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National crisis unfolding in Egypt
Thousands of anti-government protesters are camped out in Cairo's Tahrir Square, after one deadline passed for embattled Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy to step down, and another one is looming.
Morsy was elected Egypt's president in June 2012, but critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian during his year in power and has failed to revive Egypt's economy.
In an exclusive interview in Cairo in January, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy told Wolf Blitzer that it would take time until real change came to Egypt.
"I would say to start real stability and development, there are steps," Morsy said. "We may take six months or a year. To reach what we want, I think we may take five or ten years to reach 60, 70 percent of what we want."
Today in the 6pm ET hour of "The Situation Room," CNN's Ben Wedeman reports on the latest unrest from Cairo. CNN's Fareed Zakaria and Christiane Amanpour also join Wolf Blitzer for analysis.
Related CNN iReport: Wolf interviews Egyptian President Morsy
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On Twitter
Alternative name – RECOUPVOLUTION!
It is wrong to call this a coup, it is misnomer because this is the Egyptian masses who demanded the removal of fundamentalist administration. Let's give the event a name – COUPVOLUTION!
Morsi was elected, They should change through peaceful and legal means. What will unfold in the coming 48 hours will determine the future of democracy in Egypt. George Washington said: "The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government" . I was in Cairo before and right after the revolution. the attitude of the people is that revolution means they can do whatever they want, including not obeying and respecting institutions. Absenteeism is high at the workplace since the revolution.
"They don't want Obama's interference in Egypt, so telling this guy to go, won't allow Obama to supply this Guy "Noisy Morsy' with 'Scramble the Jets' or Tanks!"
Omar Sharif said it eloquently; The People are hungry.
For food: poverty/unemployment.
Housing: Crushing lack of affordable housing.
Intimacy: Sexual assaults during protests underline the general sexual frustration of the population.
Democracy: has been hijacked by the Brotherhood.
Inspiration: Where is a strong charismatic leader? Egypt needs another Gamal Abdel Nasser, but a democratic/fair-minded one.
There are no easy answers, and it will take a herculean effort to revive a dead economy. But Morsi has certainly disappointed everyone – including his supporters, and got off on the wrong foot.
It will actually take effort, and courageousness from Egypt's leaders – courageousness to compromise and to offer new platforms for progress and reform. Unfortunately, while those things will take time, time alone is not likely to produce these outcomes. I sincerely hope the President offers a meaningful path; but I fear he intends to just wait it out.
I do find it ironic that he thinks protests are the birth pangs of people gaining experience.