safeguard the international agreements that have been made. And that, of course, directly concerns Israel, and that the government that is in place has been charged with safeguarding the transition to democracy.

It'll be interesting to see as this plays out over the next few days whether the protesters will remain in Tahrir Square. Remember it's only literally 24 hour since they got the news that Hosni Mubarak was stepping down.

But it would be interesting to see whether they take the heed of the government and the military who want the country to go back to work and indeed opening the stock market on Wednesday.

But between now and Wednesday, seeing whether the protesters hold as one, deciding either to stay in the Square and push for more demands or decide that they've had enough, that they accept, that they trust the military and go about getting the country back up and running.

But at the moment, still very much a celebratory atmosphere here. I mean, really, it's an electric atmosphere. And it's a cacophony of sound, cars still screaming towards Tahrir Square below us here on the bridge crossing the River Nile and really people still can't believe what has taken place after the disappointment and consternation of the speech by Hosni Mubarak on Thursday night. Just 24 hour later seeing him no longer on the picture.

KAYE: I can only imagine how loud it must be there because even through your microphone, we can certainly hear the -- the car horns and -- and the cheers behind you.

Fionnuala Sweeney, thank you very much.

The relentless demonstrations that forced Egypt's President to resign are spreading, this time to the North African nation of Algeria.

Today a noisy group protested in a central square in Algiers, the capital, spurred on by events in Egypt. Opposition groups are demanding jobs and Democratic changes, but the government had prepared for it be deploying police hoping to prevent a repeat of the uprising that they have seen in Cairo and Egypt. The two sides clashed and police detained about 100 demonstrators.

Now that Hosni Mubarak is out of office, the U.S. faces new challenges across the entire Middle East. We'll tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Thirteen minutes past the hour.

The State Department is trying to adjust to a new reality in the Middle East.

CNN's Elise Labott joins me now from Washington. Elise, I guess first things first, they need to find out who they're supposed to talk to.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: That's right, we spoke to officials just recently and they say it's -- it's not all that clear who is running the government. They're really looking for the Egyptians to clarify that because over the last 24 to 48 hours those diplomatic channels have been kind of clogged, as the Egyptians have been kind of working this through themselves. They've been preoccupied with their own situation; they're not really reaching out to the United States.

They know the players on the supreme military council, but they don't know who is going to really be running the show. They want to know who they're going to be dealing with. What is the role of Vice President Omar Suleiman? What's his future role going to be?

And -- and then they also want to see what this military is going to do. They said they're going to answer the demands of the protesters. They want to see them lift that emergency law, start some constitutional changes and start this real political dialogue with the people so that they can move towards free and fair elections.

A lot uncertain right now -- Randi.

KAYE: We don't know how long the military will be watching the country's affairs or in charge of the country's affairs, but how is the relationship between the United States and -- and the military in Egypt?

LABOTT: Well, the relationship is a very long and a very deep one and a -- and a pretty good one. We heard Barbara Starr talking about that earlier. You know, Egyptian military officials have trained in the United States. There's a long history of contact and close relations.

And also, you can't forget that the U.S. gives about $1.3 billion in -- in aid to the Egyptian military. So that aid could really be a lever right now. Obviously, U.S. Officials are not threatening to withhold the aid, but certainly that's the unspoken message: if you don't move the country in the direction which you promised, and you keep some kind of military rule without moving forward, certainly the U.S. is going to be able to use that aid to pressure the Egyptians to take further steps.

Certainly still a long road ahead. Elise Labott, thank you.

LABOTT: Sure.

KAYE: House Republicans have unveiled a spending bill that makes massive cuts to hundreds of programs and agencies across the government. It calls for $60 billion in cuts including $88 million from food safety and inspection, $650 million at the Federal Aviation Administration and more than a billion from the Head Start Education Program.

But the deepest cuts are reserved for the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA budget would be slashed by 30 percent, a total of $3 billion.

Republicans say the cuts are painful but much needed. Democrats call the bill irresponsible and a threat to the economy. A vote is expected next week.

More than 10,000 conservative activists are wrapping up a high profile meeting in Washington known as CPAC. The event has featured several potential Republican presidential candidates. CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is there and joins us now live. What are the big events today?

Well, Randi, I'll get to that in one second. You know, you were just talking about those budget cuts about the House Republicans. One of the reasons they increased them is because of pressure from people right here. The big talk at this conference is budget cuts, government spending, reducing the deficit.

As you mentioned it's CPAC, the official name, Conservative Political Action Conference. It's one of the oldest and largest; you have 11,000 people here, 11,000 conservative activists.

