Mohamed ElBaradei Says He Has A Mandate To Lead

On today's “CNN’s FAREED ZAKARIA GPS” Mohamed ElBaradei all but declares himself the new leader of Egypt.

"What I have been authorized, mandated by the people who organized these demonstrations and by many other parts of the Egyptians, (inaudible) if you like, to agree on a national unity government. And I hope that I would - I should be in touch too with the army, and we need to work together. The army is part of Egypt, and we have the highest respect for them as civilians, and we need to work together to get Egypt (inaudible)."

A video clip and a full transcript of the interview can be found at this link.

Mubarak's remaining time is now measurable in days or hours.

It won't be long now.

Egypt on the brink

See: Egypt president's son, family flee to Britain

If this is true, if Hosni Mubarak's son, the man that was being groomed to be the next leader of Egypt has fled the country, then revolution is at hand.

This could end up being another Iran or another Lebanon. Either way, it is bad for Egypt, bad for the West and bad for Israel.

The world is getting more dangerous.

Much more dangerous.

[Additional - 02:46]

See: REPORT: Egypt President Mubarak's Family Flees for UK

Fenway_Nation has a very good post on this topic. Take a look.

Hosni Mubarak And The End Of Peace In The Middle-East

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is not a nice man. Egypt owes him much. The world owes him much. And all the same, he is not a nice man.

Advancing in age, and reported to be suffering from terminal cancer, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will soon be unbound from this mortal coil. His long, difficult, and sometimes extremely unpleasant leadership of the people of Egypt will soon come to a close.

From those days long ago, immediately following the assassination of Anwar Sadatt, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has kept Egypt a relatively sane Muslim nation.

Egypt's peace with Israel, while strained and at times uncomfortable, has held.

How long will this peace last after Mubarak passes?

Would you give it days, weeks, months or optimistically, years?

When Mubarak leaves this world, the peace that we have enjoyed in the middle east, what little peace there was, may come to seem a golden age long past.

Pray for Egypt.

Pray for Israel.

Pray for all of us.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak To Undergo Gallbladder surgery.

It may not seem like much of a thing to take note of but think about what it could mean for Egypt and the world if something were to go wrong.

See: Egypt president to undergo gallbladder surgery

He is 81 years old.

He has been the President of Egypt since 1981. Now he is in his eighties. When he passes, Egypt may return to the strife and turmoil that preceded Mubarak's rule. The Muslim Brotherhood is a potent force in Egypt. They and a other factions will seek advantage and power in a post Mubarak Egypt.

Mubarak maintained stability in Egypt for almost 30 years.

His race is almost run.

What next then for Egypt?

UPDATE[19:53 March 7th, 2010] Operation Declared A Success.

He is still alive. But at 81 years of age, how long can we count on him to remain?