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CNN Saturday Morning News

Revolution in Egypt: Supreme Council Addresses Egyptian People; Examining Suleiman's Role in New Egyptian Government; Historic Change in Egypt; Swiss Freeze Mubarak Assets; Markets React to Egypt

Aired February 12, 2011 - 08:00   ET

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

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: But let's bring people up to date on what we're seeing now.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: These are live pictures in Cairo. We thought we were done with this, but apparently there is some type of clash, as you were just seeing there, happening. It's hard to see. It looks like members of the military heading in there, running towards someone or something. Large groups of people -- again, we said that most of this today was supposed to be a clean-up effort, even though a lot of the protesters are still in Tahrir Square and hanging around, possibly will continue to hang around for days.

So, again, some early clashes here in Cairo, live pictures. John, what do you think?

MANN: I actually want to make the point to viewers two things. You're looking at live pictures. And we have seen the mood swing obviously in Tahrir Square over the last few days. It was a battle scene not too long ago, but the presence of the military was welcomed by the protesters. They were glad to see the military and in recent hours, they have literally been celebrating with the military in their midst. Yet, as you say and as we saw, the live pictures speak very plainly that something is going on, something we don't fully understand.

The military is now the government of Egypt. Hosni Mubarak has resigned as president. He led a largely military-backed regime, but now that military-backed regime has been replaced by a Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

The civilian government is gone. We don't know exactly what is coming. But we know whatever it is will be guided by the military. That's the biggest picture. But when you look at what we're seeing now, it's hard to tell what's going on.

Our Fionnuala Sweeney joins us now.

Fionnuala, can you tell us what's happening?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can only tell you Jon from our vantage point here is that we're seeing what you're seeing which is a lot of military suddenly appear on the scene. I wouldn't want to for a moment suggest that this is in any way confrontational.

We did think that they were moving barriers away. Where you're looking at now, where you see that massive soldiers, that's just the entrance or one of the entrances to Tahrir Square which if I cast my eye further along that road, there are still thousands and thousands of people gathered in that square.

So we are just watching this situation. It's as fluid as you're watching it. But there is a significant increase in the military here on the ground. But nothing -- and I want to stress this -- nothing looking particularly confrontational. But the people have been chanting as they have been in recent days, Jon, we and the military are one.

Earlier in the day, as the crowds in the square had been cleaning up, they had been out there with their brooms. They're still out there with their brooms cleaning up. They want their country to look beautiful.

They are glad the military is in charge. Perhaps they have some questions about what's going to happen down the line, but they're glad to see Hosni Mubarak gone and they want to literally clean up the country. These pictures that you're looking at now, you can see the military still walking there, still gathered there at the entrance to Tahrir Square.

Back to you.

KAYE: It's interesting, Fionnuala. It seems as though that first they were running and it appeared to be some type a clash. Now it appears as those the military and the protesters are actually working together to move some of this trash. It seems like maybe they just wanted to get a jump on it because nothing at least from our vantage point on the monitors that we're watching looks violent. They have turned this vehicle over.

But again, that's the protesters along with the military there. Both seem to have a hand in that, and the protesters are among the military.

SWEENEY: Well, if you're looking -- if you're still looking at these shots here, they're moving in quite smartly down this entrance into the square. There's nothing to suggest that it's confrontational at the moment but definitely there is a significant movement of military, troops into Tahrir Square.

But I don't want to speculate that it's perhaps anything more than just moving in. People want to get back to work. Some people do. Others in the square are saying they're not going to go back to work.

I should say as well, we're expecting a statement from the military shortly sometime this afternoon in which we expect them to outline their plans for moving forward.

Now, some of the demonstrators issued a communique last night -- a significant group I should say -- saying that they want to see, first of all, the state of emergency lifted. They also want to see press freedoms.

So we're just going to have to just watch and see how the military react to this. But still people milling around. The numbers are still as significant as they were last night. People are shouting. People are cheering. There's definitely been an elevation of the audio level in the last few minutes since the military arrived coming from the ground.

And I think this is just -- I don't want to focus necessarily on just one picture that we're seeing from one vantage point to suggest a wider picture of something or a trend. But I think it's just an example of the fluid situation here.

The military anxious to keep the country stable. We're hearing that the stock market now is going to open on Wednesday. So that means we have a few days to wait. The military hoping that the country will settle down and that when the markets open, that the mood will be up and buoyant.