Haley Barbour was speaking earlier today -- he, the Mississippi governor who is thinking of running for the White House. He was also talking about fiscal responsibility, a big theme. Haley Barbour is one of ten people who are here at this conference who are thinking of running for the White House and they're on a straw poll that will be out. The results of that straw poll will be presented a little later today.

Now one person who was not on that straw poll, Donald Trump -- he was the big surprise. The Donald, the real estate mogul was a late add. He spoke here on Thursday to some applause but also to some boos. He's not on the straw poll ballot or anything. But check this out.

Congressman Steve Rusk found this. There is a petition going around to get Donald Trump as a write-in candidate on the straw poll ballot. We'll find out a little later today. Our Mark Preston will have the results in the 5:00 hour -- Randi.

KAYE: A write-in candidate. Very nice.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

KAYE: A lot of folks around the country and around the world are talking about Egypt. I know that the folks there are certainly more interested in politics right now, but Egypt must be on their minds.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, it's a little bit on the minds here. Honestly, it's more about domestic issues, some social issues especially the government spending is the big one.

But there has been some talk of Egypt that some of these contenders who may want to run for the White House on the Republican side of it, a little bit of critical of President Obama and how he's been handling the crisis on Egypt.

So we have heard some comments, but that's not been the major, major talk here at CPAC. Randi back to you.

KAYE: All right. Paul Steinhauser at CPAC for us. Thank you.

Now that Mubarak is gone, who is actually running Egypt? A lot of people asking that question. Is it the military and whatever happened to the vice president, Omar Suleiman? We're going to take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Some of the sights and sounds last night on the streets of Gaza city as Hamas loyalists fired guns, honked car horns and celebrated the ouster of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. A spokesperson for Hamas called Mubarak's departure, quote, "a victory for the Palestinian people". He also said Hamas calls on the new Egyptian leadership to lift the siege of Gaza and to open the Rafah crossing and assure the free movement between Egypt and Palestine to start the development construction process of Gaza.

Meanwhile here at home, President Obama was quick to hail the transition now under way in Egypt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times.

The people of Egypt have spoken. Their voices have been heard. And Egypt will never be the same. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: In Mubarak's absence there is now a power vacuum. CNN's Michael Holmes takes a look at the military's role in a post-Mubarak Egypt.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The big question, of course s who is calling the shots in Egypt? Right now it is Egypt's supreme military council. The military, of course, remains a powerful institution, one of the bedrocks of Egyptian society. The supreme council includes leaders of the army, the air force, navy and air defense forces.

The group's top brass includes Mohammed Hussein Tantawi. He's 75 years old and holds the rank of field marshal. Tantawi is Egypt's field minister and the commander in chief of the country's armed forces. And before Mubarak stepped down, he was promoted to deputy prime minister.

Former U.S. defense secretary William Cohen knows Tantawi and spoke of him earlier to our Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I had worked with him while I was at the Pentagon, and he has served side by side with President Mubarak. Now the question is whether he will continue to remain the head of the military as such or whether that will pass on to a younger generation remains to be seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Another key member, Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Enan. Now he's the chief of staff of Egypt's Armed Forces and the commander of Egypt's army. Enan is 63 years old and has spent considerable time training with the U.S. Military. He was in Washington holding military talks when the protests first broke out.

Now, keep in mind all four Egyptian presidents since 1952 have come from the military. Mubarak himself is a former commander of the Egyptian air force. The country relies on conscription for its more than 468,000 active personnel and reserves of 479,000 more troops.

And the U.S. has close ties with Egypt's military, as we said, providing more than $1.3 billion in military aid every year. But it is unclear what influence, if any, the U.S. holds with Egypt's armed forces when it comes to who is to lead the country next. Back to you.

KAYE: Thank you, Michael.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria, the host of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" also commented last night about the military's impact on Egyptian society and the move toward a civilian government. He talked with anchor Hala Gorani.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA, GPS": This is the moment where the crowd, where the street, where the people had maximum leverage. They've used it. They've got something.

But what they've got to hope is that this doesn't end up being a symbolic victory. They need it to be a substantive victory. The symbolic victory was Mubarak leaving. The substantive victory is that the regime is transformed from what is still a military dictatorship into a liberal, secular democracy.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Now the military in Egypt is a trusted institution, it's not a democratic engine for change in Egypt. Is there confidence out there among observers that the military has not just the will but the ability to usher true change in Egypt?

