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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered Tuesday in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Initial reaction is highly unfavorable to President Hosni Mubarak's announcement that he intends to stay in office through elections in September.
NBC News' Richard Engel reported from Cairo that the hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square were likely to find the speech "unsatisfactory" because they want Mubarak out immediately.
As protesters watched Mubarak on a giant TV screen, they chanted, "Leave! Leave! Leave!" Organizers remained defiant and vowed to stage another "March of the Millions" on Friday after prayers, NBC's Ron Allen reported.
Allen said protesters seemed "stunned" by Mubarak's refusal to leave. Some said they intended to stay in the square until Mubarak left the country.
"The bottom line is this has always been a fairly loosely organized opposition ... so I think people are trying to figure out what to do now," Allen reported. "A lot of people in this country are not happy."
There was no immediate reaction from the White House, where President Barack Obama and his entire national security team watched the speech in the Situation Room, NBC's Savannah Guthrie reported from Washington. NBC News previously reported that Obama, through an envoy, tried to persuade Mubarak to leave.
A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition movement, told The Wall Street Journal that "no one is satisfied" and that protests would continue.
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It seems clear Eygptians will continue their protests until Mubarak leaves. They do not seem to trust him to start a process which will lead to real change.
If the protestors can't find a way to get Mubarak to leave now, he won't leave. Dictators always find a way to hang on. Elections will be postponed, etc.
Writing on the wall is clear, he needs to let the nation move forward asap by resigning his post and not meddling any further into future process of nation building.
I'm sure the Egyptian people will be happy having Al Qaida #2 as their new ruler. Let the suicide bombings begin in Cairo. "Cause ya know the writing's on the wall.
Dino...who knows. I"m sure there was "writing on the wall" when the American Revolution began too, but guess what? It worked out pretty well for the most part. Give the people of Egypt kudos for having the courage to do what they're doing and support them why don't ya? I, for one, support them 100% so long as they keep understanding this isn't a religious thing, it's purely political, and use their new found voice to put the right person/people in charge for the good of the country, for the good of the people.
I am very much for the Egyptian people. I have many friends there, and a company. I agree that they need change. But some of these kids are too dumb to even say what they want. They started this with no idea who was going to take over, and I applaud them for their efforts, and for the fact that it might gain much for many Egyptians. However, given the fact that a) the VP is suppose to be negotiating with the opposition right now (are they? What's the story), b) that Mubarak has said he will not run again and c) the protesters are now just telling people its not good enough without giving any alternatives (Mubarak go away is not good enough. Someone has to run things), they need to grow up and latch on to something before the country goes belly up.
Jimmy, I have to agree with you. So Mubarak leaves. What then? There has to be some form of government in place or we'll see anarchy.
I'm afraid that, like Iran, Egypt will fall to the Mullahs and Islamic fundamentalists. Unlike in the U.S. and Europe, it seems that the youth in the Muslim nations are more conservative or even fanatical than the older folks. I hope this is not so as Egypt, like Jordan, has been a moderate state but without Mubarak, what can happen?
MSNBC - treat these developments with the seriousness they deserve. Within the span of a minute during your 3:00Pm PST news broadcast you've used the "walk like an Egyptian" and "denial is not just a river in Egypt" - I guess mummy jokes are too high-brow? You, like the other media outlets doing the same, are a joke, and this is exactly why people looking for information are turning to Twitter and Facebook.
I understand that the Egyptian public is angry...and wants immediate change. However, I think Mubarak has moved reasonably quickly this time and given assurance that he will step down. Egypt needs an orderly transition. The only opposition group that seems relatively organized is the Islamic Brotherhood, who would love to swoop-in and inject their extremist version of government. The best plan for Egyptians is to allow the "moderate majority" to organize and hold free elections (assuming, hopefully, that democracy will be the new model).
I think he would step down as he is saying, if he is allowed to do so. He is 82 years old, and his health is declining. It's not like he can live forever anyway.