History is unfolding in Egypt, as almost a week of popular protests threatens President Hosni Mubarak’s authoritarian regime. Some analysts say his regime is now in terminal decline. But Prof. Rashid Khalidi is warning that the president may still resort to violence to maintain power.
Prof. Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. The BBC’s Yolande Knell is in Cairo. She says she sees “people of all different backgrounds in the square.” She reports that the army is in control, but that the relationship between the soldiers and the protesters is still friendly in Cairo.