ZAKARIA: It's a fantastic question, Hala, because the reality is the military is deeply entrenched in the power structure, it is the power structure. It has enormous economic benefits that come from being the power structure. The military owns hundred of factories, retired generals have lavish lifestyles. And are they going to give this all up easily? No.

And so the question is, how do you make that happen? I think what you have to do is to give the people, give civil society some platforms of power. Right now they have none. They're out there in Tahrir Square and it's great, but they don't have any platforms or instruments of power. If they get the national assembly and if they get the presidency and they get the constitution, in effect, that gives them platforms of power. And that will slowly then erode the military's enormous prerogatives and power. It's not going to happen overnight.

GORANI: Yes.

ZAKARIA: And if you look at the case of Turkey, of Indonesia, you see that while the military receded from their paramount role, it took two decades in the case of both those countries and with a lot of pressure from the European Union, from the United States. So this is a marathon. And we're just at the beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And what do military officials at the Pentagon think about the sudden changes in Egypt? We'll take you there, live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Checking top stories for you now.

The Egyptian military has issued its first statements since assuming control of the country from President Hosni Mubarak. It insists that it will honor all Egyptian's treaties, among those agreements, the 1978 peace treaty with Israel. The military caretakers also say they're committed to a democratic process that will lead to civilian rule. We'll have a live report from Cairo in the minutes ahead.

An arrest warrant is out for former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. A Pakistani court issued the warrant after Musharraf failed to respond to prosecutors' questions about the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. Prosecutors say an investigation shows Musharraf was responsible for the killing because he did not provide Bhutto adequate protection. Musharraf, who now lives in London, is denying that.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor is being treated at a Los Angeles hospital for symptoms caused by congestive heart failure. Taylor's representative says the 78-year-old star checked into the hospital this week for what's being called an ongoing condition.

We want to bring you more now on the revolution in Egypt. Crowds are still in Cairo's Tahrir Square on this day after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president. After weeks of mass protests, cleanup is finally getting underway in the square.

Watching all of that is CNN's Frederik Pleitgen. Frederik, I guess after the party comes the cleanup.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Well, it wasn't all a party, I guess, but after the party and the rioting, obviously, at the place, comes the cleanup. And it's the protesters themselves who are - who are actually doing it. They are out in force with brooms, with shovels, they're clearing away a lot of the rocks that were used in the rioting, a lot of the trash that was there. There was a lot of trash on Tahrir Square.

And earlier today the military even pitched in and moved away some of the vehicles that were also there, of course, blocking the road. So right now that cleanup is in full swing.

And some people who I've been speaking to tell me that this is a very important signal that they want to send because they say they want to tell the world that after having taken back their country, they now want to make their country a better place. One person told me, this is the beginning stages of Egypt being rebuilt, Randi.

KAYE: Frederik, do you have any idea why - well, first of all, how long the protesters might stay there and why so many of them are still there?

PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, from what I've seen sort of in the makeup of the crowd, there were a lot of families there. Remember, this is - Saturday is a day that - that most people don't have to go to work here, so a lot of them seem to have taken their children to Tahrir Square, which now, of course, is such an important place in the Egyptian history, to show them around.

Some of them, of course, are also protesters who are staying there. Some of them don't trust what the military is doing and say they want to keep a close eye on that process. But it does seem to me as though the majority of people who are coming there want to check out the scene, want to see this place that is so important now, and it doesn't seem to me - it seems more like a celebratory sort of gathering than it is a protest against anything, Randi.

KAYE: I'm curious if you've seen any police there, because the military came out today saying that they would like the people and the police to start working together again - the protesters and the police.

PLEITGEN: I've not seen any police. I've seen some police in other places in Cairo, both today and in other days as well. I've not seen any police on - on the square as well. And even sort of directing traffic, where there's this a traffic police which really is not one that people have anything against, even that was being done by soldiers on the square earlier today.

So the - no police, however, the military presence there is still quite - quite big.

We have an incident, of course, that you know earlier, where the military arrested three people who apparently were getting rowdy and there was a lot of soldiers on the scene in a very short time, as we saw on those images from Tahrir Square, Randi.

KAYE: Right and we're continuing, actually, as you were just talking, just so our viewers know what we're looking at, this is not any type of a clash in Tahrir Square, but looking at the - the video from earlier where the military did have to come in. Apparently there were three troublemakers. They sent a lot of troops in to - to remove them, and that's where you saw the shaking of that car, and that's when - that's when the military actually started helping out in the cleanup.