KAYE: Does it look as though the military is trying to move any of the protesters out of that area? Because they have said that they may hang around there, that they're waiting for their civilian government, they're waiting to see if Mubarak will go to trial and they may stay there longer even though he's already out of power. So does it look to you as if they're trying to move them out of the area?

SWEENEY: I don't see that they're moving them out of the way. From what I can see is that they're there. The crowd is among them. They're waving flags. There's lots of cheering. The movements we saw just a few moments ago where it seemed to be a number of soldiers running down the entrance into Tahrir Square, perhaps just to put some order on the square, perhaps to just to stress that the military is in power now. The military and the relationship with the Egyptian people a fairly stable one, a fairly close relationship. It's one that the demonstrators are happy to see for the interim.

But I'm wondering whether or not over the next few days we might begin to see the divergence of interests here because the demonstrators will want to go -- some of them anyway want to go much further than just seeing Hosni Mubarak removed from power and there's likely to be elements of the authorities who won't want to go as far as the protesters' demands. But we have to stress as well the military have said that the peoples' demands will be met.

But this is one of the many, many issues when it comes to the slow transition from a country which has been not quite a dictatorship. There were elections, though not very free and fair to free and fair elections. It's going to take a very long time. There may be some bumps in the road.

What's on everybody's minds here, particularly the authorities, even on the part of the demonstrators themselves and indeed around the region, is stability. And in order to have stability, one has to have security. MANN: Fionnuala Sweeney with us live from Cairo. If you're just joining us, let's share where we are. This is the first day of post- Mubarak Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak left Cairo and left office on Friday. He's now in Sharm el-Sheikh and Cairo awoke this morning to a new future under military rule. The military Supreme Council pledging to bring the country towards democracy in Tahrir Square where so many of the protests have been mounted over the past 18 days.

A happy kind of bedlam. What seemed like scuffles -- we're still not sure exactly what's going on, but it doesn't seem to be trouble. It just seems to be more of the -- well, more of the events unfolding over the last 18 days. We're not quite sure what we're watching but we're watching along with you live.

KAYE: A lot of running around by the military, that's for sure. And as we said, the military is now running the government in Egypt. So who is running the military?

Here's what the council looked like just a few days ago. There's former President Hosni Mubarak. No, that is not former president Hosni Mubarak. All right. Well, we don't have those pictures. So we're getting more -- we're learning more and more certainly about what the council looks like right now.

MANN: Again, this is the national council speaking to the Egyptian people.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GENERAL SAMI ANAN, EGYPTIAN MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF (through translator): This is difficult circumstances, therefore, the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces is announcing that their statements is not replacement for the legitimate demands of the people and by -- according to our belief to all our responsibilities, local and international, we, the Supreme Council, announces the following.

First, the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces is committed to all the previous statements.

Secondly, the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces is -- is believing that Egypt and its institutions is capable of coming out of these difficult circumstances. Therefore, the local and public sector has to join the country and support the economic condition. The people have to support.

Thirdly, the present government and the governors have to carry out their duties until the forming of the new cabinet.

And fourthly, the -- helping for the transition of -- peaceful transition of the system in order to -- fifth, the Arabic Egypt is committed to all the national and international treaties.

Sixth, the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces is urging our great people of Egypt to cooperate with the police and confidence and trust should be restored between the police and the people. And the police have to obey to the slogan of the police is at the service of the people. That was the statement of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which stress that the police is at the service of the people, also indicating the necessity of the people to support --

MANN: And so, if you've just been watching along with us, we've been watching the latest statement -- I take it would be communique number four from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt.

A short number of points but a very crucial one. Primary among them probably for policymakers in Washington and for Egypt's neighbor Israel is a pledge that Egypt is committed to all national and international agreements.

In other words, the peace treaty that Israel signed under President Anwar Sadat is still in force. Israeli authorities have been terribly nervous about what all of this will mean for the Jewish state. That message will reassure them to some extent.

KAYE: Also interesting as we continue to watch these live pictures on the left side of your screen certainly out of Cairo -- we're not real clear what's happening there between the military and the protesters.

But the Supreme Council urging the great people of Egypt just now to cooperate with police, saying that trust should be restored between the people and police. The slogan of the police military reminds us is at the service of the people. The government of course has to carry out their duties, he said, until the new government can be formed, but certainly still unclear. They seem to be cleaning up there, but unclear what's happening exactly.

