U.S. Envoy: Mubarak ‘Must Stay’

This is not what Egypt’s protesters want to hear: America’s special envoy to Egypt, Frank Wisner, said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that embattled President Mubarak “must stay in office” as a condition of a handover in power. Wisner was presumed to be speaking on behalf of the U.S., but the State Department isn’t so sure; they said that view had not been coordinated with them first. Still, Wisner’s statement is consistent with reports that the U.S. views a powerless Mubarak as the best way to steer the country toward democracy. The New York Times reported that officials including Egypt Vice President Omar Suleiman are scheming to strip Mubarak of power, as has Carl Bernstein for The Daily Beast.