Frederick Pleitgen, thank you very much for that. We'll continue to watch these pictures.

But, for now, Egypt's military, as we said, is in charge. But will it be able to lead? That's the big question.

So let's bring in CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, what are U.S. military leaders saying about that?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they're sorting it out, just like the rest of us, I think, Randi. In the latest news we can tell you, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, is on his way to the region.

He had already been planning to go to Israel, but now he has added a stop in Jordan to talk to officials there. King Abdullah, another Mideast leader, facing protest and under pressure from his people. So we're going to start seeing them engage in the region.

Mullen, like Defense Secretary Gates, had dealt with Egyptian military officials throughout the 18 days, talking about the ongoing 30-year relationship with the Egyptian military, the U.S. support for it. But you - but you really hit the nail on the head. The key question, how much do we really know about these military leaders, about what the pressures are inside the Egyptian military.

I talked a little while ago to former CIA director Mike Hayden about the sheer mass of the Egyptian armed forces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR (RET.): That's almost a half a million men.

They're conscripts. They've got to go back into Egyptian society. You saw how they reacted with - with, not against, with the protesters in Tahrir Square.

There's only so much that the Egyptian military can ask these conscripts to do. I think the senior leadership well recognizes that there are limits in terms of their options because of the nature of the Egyptian army.

At the other end, you've got the generals. They may be the ones most vested in the old regime, so to speak. They're important, but I don't think they're as important as the next layer below them. I'll just call them the colonels. And if you look at the history of this - this part of the world, it's been the colonels who have led the most dramatic change.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And not always in a positive direction.

Former CIA Director Hayden says - he notes that revolutions rarely break to the center. They go more to the extreme, so there may be a long way to go here. And a lot of complex issues inside the Egyptian military that the U.S. still may be struggling to understand - Randi.

KAYE: And certainly, Barbara, the Egyptian military has depended on - on the U.S. for quite some time in terms of aid and even training for its military.

STARR: Oh, absolutely. I mean, the ties go very close, and that's really what Hayden was talking about. The younger colonels, if you will, many of them have trained in the United States, many of them have friends in the U.S. military. There is that relationship. So that's really all to the plus, and that's certainly what the Pentagon wants to take advantage of right now.

But these older men that are at the top, Field Marshal Tantawi, General Enan, names that we will come to know and recognize, now said to be running Egypt, at least said to be before the - there is - are elections. What pressures will be on them? How much will they really be able to - to satisfy the demands of the protesters and get Egypt through this transition period? A lot of uncertainty and uncertainty still, Randi, of course, filtering throughout the region. Jordan has issues right now, and we have seen unrest in Algeria even earlier today - Randi.

KAYE: We have been following that.

All right, Barbara Starr for us, thank you, in Washington.

It's widely believed Mubarak accumulated a fortune during his 30 years in charge, but some of his money he may not be able to get his hands on. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Almost immediately after Hosni Mubarak stepped down as Egypt's longtime leader, the Swiss government moved to freeze any assets he may have in their banks. CNN business news correspondent Stephanie Elam joins us live from New York with more on what this all means.

Stephanie, first of all, do we have any idea how much the former president even has in Switzerland?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question.

What we pretty much know, Randi, is the fact that he's wealthy. To what extent he's wealthy, we don't know the answer to. Then, beyond that, he could have, let's say, $10,000 worth of assets in Switzerland or he could have, you know, a billion. We don't know at all what is in any of these accounts, how much is there.

We do know that there's a lot of people who accused the former president of actually pilfering off funds that should have gone to the Egyptian government and using them for his own means. We don't know if that's the case.

But Switzerland is saying that this is what they do. This is normal operating procedure when a person is politically exposed, and that's the way they put it in their statement. They're freezing the assets to make sure that there is no embezzling - embezzlement of any assets that should actually stay within Egypt and not go with Mr. Mubarak as he's now stepped down.

So that's what they're saying they're doing, and we've actually seen Switzerland come under heat before from even the U.S. government in recent years because the people were saying you need to be a little bit more upfront about people who are holding assets in your country. And it looks like Switzerland for - at least this case, wants to make sure they're ahead of the curve and make sure that there's nothing that should be leaving Egypt that could have been taken out with Mr. Mubarak.

KAYE: But let me get back to what you said. You called - you said that they're saying this is normal operating procedure, but I thought the whole idea of a - of a Swiss bank account was the fact that they could be anonymous.

ELAM: Well, yes, and the - the other interesting thing about what the government has said of Switzerland is the fact that they are freezing accounts that they believe that are associated with him or his family. So they're looking at this.