MANN: If you're watching this, you're learning about as much as the Egyptian people themselves are learning.

One of the remarkable things that's happened over the last 18 days is that while Hosni Mubarak was still in office, there were a series of infrequent announcements or interviews or statements made to the press on television and now in the less than 24 hours since he has left his position as president, literally left Cairo as well.

We've heard statements from the military. This is the fourth statement they've made in the last few days. But once again, the military urging the people of Egypt to work with the police, to respect order and to know that their government will respect Egypt's treaties and commitments abroad.

KAYE: We'll continue to watch what's happening there. We have our correspondents and our crews still on the ground bringing us these pictures, trying to figure out the very latest coming out of Egypt. In fact, let's bring in Barbara Starr.

Barbara, I'm sure you're watching this along with us and have been for the last now 19 days. What -- help us make sense not only of what we're seeing but from your end there at the Pentagon. BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Randi, hearing Jon talk a second ago about these military officials urging the Egyptian people to obey the police. That's -- if that's a precise translation, that's pretty interesting, because the Egyptian police forces, which are under control of the ministry of interior and much hated by most people in Egypt, they have been absent from the streets for the last many days. We've mainly seen army forces under control of the ministry of defense.

So if the police are coming back on the streets to try and control the crowds, move the crowds, move people out of the square, that will be a new wrinkle in the last many days, because they have been largely absent. They certainly have been blamed by the people there for some of the violence for some of those pro-government protesters.

So watching these pictures and watching as we did a few minutes ago some security forces move into this area of the square, who those security forces are and who they are loyal to in this period of uncertainty may be very, very interesting to watch in the coming minutes and hours literally in the square.

We know now that the army man in charge, if you will, of Egypt now, field marshal Hussein Tantawi (ph), he is someone that the U.S. perhaps has a mixed view of, inside the Pentagon, inside the U.S. military, inside the administration. I mean, certainly all hopes are pinned on him.

But he is an older man. He has served for many years. He is very close to Mubarak. In fact, there was one of those leaked WikiLeaks cables where the U.S. embassy filed a cable saying that many Egyptian military personnel thought of Tantawi as, quote, "Mubarak's poodle."

So if there is loyalty to him, it will be interesting to see where it comes from and perhaps many people still very skeptical that as this euphoria, this understandable euphoria perhaps moves into more of the daily routine of Egyptian life, skeptical of how fast some of the changes may come.

So we'll have to see how some of this unfolds. A little uncertainty this morning, I suspect, as some of these security forces begin to move around and show their face in public again.

KAYE: It will be interesting. Certainly we saw the military statement. We know that they've said trust should be restored between the police and the people. But it will be interesting once that word gets to the people and to the protesters if anything will change, if now that Mubarak is out, will they still trust his police force? They certainly say the people and the military are one. But it will be interesting to see it. Barbara, you're absolutely right.

STARR: And you know Randi, let me just add one thing. As the police and the ministry of interior begins to show their face on Egyptian streets again in Cairo, in towns and rural villages across Egypt, one of the concerns you hear really sort of under the table but it is there here in Washington is whether conflict will break out, if you will, a struggle for political control between the ministry of interior police and the army. And this could lead to some period of people believe of unsettledness in the weeks to come. Randi.

KAYE: Could be a short-lived celebration. We'll have to see how this all plays out. Barbara Starr, thank you so much for your insight. And now --

MANN: Fionnuala Sweeney who's been watching this along with us from Cairo.

Fionnuala, you have heard and I presume some of the protesters have heard now what the military has had to say. Any sense of how people are likely to react?

SWEENEY: No sense yet. If I could just go back on the pictures that we've been talking about and bringing live to our viewers in the last few minutes, it would seem to be from our vantage point -- and we want to be careful to put it in the correct context -- these soldiers that we've seen are actually really going in to help clear up the rubble. They've been moving back barricades. The museum is just across the road from our vantage point here and we can see into the museum and they are soldiers in there. They've set up base.

Remember, this was the museum that was being ransacked just a few days ago. It was really about 10, 15 minutes ago that we saw a number of soldiers come out of that museum on to the road and make their way to the entrance to Tahrir Square just outside the museum.

