It's time for Obama to denounce Mubarak and his tactics explicity.

When his uniformed security police failed to suppress the protests, he stood them down (leaving neighbourhoods and museums unprotected), and called in the army. When the army refused to fire on protestors, he bid for time saying he wouldn't stand for reelection hoping he'd seem "reasonable".

This gave him time to implement that tried-and-true tactic of repressive regimes: organized gangs of thugs and paid supporters to beat-up on peaceful protestors. (We say this exact method after the most recent Iranian election protests.)

So will Obama go the final distance, denouce Mubarak, point out his dispicable tacts, and call for him to step down at once? I suspect that would finally be a US position broadly supported by the Arab street. But it might not happen: because after all Israel seems to like Mubarak better than the alternatives whatever their democratic credentials. And we know where American polititians get their marching orders.