But, keep in mind, just because they're freezing the assets does not mean they're touching the assets. They're saying they're freezing it to make sure. They're not taking any of this money away. It's still going to be there as things are concerned. I think it's more of a - a defense mechanism to make sure that nothing gets blurred here.

But, overall, Switzerland is still, for a lot of people, going to be a safe haven. There's no place in the world that would be safer for these people. And it really has to do with people who are politically exposed.

They did the same thing with Tunisia - with the Tunisian leader, the same thing, where they froze those assets. But it doesn't actually mean that they're going to go in and take these funds.

KAYE: So you should - you don't think it should make everyday depositors feel like their transactions are in jeopardy there?

ELAM: It's such a different situation. Yes. It's such a different situation because you're talking about a political leader, and they did this as soon as he agreed that he was stepping down. This didn't happen on Thursday when we thought he was going to step down, this happened on Friday, which points out the fact that they waited until he was actually out of the office, that it came down, then they made this change.

This is not about everyday common people. They're talking about political leaders and just making sure that embezzlement doesn't happen.

KAYE: All right. Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.

ELAM: Sure.

KAYE: And how are investors reacting to the revolution in Egypt?

CNN's Alison Kosik has that part of our coverage.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi.

We saw a lot of resiliency in the stock market as the revolution was breaking out in Egypt. U.S. markets moved slightly higher and oil prices fell after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down from office on Friday.

And looking at the whole week, the major averages actually ended one percent higher. Oftentimes, volatile geopolitical events can drag stocks lower because they create uncertainty, and that makes investors nervous, but we didn't see that this week. Why? Because the knee- jerk reaction to the crisis in Egypt was already priced in two weeks ago. That's when we saw the DOW tumble 166 points in one day.

At that time, investors weren't sure how far the unrest could spread, so they took some profits off the table and sent oil prices jumping to $92 a barrel. But now, oil prices have backed down and are hovering around $85 and the stock market has resumed its climb to the highest level in two and a half years - Randi.

KAYE: Alison, thank you.

His name will go down in the history books in Egypt. Ahead, a closer look at Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman and the role he has played in the country's revolution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The immediate future of current Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman remains to be seen, but it's hard to dismiss how Suleiman steered the country during the final days of the Mubarak regime.

CNN's Brian Todd takes a hard look at Egypt's political pivot man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's the man who broke the news to Egyptians that their lives were forever changed.

OMAR SULEIMAN, EGYPTIAN VICE PRESIDENT (through translator): President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt.

TODD: As a hastily appointed Vice President, Omar Suleiman was perhaps the most pivotal figure in Egypt's historic transition from dictatorship, but that transition is far from over, and Suleiman's role in it is unclear. Along with Hosni Mubarak, he, too, may be getting phased out.

Despite his concessions to the protestors, analysts say Suleiman's association with Mubarak is simply too close.

PROF. FOUAD AJAMI, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: He comes from the same world. These are autocrats. They're dictators. They're people who never had any political experience. They have the politics of command. They've never been in the street.

TODD: Omar Suleiman's roots are in the Egyptian military, but he made his reputation as head of the Intelligence Service, which is widely feared among Egyptians for infiltration and torture.

TODD (on camera): Has he had a hand in the atrocities during this crisis and in the past?

AJAMI: Look, his past, his the man - he's the head of Intelligence. And for the dirty tricks of the regime, for the unsavory (INAUDIBLE) of the regime, the head of Intelligence is doing it all. I mean, this is the man at the center of all this.

TODD (voice-over): But Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins and other analysts say there's a flipside to Omar Suleiman.

EDWARD GNEHM, FMR. U.S. AMB. TO JORDAN AND KUWAIT: He'd been the main Egyptian negotiator trying to work out between Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority, some rapprochement. He has certainly been the one who's worked with the Israelis and others including the United States over issues of terrorism.

TODD: The solid picture we're getting of Omar Suleiman from U.S. and Egyptian officials and analysts is that he may not have been the best person to lead Egypt through this crisis, but there may not have been many other alternatives.

TODD (on camera): One state department official told me no one thinks he's a nice guy, but some key leaders from the U.S., Israel and their allies were comfortable with Suleiman because of their past dealings with him, and he was trusted by a large segment of the Egyptian population, feared but trusted.

Brian Todd, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: He was a Google executive before he played a very key role in Egypt's uprising. How the 30-year-old used social networking to trigger a massive revolution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Well, I'm getting ready to make the big handoff to Fredricka Whitfield, who's going to pick it up with NEWSROOM.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

KAYE: And what you have coming up? Good morning to you.

