Senior Intelligence Officer: ".. It was Suleiman who fed the report to the CIA about Saddam's alledged links to Bin Laden .."

"... The problem with that  is that while the status quo can be easily changed in the ruling party and the unpopular leaders removed from positions of influence, it is difficult to change it in the Governmental set-up under the present Constitution, which clearly provides that if the President quits, the Speaker of the Parliament would be sworn in as the officiating  President till fresh elections are held.  However, there is a provision in the Constitution under which Mubarak, while continuing to be the de jure President, can delegate the powers of the President to his Vice-President who will thus become the de facto President and could co-ordinate the arrangements for the elections without Mubarak playing any role in it. It is doubtful whether the protesters would agree to such an arrangement because of the close association of Suleiman with Mubarak for nearly two decades and his equally close association with the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It was he who allegedly fed the report to the CIA about Saddam Hussein's alleged links with Osama bin Laden, which former President George Bush used as one of the excuses to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Thus, the position is: Suleiman is acceptable to Mubarak and his followers and the US as interim head of a transitional Government, but he may not be acceptable to the protesters. El Baradei may be acceptable to the protesters, but he cannot head the transitional set-up under the present Constitution.

It seems U.S. has conveyed to Mubarak, Suleiman, Egyptian people through, and the political leaders still on the sidelines, through Amanpour and Wisner that “We ourselves want Mubarak to go now, but there could be constitutional difficulties. Let him continue till September. We guarantee that he won't thereafter.”