Be careful what you wish for

You just might get it:

Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak is to step down Thursday night, two sources told NBC News, as widespread protests against his 30-year rule continue to grip the country. Following an all-day meeting of the country’s supreme military council, the army said all of the protesters’ demands would be met and that a further statement was due to be made later Thursday that would clarify the situation.

NBC News reported that a high-ranking source inside the president’s office said Mubarak would step down and the newly appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman, would take over. This was then confirmed by a second source. The news came following repeated warnings by members of the regime of a military crackdown or coup.

I’m a little surprised by these reports, as it was my impression that things were dying down and Mubarak had weathered the storm. But then, he’s old, and no doubt the army realized that they were going to have to deal with the succession sooner or later. They might as well face the issue now while they can get some credit with the populace for it. It will be interesting to see if the democracy fetishists are consistent in their demands for Egyptian democracy of the sort that is denied to Americans and Europeans or if their fear of an aggressive new Islamic democracy wins out.