will he represent all egyptians? this is what he said on state television a few hours ago listen. >> to all sectors of the people, to my people, my tribe, i say to them to this momentous day that today, with your election and with your -- after the this i am representing all egyptians whatever they are inside or abroad. >> mohamed morsi, egypt's new president. will he unify the country? so many are still suspicious of the muslim brotherhood. cnn's chief international correspondent and abc world news global anchor christiane amanpour in cairo. what is morsi promising the egyptian people and do they believe him? >> reporter: hala, that is the impression for the majority of egyptians. we have so many people in tahrir square still celebrating. this will go on a long time. they have fireworks, people streaming in from all over cairo and other parts of egypt, they're celebrating as well. mohamed morsi was urged to embrace all egyptians and work for national reconciliation. his speech, as you mentioned, did say he would be

/egyptian relations. all these issues are very important, and we're going to try to address them today. i am very pleased to have such a distinguished panel with us today. many of these people have -- i've known over the years, and they have all contributed to my knowledge and understanding of egyptian society and egyptian politics. so i'd like to spend just a few minutes to introduce each of the panelists, and then we can start with the discussion. to my left is mr. kareem ha gog, who is a career egyptian diplomat spending this year as a visiting faculty member at the near east south asia center of the national defense university here in washington, d.c., where he is focusing on the implications of the arab revolutions. prior to this, he was at the egyptian press information office in washington, d.c., from 2007 to 2011. from 2002 to 2007 he served in the office of the presidency in cairo, responsible for u.s./egyptian relations and economic policy coordination. he did a previous stint in washington at t

that's what the egyptian military wants.onomic interests and perks, their own factories and own businesses. they don't want to pay taxes and they want these privilege ls economic as well as maintained. my fear is they will not end up like the turnish military, might do to egypt what pakistani military did to pakistan. that's the main fear of those criticizing or critics of the military. >> tell me what that fear is. we talk a lot about the turkish model for the middle east. what is -- what are the perils of the pakistani model for egypt? >> you would have a great deal of corruption. no supervision. tremendous graph, no real checks and balances. you would have a formal democratic functions but not necessarily a real democracy. i always remind people that elections are not synonymous with democracy. democracy is much more than that. so far, we don't have democracy in egypt. that should be clear. you don't have independent judiciary rin the real sense. you don't have checks and balances in the real sense. >> these people in the

they are all egyptians. there is no differences whatsoever among the people in egypt, the people of egypt based on anything like belief or sex or whatever you call or you name. >> reporter: so before the elections, those were his words. people here are going to keep him to it because as i said, they're very concerned that they do have all their rights protected. he kept talking about a constitution, a constitution has not yet been written. also, let's not forget that right now he is the president of egypt, but he doesn't have much power because the military holds all the power. staff, the supreme council of the armed forces has dissolved. all these questions are out there to be resolved in the future. and mohamed morsi does come from the more conservative wing of the muslim brotherhood, although he has resigned officially from the muslim brotherhood the moment he was named as the president elect. >> all right. we are going to be analyzing all of this in great detail, what happens next, the lack of constituti

hello and welcome to crossfire can you tell about a revolution misunderstood so egyptians will go to the polls to democratically elected president but what about the choice is this a contest pitting the military against islam is this election in other changes in the arab middle east living up to the hopes and aspirations of the arab spring. and. to cross-talk what's next for the arab revolutions i'm joined by greg roman in tel aviv he is the director of development at the global research in international affairs center at the interdisciplinary center in cairo we have avi sapir oh he is a journalist and writer and in austin we cross to michael brenner he is a professor of international relations at the university of texas all right gentlemen crosstalk rosena take that means you can jump in anytime you want i mean if i go to you first in cairo how would you describe the choice of gyptian is have when it comes to the presidential election well first of all thanks for having me you know a lot of people see it as a difficult choice between now islam as and the remnants of the old regime b