WHITFIELD: All right.

We've got a lot and, of course, our legal guys always with us in the noon Eastern hour and they're always a real treat.

We're going to deal with a case that might be either incentive or discouragement for you if you're thinking of putting a handbag or shoes or a sofa or any of those things on eBay, you may want to think twice. Our legal guys are going to tackle the case of a woman who put her Coach handbags on eBay, and now coach, the manufacturer, is suing.

KAYE: Uh-oh.

WHITFIELD: They'll explain why.

And then, a page out of American history revisited. Back in the '30s and '40s, it was very difficult for black Americans to be able to go to just any restaurant or any hotel. Well, a family at the time decided, no, we're going to come up with a directory, not a yellow pages, but instead they call it the "Green Book." And this would be a directory that would show all of the establishments that would welcome black Americans at that time.

KAYE: How clever.

WHITFIELD: And so a children's book has been written about it, the premise of it, as well as a play. So you're going to get a chance in the 2:00 Eastern hour to see what this page of history was all about and how it's being brought to the current form so that young people can understand what took place so many years ago.

KAYE: Lots of good stuff coming up including that and so much more. We'll see you just in a couple minutes.

WHITFIELD: Of course.

KAYE: The Egyptian revolution could not have happened the way it did before the era of Facebook. Ahead, we'll hear from the Internet savvy young Egyptian, who was one of the driving forces behind the revolution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

WAEL GHONIM, EGYPTIAN ACTIVIST: I'm proud to be Egyptian. I - I just want to say, you know, from the bottom of my heart, congratulations to all Egyptians, and, you know, I want to say welcome back, Egypt.

To me, I've heard about Egypt in the history books and, you know, they convinced us for 30 days - for 30 years that Egypt died and there's no more Egypt. We are just, you know, a generation then to eat and sleep. You know, (INAUDIBLE) decided to start a search, a journey for Egypt, and then they convinced hundreds of thousands and then they convinced millions of people. We're all looking for Egypt and thank God that we found her and I just want to say welcome back.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KAYE: Wael Ghonim is the young activist who was one of the driving forces behind this revolution. He's an unassuming 30 year old. His weapon, a laptop computer.

Our Ivan Watson spoke with him about the revolution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Armed with little more than a laptop, Wael Ghonim does not look like the leader of a revolution. But look how the people react when they spot him in the streets. Strangers call out his name, embrace him, even stop their cars in traffic just to say hello.

WATSON (on camera): Did you plan a revolution? GHONIM: Yes.

WATSON: What was the plan?

GHONIM: The plan was to - to get everyone in the street.

WATSON (voice-over): Along with a group of young Egyptian activists, this 30-year-old marketing director for Google worked in his spare time to organize the January 25th protest that sparked a grassroots revolt.

WATSON (on camera): Was this an Internet revolution?

GHONIM: Definitely, this is the Internet revolution. I'll - I'll call it Revolution 2.0.

WATSON (voice-over): But after the third day of protests, Secret Police snatched Ghonim off the streets.

GHONIM: You know, I was targeted, of course. They wanted me.

WATSON (on camera): What was going through your mind at that moment?

GHONIM: I was super scared.

WATSON (voice-over): During the week and a half, Ghonim spent blindfolded in solitary confinement, the Egyptian uprising just kept growing. But he was finally released on Monday. Ghonim emerged to discover a city transformed.

GHONIM: When I went out to the street, I can't - you know, I can't tell you my feeling. I can't tell you my feeling. I was - I was so proud of the people.

WATSON: But he also learned many of his fellow street protesters have been killed in days of bloody clashes with Egyptian Security Forces and gangs of government supporters. More than 300 dead according to Human Rights Watch.

This Egyptian internet revolutionary now has a warning.

GHONIM: No one is going to go against our desire. No one. And I'm telling this to Omar Suleiman, he is going to watch this. You are not going to stop us. Kidnap me. Kidnap all my colleagues. Put us in jail, kill us. Do whatever you want to do. We are getting back our country. You guys have been ruining this country for 30 years. Enough, enough, enough.

WATSON: Ivan Watson, CNN, Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Wael Ghonim sent a tweet actually this morning and it reads "Good morning, Egypt. I truly missed you in the past 30 years."

Time now for me to hand it over to Fredricka Whitfield to pick up CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: What a force. All right.

Thanks so much, Randi. Have a great day.

KAYE: Thank you.