"the new york times" nicholas kristof was there. >> reporter: richard, there were huge and growing crowds today. there was no violence largely because the police pulled back and seemed to avoid confrontations after the previous deaths. it was also striking how many women there were involved in the protests. >> i'm here to be with my brothers and my sisters. we want democracy, we want a free country. >> reporter: trouble in bahrain could further destabilize the region and u.s. interests. bahrain is the base of the navy's fifth fleet and has a sectarian divide. the royal family is sunni. 70% of the people and nearly all of the protesters are shiites. the same explosive mix as in iraq. protests are spreading there too. iraq was supposed to be the model for democratic success in the region. but iraqis complain about corruption and the lack of services and security. major demonstrations are planned against the iraqi government next week. and here in egypt, brian, demonstrations are supposed to start again on friday to celebrate, but also warn the army that the people here expect democracy. >>

i talked by phone a short time ago to "new york times" columnist nicholas kristof. what kind of reaction have you been able to get so far after president mubarak's announcement? >> well, i think people frkly findt... there is a strong sense that people want him out and out now. and the idea that he can say, oh, you know, i won't run for re-election is just so far from, you know, from people's demands that it's, it's not going to placate people. the idea that the u.s. would devote political capital to try to get him to, you know, say that he won't run for re-election also seems kind of remarkable. >> brown: what is the situation on the streets where you are now? what are you seeing? what kind of security is out there? how many people? what's going on? >> well, there are still people, many fewer than in the day or early evening. outside, things are pretty dead and pretty quiet. a lot of neighborhoods you still have these barricades, sort of check points, you know, in some cases every 100 yards with, you know, people carrying ubs, bats, in some cases machetes, occasion