the majority of egyptians didn't vote in 2005. the loss of votes by muslim brothers between the parliamentary elections and the presidential elections says a lot. the parliament elections, 47% of the vote. what does this tell us about the performance? this tells us actually a very interesting thing about the people that they are choosing for themselves, and they know how to penalize poor performances, and they have a point of view, and they don't just go after rice and oil and sugar and other things. so this is a very important point that the revolution did win, and the revolution did lose, in these elections. and i think -- again, you can call me a conspiracy theorists. we're just throwing some messages here because as tom said the situation is very unclear. i think the national democratic institute -- the national democratic party, its structures, its personnel, its networks, its family networks, they are still functioning very well. maybe the showing in the parliamentary elections was intentional. they kept an intentionally low

the middle east news agency saying that the egyptian -- former egyptian leader, i should say, is clinicallycairo. even as we're reporting this, ivan, behind you thousands and thousands of protesters have gathered at tahrir square in cairo unrelated to mubarak directly. they have other issues on their agenda, but i wonder if word is spreading there that m.e.n.a. is reporting that mubarak is "clinically dead". >> well, we just had a volley of fireworks go off. i'm not sure yet whether that information is seeping out. what we are seeing is on egyptian state television bulletins going across saying mubarak has been moved from the prison hospital to madi hospital and that his health continues to deteriorate there. and another statement coming across state television saying that efforts are being made to keep him alive right now. so this is following reports that emerged from the egyptian prosecutor's office within the last two to three hours saying that he had suffered a heart attack, that he had been revived using electric shocks and cpr and that he was being examined by military doctors. so it

well it may sound harsh but to me this election is not about what the egyptian people want it's about what the usa once the about the fact is that the egyptian egypt is run by a military council who was put in power by basically with the u.s. approval last year with the overthrow of mubarak the united states has invested something like one hundred billion dollars in today's dollars. keeping the egyptian military funded and that's because the united states has to keep control of the suez canal a lot of people don't realize that the united states is now a second rate economic power but still the world's superpower militarily and something like two thirds of the world's commerce passes through the suez canal every day of the major trading partners of the world is between ager in europe and it's all passes through the suez canal including all the western energy from the persian gulf so the united states cannot afford to lose control of the suez canal and this is what this election looks pretty rigged i mean the rules have been changed since the last election and the you know the reality i

these are not your average sort of working-class egyptians. these are very much people from the upper echelons of society. you can see as our camera is having a good walk around, i'll wander with them if we can, this could be a sense of this meeting. it's not that big at all. probably about 20 tables of people here. as i say, many of them sort of nervously looking at their mobile phones and listening to this broadcast as it's made on tv screens behind us. people obviously getting impatient. there's a hubbub here as this lengthy sort of results is read out. it's not -- it's not packed to the rafters as expected. it's being held in a sort of five-star hotel right out on the edge of town. there was in the election earlier a huge traffic jam to get here caused by a horrific accident on the freeway. that may have prevented a lot of people getting here who wanted to get here. certainly it's not the kind of jam packed meeting that one would anticipate for such a crucial juncture in the history of -- political history of egypt. >> dan rivers live with

every egyptian including the christian egyptians and women in particular. there are a lot of people who are apprehensive and in a somber mood in egypt. those who are common traiting in tahrir are obviously his supporters. let's not forget the simple fact. 50% of the egyptians elected to stay home. the other 50 were divided almost right smack in the middle between shafiq who represented the military and all those who were for the islamists. in the end we're talking about a man who was elected by 25% of the egyptian electorate. and the challenge now for him is how to manage to grab as much power from the military as possible and to allay the concerns of some. >> brown: what about egypt in the world now? we heard him, morsi say he would abide by all international agreements. notably with israel. what do you expect to see happen? >> he said that twice actually. he repeated it in the address. i think for the short term very little is going to happen in terms of change with regard to egypt's regional or international outlook. the egyptian-israeli peace accord isn