I just would - I'd hate to be the -- I want to be the last person to raise the temperature here in any way. It doesn't appear to be anything untoward just as yet. The people in Tahrir Square have been cleaning up the streets this morning trying to get some semblance of order back.

The atmosphere is still electric. It's less than 24 hours since it was announced that Hosni Mubarak was stepping down. And it seems for the moment that the military are just -- now that they're in control of the country, they are literally hoping to clean the country up as well -- Jon.

MANN: Fionnuala Sweeney live in Cairo watching these once again, the day unfold, day 19, but in many respects day one of a new future for Egypt.

KAYE: Amazing that this story just keeps going as we watch it. Now we have two scenes from Cairo, live pictures there. We have tanks moving through the area. We have some sort of activity going on in Tahrir Square where we continue to watch all of this.

We will get in touch with all of our correspondents and crews on the ground and help continue to make sense of this very historic day, very historic story for all of you watching at home. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Welcome back everyone. It's 22 minutes past the hour, 18 days of protest and this morning Egypt finds itself at a crossroads.

From Cairo and the heart of the revolution, Tahrir Square, a live picture for you now. Hosni Mubarak is out as president. In the last few minutes the Egyptian military moved more troops into the square.

We've been showing you those pictures. We're not sure exactly what is going on but we have seen some type of celebration, certainly a lot of activity, doesn't seem to be confrontational but we are watching it for you. As soon as we have a few more details on exactly what's going on there on the ground, we will share it with you.

Mubarak's withdrawal yesterday triggered huge celebrations across the largest Muslim nation on the planet. The military now in control as it works to form a new civilian government. Top American officials are urging Egyptian officials and opponents of Mubarak to ensure a peaceful transition to the promised democracy.

MANN: Let's talk about Egypt's future after Mubarak with Parag Khanna, an international relations expert and director of the Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation based in Washington.

Thanks so much for joining us.

Just a short time ago we got the latest communique from the military which essentially said that the current government stays info power, the police remain in authority and international treaties remain in force. It seems like status quo after a revolution.

PARAG KHANNA, DIRECTOR, GLOBAL GOVERNANCE INITIATIVE: That is unfortunately the case, Jonathan. The military remains very much in power. As you know, the protesters have not only been against Hosni Mubarak who was president until yesterday, but also against Vice President Omar Suleiman, by extension also the military apparatus that's been in charge. So in effect, none of their demands have been met. Just as or in the longer term since (INAUDIBLE) But as you said, it's day one, but at the same time these lingering concerns are very much still in place --

MANN: I'm going to jump in because you just said something remarkable that would come as an enormous surprise to thousands of people in Tahrir Square. None of their demands have been met. Really?

KHANNA: Well, they want to see structural change. Their main objective -- that's why they're still in the square by the way today is that they want to see a change in the constitution. They want to see genuine democracy.

That promise, that speech that we just heard didn't tell them exactly when democracy was going to be restored Egypt, did not tell them when free and fair elections would be held, did not tell them when they will actually get a genuine voice and role in the government. And of course, on the streets itself in a country where the military has both an international and domestic role and is coordinating with the interior ministry and the police, they still see the same power structure controlling their lives.

MANN: Let me ask you about that exact point because there's been an enormous amount of faith placed in the military by the protesters, but the military people who are now in power, who formed this Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, are they men with Egyptians' blood on their hands?

And a different question along the same lines, are they men with Egyptians' money in their bank accounts? Do they have Americans' money in their bank accounts?

KHANNA: You know, Jonathan, that's of course always been the case. Here we have a military leadership and now authorities that are very much distrusted by the people because they are -- have been and continue to be very close allies of Hosni Mubarak. So the people don't see a real change of the system as such as I was saying earlier.

So yes, many of the protesters do feel they've obviously been wronged physically, harmed, killed, attacked by the military in recent weeks. And so they don't want to still be subject to the same authority.

So that in terms of blood on the hands. Money in the accounts, yes. I think so far from the United States' point of view, by having a bit of a detached role and urging democratic change, they haven't so alienated the people as they have in the last several decades by which the support for Mubarak was so outright by America.

So in that sense, the U.S. is perhaps entering a phase where it could be less resented if it continues to side with the people in pushing for democracy.

MANN: Parag Khanna on that note, we thank you very much -- Randi.

KAYE: Let's get straight to those pictures in Cairo. Once again, we want to stay on these pictures that we've been watching in Cairo and bring in our Frederik Pleitgen who is in Cairo.

