Mubarak Resignation

In response to Mubarak stepping down, President Obama delivered a pitch perfect speech calling for "nothing less than genuine democracy," not just a government aligned with U.S. interests. There will be many foreign policy takeaways from Egypt, but here's an obvious one: invading a country, toppling its regime, destroying civil society, and then trying to put all the pieces back together with a ten-year occupation and a few trillion dollars turns out not to be the only way to increase the spread of democracy in the Middle East. Wired was more effective than warred. People can now connect to each other faster than any government can connect with its people. And while governments may be able to shut down the hardware, they can't shut off the social effects of digital networks. Any leader who doesn't understand this dynamic should book a room next to wherever Mubarak is heading.

Today's victory of the peaceful Egyptian protesters torpedoes the notion that the only effective means to an end in the Middle East must center on violence.

Some experts question the latest turn of events and the military's role going forward. While the army has tried to present itself as a neutral force so far in the protests, it has also been "calling the shots" during the arrests.

Mubarak had to go to show anyone who might replace him that he can be brought down, too. With that message, the transition of power is more likely to produce a successor for whom the will of the people is foremost.

The Mubarak regime has relied on U.S. assistance to deny the Egyptian people basic freedoms again and again. If the U.S. government continues the status quo, it will be endorsing the same despotism that has brought us to this point of crisis.

CAIRO -- Egypt's Hosni Mubarak refused to step down or leave the country and instead said he would hand his powers to his vice president Thursday, rem...

CAIRO (AP) - Egypt's military announced on national television that it has stepped in to "safeguard the country" on Thursday and assured protesters th...

CAIRO -- A young leader of Egypt's anti-government protesters, newly released from detention, joined a massive crowd in Cairo's Tahrir Square for the ...

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is urging Egyptian leaders to include more people in a national dialogue on reform but won't endorse demands fr...