he a very, very sharp, funny observer of egyptian politics but we thought, boy, before he comes out, maybe we should do a quick review of what's been going on-- not that americans report up on it. we're up on it. we've-- up on it. ( laughter ) so here's what's going on. hosni mubarak, was egypt's leader, u.s.-backed leader for 30 years. he was immensely popular amongst his people, typically winning elections between 98% and 127% of the votes. ( laughter ) in any given election. he was so beloved so popular, last winter his people demanded he take a well-deserved retirement. ( laughter ) lest they grow to love him. they just didn't want to smother him. so where is he now? >> the big story here today is breaking, a report that former egyptian hosni mubarak is clinically dead. ( laughter ) >> jon: the news now official, 11:15 p.m., eastern standard time, hosni mubarak-- sorry, we're getting an update. >> the former egyptian president hosni mubarak is now reportedly in a coma. >> jon: okay, he was dead, but now he's in a coma. wait, how can you tell? whenever you see him he's just on a b

well it may be it may be i mean all the egyptians are. completely hostile to the mood and others in the been saying for a long time since i've been going to egypt that they would one day take power and godspell the country when that happened i don't know any egyptian who talks otherwise but the muslim brothers i don't believe are willing to plunge the country into some kind of. torment because they'll lose to everybody is the lose and i would guess that actually are extremely practical and people and they're not really given to casting your throat. and i think they probably will manage in the end to come to some sort of deal about the constitution that's being written which will give the muslim brothers at least cover. the muslim brothers will be able to accept that and then we'll see what the next development is going to be probably to do with the shia sunni split and the attitude taken by saudi arabia and whether the money's coming of what the americans are doing and all the other great big factors ok back to you in tel aviv what is thi

the majority of the people of the egyptians support them ok when she goes with them in good faith. let me put it. ok you know if you can answer that and then we're going to david go ahead. again i think that the military sees this is a zero sum game and it's partly because mubarak himself set up a situation in which is either him or the islamists that's kind of a situation that he himself helped build and now that he's gone the military is playing by that same zero sum game ok david is that a very smart move because it didn't work it doesn't work for dictators very well. doesn't does what what's happening i think is that nine hundred seventy nine was a really important date in history the downfall of the shah and the arrival of. iran changed the whole picture and we have on the move now and it is spreading from country to country and the example of turkey which you mentioned is crucial to erdogan has managed to get the army out of politics with the blessing of the european union who had no idea what they were doing the result is we have three hundred generals and admirals in bars a

so there really is no clearly defined center in egyptian politics as of yet anyhow. and what we have now is the polar extremes represented by mr. mursi and general shafiq. so given this background, what can we expect heading into the runoff? i think much will depend on how the next three weeks develop. we will see two competing processes, i think, between now and the 16th. we will see a process of politics and a process of protest. the process of politics has already begun with the two leading candidates beginning to woo the independent voters that have broken for the three candidates who didn't make it into the second round. and there are all sorts of talks of political maneuverings, deals between the candidates, certain guarantees, especially on the part of the muslim brotherhood for the independent candidates to give them their support. so that i think will be one process that we will see. the other competing process will be represented by the protesters. and here, this is what we've seen over the course of the last 24 hours, whereby the disaffected revolutionarie

great deal of the egyptian economy and they're accustomed to command and as i say they're very tough minded people and you don't want to meddle with them because if they have to they were using extreme methods you know nasa did in the end did. barack was none too kind and that's what will happen there will be another one in succession if the muslim brothers try anything like that it's expected by other arabs that they will i mean the people of. hamas rule of dancing in the streets expecting exactly what we're talking about and they think this means violence and they're very happy about that. poor people. the storm over their heads if what they want should ever god forbid go back to you in tel aviv what is the nature of democracy now i mean are people going to give up on it i mean if the military isn't going to let people elect people into power if they voted for what's the use of it well again i have to agree with david that what we're seeing in egypt is not democracy because democracy is not simply me how. do you think that you think through tomorrow. the parliament was legitimate w