Fred, if you could, help us understand if you can what we're seeing there and what the mood is in that area where we see plenty of military suddenly and also the protesters.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi.

I'm actually down in that area where those (INAUDIBLE) happened just a couple of minutes ago and I was able to speak to the military commander who's in charge here. He said that basically it wasn't a scuffle between the people here and the military. He said what happened was that three people were causing trouble here, were apparently harassing some of the folks here. Those people were then arrested by the military and brought away. He said those three people are going to be released later on.

And now the scene is right back to what it was before, which is a very happy one. The people here cleaning up after the revolution, sweeping the streets. A lot of people here telling me they want their country to be nice now that they've taken it over. It is a very peaceful scene again.

I saw the military commander who is in charge just a couple of minutes ago. He was talking to people. He was calming them down. So it seems as though the situation is very much under control at this point in time.

And the interesting thing that he also told me, Randi, was he has no issues with people staying in this area. The only thing he says he wants is for the street to be at least open to pedestrians so that people can come open their shops again on Tahrir Square, resupply those shops and really get their businesses back up and running Randi.

KAYE: Which is so interesting. They certainly seem to be on top of it because from the numbers of military that we saw running in there, if this was all about three people causing a bit of a ruckus, boy, it seemed as though -- I mean, we're watching those pictures once again of the troops that ran in there en masse. They are not going to take any trouble from anyone, it seems. They are all about restoring order and reopening Cairo to regular business, it seems.

PLEITGEN: I mean, they certainly made clear that they're not fooling around with anybody who's going to try to cause trouble. That's the picture we got from this military commander. But just as fast as the soldiers came here, they disappeared again. Right now I don't see a single soldier on the ground. Again, I saw that military commander. He walked through here. He's a colonel. He was talking to the people. He said everything was all right.

But, yes, I mean, they certainly did assert themselves and definitely make clear that, yes, they're happy for all of this to be going on and people dancing in the streets and joyful but they're certainly not going to take any disruptions and are going to be quite forceful if that takes place Randi.

KAYE: Fred, I have to say you've been doing incredible work for all of us and it's good to have you there on the ground to continue to bring us the very latest and get some answers for us because Jon and I have been here wondering exactly what's happening there. We certainly appreciate you clearing that up for us and of course all of our viewers. Thank you.

MANN: If you're watching along with us, do not adjust your set. That really did look like 60 or 100 uniformed personnel in riot gear jogging somewhere in the square. Fredrik Pleitgen has been told that it was for three people. Look at this. That looks more than you need to take care of three troublemakers in most parts of the world.

KAYE: They want to make sure, that's for sure.

MANN: I'm not sure we got to the very bottom of this, I got to be honest and just register a note of skepticism because either they were just in formation to get out of the square or move into the square, but that's a lot of people to answer to three troublemakers.

KAYE: We'll leave it there and we'll take a quick break. Stay with us for much more from Egypt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MANN: Welcome back. Its 32 minutes past the hour and we are watching the historic change unfold in Egypt. And we're not the only ones.

Saudi Arabia, which had been a critic of the protesters all through the upheaval in Egypt, now says it is welcoming the peaceful change of power.

For a time you recall the Saudis were -- were saying it was a foreign or outside interference that was causing the trouble. A change in tone and they say it's good news after all.

KAYE: Certainly sounds that way.

MANN: Well, more news to tell you about.

Less than 30 minutes ago Egypt's military released its latest statement urging people to cooperate with the police and saying that they will respect Egypt's treaties and commitments abroad. Believe me the Israelis were listening to that. This is the day after the resignation of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak.

Here's a quick look at the events that led to the end of Mubarak's nearly 30-year reign. On January 25th, it started with the so-called Day of Wrath; thousands taking to the streets, demanding Mubarak's resignation.

January 28th, the day of rage; three days of inaction from the government led to angry demonstrations, protesters attacking and setting fire to the ruling party's headquarters in Cairo. Just after midnight President Mubarak addresses the nation for the first time since the protests began. He refuses to step down but does fire his cabinet. More important perhaps, tanks roll into the streets.

On February 1st, President Mubarak makes a new statement to the protesters again refusing to step down but he says this time that he won't run for re-election in September.

