Egypt Endgame from Marc Lynch

 by Marc Lynch

The Obama administration has been trying increasingly forcefully to persuade Hosni Mubarak to allow an "orderly transition" which is "meaningful."   The administration has sent this message privately through multiple channels and has gradually escalated its public statements up to the President's statement on Tuesday that the transition must be meaningful and must begin now.   Yesterday's frenzy 0f regime-orchestrated mob violence shows clearly that Mubarak is not interested in following this advice, and like so many dictators before him intends to cling to power by any means necessary.   By unleashing violence and refusing the demand for an immediate, meaningful transition, Mubarak has now violated two clear red lines laid down by the President.  There must be consequences.  It's time to meet escalation with escalation and lay out, in private and public, that the Egyptian military now faces a clear and painful choice:  push Mubarak out now and begin a meaningful transition, or else face international isolation and a major rupture with the United States.