Seventeen days after Egyptians first took to the streets to protest the autocratic regime of President Hosni Mubarak, it looked like they would finally get what they wanted. Reports coming out of Egypt earlier today suggested that Mubarak would soon step down. Some reports suggested he would hand power to Vice President Omar Suleiman, while others said the military would take control of the country. (Mubarak has since spoken to the Egyptian people, and did not resign.) Here's how commentators considered the ramifications of Mubarak's imminent exit:
This may not mean greater freedom: Mubarak's resignation would be a symbolic victory for the protestors, says Jay Bookman at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But "we won’t know for months — and perhaps years — whether that translates into greater freedom and democracy for the Egyptian people." The military will likely take command of the country, and "once they have power, they have a way of growing too fond of it."
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