The masses weren't mollified. The protest continued and the next day bloody clashes break out in Cairo between the anti-government protesters and pro-Mubarak supporters. This is where we saw, what you're looking at now, the unforgettable pictures of people on horseback, and yes, even camels riding through the protesters.

February 5th new Vice President Omar Suleiman begins meeting with opposition leaders. Over two days they come up with a blue print for the future. February 10th President Mubarak again speaks to the people of Egypt and again he refuses to step down but he does announce that he's transferring some power to the Vice President.

Move ahead to today and a feeling of joy and hope on the streets of Cairo.

KAYE: Although just moments ago we did see a flood of soldiers heading into Tahrir Square and we were able to find out from our Frederik Pleitgen a little bit more about what's happening there.

But we also have our Fionnuala Sweeney in Cairo right now for us and also Ivan Watson is there as well on the phone.

Fionnuala, let's start with you. From your vantage point, what's happening there in the Square?

SWEENEY: Well, the atmosphere is absolutely electric and it's really hard to believe for Egyptians -- that is less than 24 hours since their leader for the last 30 years Hosni Mubarak was stepping down.

And so for them, very much the celebration is continuing. And there's -- I know you made reference both of you a little while ago to the number of soldiers who went into the Square (INAUDIBLE) for three troublemakers -- it was disproportionate which it was for three.

But as I cast my eyes down here towards the entrance of the Square there are tens of thousands of people there. And I think -- well, the military is trying to send out a signal is that we are literally in control, we are figuratively in control and we're in control on the ground as well. Back to you.

KAYE: And let's bring in Ivan. Ivan, tell us where you are and what you're seeing. Are you still seeing -- it looks to us as though there is still plenty of celebrating happening there among the protesters and the military together.

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's right. I would say overwhelmingly, the -- the crowd here are enthusiastic Egyptians just coming to -- to pay a visit to Tahrir Square. A lot of volunteers sweeping up debris from -- from more than two and a half weeks of a sit-in here.

And what really was remarkable is there was a division within the protest movement between people who said it's time to move on, our main demands have been met, it's time to end the sit-in and -- and what's described as a minority faction of -- of more diehard holdouts who did not want to break down the barricades here.

And what clearly happened is that moments ago the military in what could be described as a surprise attack. They sent in 20, 30, 40 soldiers who tore down the barricades in a matter of seconds, detained a few people and are now asserting charge and they seem to be -- and there are many riot-helmeted police here now setting up a -- a human chain around the Egyptian museum and seem to be working together with some of the protest organizers to try to restore order here to take down the tent city.

Much of that has been broken down as well. And -- and try to open this place up again. And for the first time now really in more than two -- two weeks, Randi, the chains of demonstrators who would pat people down and demand passports and things like that, they are gone.

So we have seen the authority of the protesters, who were really running the show in this enclave, being ceded to the Egyptian military -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Ivan Watson, Fionnuala Sweeney, thank you both for your perspective there in Cairo.

Eighteen days of protests bring change to Egypt but in Washington it was 18 days of hand-wringing and back room wrangling. So what is the reaction now?

CNN's senior state department producer, Elise Labott joins me now from Washington. Elise, as we continue to -- to watch these pictures now about 3:30 in the afternoon in Cairo, Egypt; what are officials in Washington saying?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN'S SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: Well, on one hand, Randi, they're very -- I think there is a breath of relief right now because as they say the main impediment to the transition in Egypt to democracy has left, President Mubarak has stepped down but at the same time there's a lot of uncertainty. Communications with the Egyptian government have been kind of spotty for the last couple of days as the Egyptians have sorted through this.

So the U.S. doesn't really know who they're dealing with. They know that this military supreme council is in charge, they know who the players are but they really don't know who is running the government. They don't know what the role of Vice President Omar Suleiman is going to be. They don't know who their point people are.

And so they're really trying to figure this out and -- and even over the next couple of days who seems to be in charge really might not be who is running the government behind the scenes. So they really have to sort this out and at the same time they really want to make sure that they lock in these gains, as officials say, on the transition.

They want to see now, now that the president has stepped down, they want to see a political process, they want to see the military make good on some of these demands of the protesters, they want to see the opposition brought in, they want to see changes to the Constitution. And most importantly they want to see a lifting of this emergency law. So they -- they -- officials say that they really want to see progress.

Right now there's a lot of jubilation in the streets. But as President Obama said yesterday, it's really just the beginning and now the hard work begins.

So that's what officials are going to be sorting out over the -- over the next days and weeks.

And Egypt no doubt, Elise, would like to -- to have their -- their tourists return. They certainly lost --

(CROSSTALK)

LABOTT: That's right.

KAYE: -- quite a bit of business as a result of this uprising. What is the latest on -- on travel warnings for Americans from the State Department?

LABOTT: Well, right now there's a pretty strict travel warning because of everything that was going on in the Square and the protests around the country. And U.S. had withdrawn all of its diplomats -- most of them anyway from the country.

I think they're reviewing this right now. U.S. Embassy officials are talking with the State Department about you know, a first step probably sending back some of those diplomats.

And then they really have to see how the military organizes the country over the -- over the coming days and weeks. But I think at first you'll see the diplomats go back and then the U.S. maybe start softening its travel warning.

But usually when these travel warnings are in effect, until things are really calm on the streets, they're not just going to lift something entirely. They might soften it a bit in the -- in the coming days -- Randi.

KAYE: Elise Labott, thank you very much -- Jon.

MANN: Remember first it was Tunisia, then it was Egypt. Now there are demonstrations underway in nearby Yemen and Algeria as well. We're getting reports actually of clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in the Algerian capital. Some 100 demonstrators have been detained in Algiers.

Meantime in the Jordanian capital Amman, Friday two demonstrations and a show of support for the Egyptian protesters, one rally held at a downtown mosque, another in front of the Egyptian embassy; one group carrying a banner of Jordan's King Abdullah II. They unraveled a 30-year grip on power in less than three weeks. Egyptian savvy with social media site celebrating Mubarak's down fall. A look at what they're saying on the first full day of a new era.

KAYE: Also ahead, he was held in confinement during most of the demonstrations but his influence was unstoppable. At the top of the hour we'll have more on the man credited with igniting Egypt's revolution.

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KAYE: Countless smiles among the protesters on Friday. Egyptians have swept one former military general out of office and in his place today another former military official.

MANN: As best we understand it Omar Suleiman is the former head of the intelligence service. He became vice president under Hosni Mubarak and then he announced Hosni Mubarak was leaving office.

So who is really in charge now? Let's talk about that with CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen joining us from Syracuse, New York. Is it clear to you who -- who is the top guy?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Jonathan, it isn't. And certainly Omar Suleiman is implicated with some of the worst abuses of the Egyptian Mubarak regime. I mean, the guy who is in charge of the intelligence services is in charge of an apparatus which routinely tortured people.

Jonathan, if you go back, State Department reports now going back literally decades outline the kinds of torture techniques that were common, have been common in Egyptian jails including routine rapes, use of electric shocks, threatening the use of dogs, et cetera.

So Omar Suleiman is the man who sort of stood on top of all of this. And so if he indeed is in charge, which is not clear, he's as much a part of the old regime as anybody else.

MANN: And did you say -- we just don't know. What about the rest of the military? Obviously, they weren't al doing intelligence work. They weren't all doing domestic security. Would Egyptians do well to put their faith in the military men who now control their future?

BERGEN: You know, very possibly. But, I mean the problem about revolutions is that these kinds of discussions are very hard to have because they're inherently unpredictable. Everybody agreed when the Shah of Iran left, most Iranians were happy about that, both liberals and religious revolutionaries. It is what followed that, you know, where the problems arose.

And the French Revolution getting rid of Louis XIV was something a lot of people could agree on, similarly getting rid of the Czars in the 1917 revolution in Russia.

So the point is that what follows that kind of moment when everybody agrees on getting rid of the hated monarch or dictator. You know, we just simply have no idea. The fact that the army is a sort of conscript army means that it has connections to the population. It does have some legitimacy particularly because of its role in the 1973 war against Egypt in which it performed much better than it had done in the 1967 war.

So, you know, but the fact is that we just don't know what will happen going forward. No one does, including the players in all of this. We can just hope that there is a peaceful transition. But the history of revolutions doesn't suggest that happens very often.

KAYE: Peter, let's talk about some other areas, some other countries in that region, other autocratic leaders who might be watching all of this and say, wow, a president who was in power for nearly 30 years taken down by a movement that started among social media on Facebook; probably Algeria is watching closely, Yemen certainly. What are your thoughts on that?

MANN: Yes.

BERGEN: You know, I've spent some time in Yemen and President Saleh, there is a certainly similarity to former President Mubarak being in power for about 30 years, a military man. But there are some differences, Randi, which I think may make Yemen less prone to an actual revolution.

The fact is that Saleh has given political parties in Yemen a little bit more head room partly because of his own weak position. And so the Islamist parties, the kind of analog of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is called (INAUDIBLE) which means "reform" has had a role already in, you know, small role in Yemeni politics.

So, we're not seeing the violence in Yemen partly because there is a little bit more of a tradition of competition for politics. That said, President Saleh of Yemen faces enormous problems: two wars, one in the north, one in the south; fairly active al Qaeda affiliate. He's running out of oil what little he had. He's running out of water. It's the poorest country in the Arabian world.

And, you know, it's a lot like Afghanistan, very tribal, heavily armed local population. So while he's done more for his population in terms of a little bit more political representation, he has got a quite unstable set of problems that he's got to deal with.

MANN: And he's got a handful of protesters as we've been reporting.

Peter Bergen, thanks very much.

KAYE: And a programming note now, stay with CNN's worldwide resources on the ground in Cairo and across Egypt for special coverage of the revolution in Egypt tonight. It starts with Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM." Don't miss it at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time.

The Swiss government moves to prevent former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from embezzling state property.

MANN: Plus, speaking of money, will the revolution in Egypt have any effect on the markets? We'll get a report from Wall Street.

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KAYE: Welcome back. It's 52 minutes past the hour, eight minutes before the hour.

Switzerland's government moved to quickly freeze any assets in the country's banks that might belong to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak or his family, all of this to avoid any risk of embezzlement of Egyptian state property. MANN: CNN business news correspondent Stephanie Elam joins us now live from New York. Stephanie, people said the Mubarak regime was terribly corrupt. Do we have any idea how much money Mubarak himself has?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That would be the question, Jon and Randi that everyone would like to know the answers to but at this point we just really don't. There have been a lot of claims out there that in his 30 years of reign that he was actually pilfering money that should have gone to the Egyptian people but we don't know if that's true. That's not confirmed.

What's also not confirmed is just how much money he may have in Switzerland, how many accounts we have may be talking about, what it does as far as his family, how many accounts they may have. Again, as you were saying, the government saying that they really want to do this to make sure what is coming out only pertains to Mubarak and his family and not any of the Egyptian state property. That's why they say they're doing this.

And Switzerland also says this is common operating procedure when a head of state is politically exposed as they put it. They're saying that this is something that they would normally do in this case. That's why we're seeing it happen so quickly here once he announced that he was stepping aside, Randi and Jon.

MANN: You say they would normally do this? I thought money in Switzerland was secret and safe no matter what. Isn't this unusual for the Swiss to do this?

ELAM: They say this -- but this would be an unusual case, right. They're saying this is when a political leader is exposed, when they're stepping aside, when there's change, just to make sure. Think about it. Switzerland took a lot of heat for what they had been doing as far as protecting accounts, people who had accounts there that a lot of people felt like they should have brought to light and investigated.

This is Switzerland's way I would assume to stop this from happening on the front end and say look, let's just make sure that all these accounts, everything in them is yours and none of it belongs to the actual Egyptian government.

That said, they've done this before. They did this when Tunisia had their first uprising which was not too long ago. When they looked at this, they said let's take it into account and make sure that there's a split here. But that's a question everybody keeps bringing up and asking me Jon, to be honest is I thought everything in Switzerland was completely locked down and safe. But, in this case perhaps, they're just trying to make sure that what's his is his.

MANN: Stephanie Elam, thanks very much.

KAYE: Thanks, Steph.

CNN's Alison Kosik has an update on how investors are reacting to the revolution in Egypt.

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. US 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 would spread, so they took some profits off the table and sent oil prices jumping to $92 a barrel. But now oil prices are back down and hovering around $85 and the stock market has resumed its climb to the highest level in 2 1/2 years -- Randi.

KAYE: Thank you Alison.

And our coverage of the historic events in Egypt and their effect on the rest of the world continues.

Straight ahead, the latest out of Cairo as Egypt moves toward an uncertain future.

MANN: And he may have become the face of the Egyptian revolution. We'll take a look at Wael Ghonim and what Egypt's new direction may hold for him.

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