but egyptians themselves in a conventional egyptian criminal court have put their own former leads on trial. their own former prime minister has been tried and convicted. today it was their president hosni mubarak, a man who was so closely associated with the enduring leadership of the arab world, man whose downfall now speaks volumes about the enormous changes under way. our cairo bureau chief ben wedeman has been every step of the way in a the arab spring and enormous changes in egypt and he's at the courthouse today. ben, an enormous signal of what may be ahead for the people of egypt, a day many will hope they saw justice delivered. >> reporter: yes, certainly it's big day for the people of ee jiptd, a historic day. but, of course, right out here outside the court it is very tense. already we've seen people running back and forth, some of the protesters are throwing rocks in the direction of the security forces in some cases. just a few minutes ago we saw a young man run by here saying we're sorry, mr. president, and that sparked a fairly violent first fight right next to us. so e

and we do have some breaking news according to the egyptian state run news agency. a former president hosni mubarak was clinically dead upon arrival at the military hospital where he was moved from his prison hospital. for more on the latest developments in egypt, joined by a middle east expert who formerly served as an adviser in the u.s. state department. thank you for joining us. can i get your immediate reaction? >> it is going to be important news. the large a because just two days before egypt will announce his successor, and there is suspicion about the military greater powers, we have the death of hosni mubarak. this will add to the tension in egypt and will also divert some of the attention from the election. >> we have not confirm these reports as yet, but economists, as you say, at an unstable time for egypt. -- but it comes, as you say, at an unstable time for egypt. how do you think the people on tahrir square will react? >> it will take the issue of his trial and sentencing of the table. down the road, there will be one contentious issue off the table.

i think mubarak's health is not a factor at all in the decision-making of the egyptian masses. but they are concerned, number one is the possibility that the election that they just went through may be stolen from them by fraud by either side, either the islamists or the military. and second, that the military may not respect the outcome of the elections and hold on to a certain amount of power, even after they are supposed to be a transition. >> if mubarak lives or dies or die imminently, will be a factor at all on any of these protests? >> no, i think it's in political terms, it's not going to make much of a difference. a lot of egyptians would have liked to see him go to jail and suffer the punishment of the years of abuse but it has to do with this tug of war between the islamists and the military. the election is going to be very close. it looks as though moresi has won, no one knows for sure. either way, it's going to be contested on the streets. that's what we're seeing now in tahrir square. >> they've been chanting, down with military rule, we're not finish -- we're goi

these common themes throughout modern egyptian history.in terms of what it means on a practical level for the united states i think that long distance first not an american story. egyptians are writing their own history and i think the administration has struck the right tone here. they have stepped aside, they have emphasized first principles principles but which we like to believe that we live here in the united states. we've set an expectation about a democratic transition and then sten usually have left it to the egyptian people. after all they have decided to elect mohammed morsi as the president. the united states needs now to be good to its work and also recognizing the history of the united states's involvement with mubarak's egypt needs to take a step back a little bit here and recognize that washington is profoundly unpopular and that it could do more harm than good by speaking out as forcefully as some suggest. >> what will be the reaction with the rest of the arab world and turkey and iran. >> well for the... now i think that t

egyptians have already elected a new call of enter on the good will bow to the new president to how do those who took to toughest square during the revolution last year are you about the way the country looks now. well obviously the attention the country is squarely fixed on the events of the trial today but in recent months the focus on the trial has waned largely as egyptians focus on the results of first the parliamentary elections and then the recent presidential elections. i spoke to a mother from alexandria just a little bit earlier who was in the crowd behind me her son mohammed had not he was killed in the uprising at alexandria last year she described to me how a verdict that would at least put mubarak behind bars would feel would fill her heart with joy but at the same time she felt that the reason the recent presidential. results that did not yield the candidate that would represent the interests of youth and many of the marchers like her son who went out into the streets and made demands for change did not yield a candidate that would meet their interests and she said that

i think this is what the egyptians should rally around, getting egyptians out of the economic crisis right now. >> we tend to focus on democracy, and in egypt, it is about the economy? perhaps the economy has replaced the goal of democracy and the revolution? >> i would not say it has replaced it, but it has taken center stage for most people. without getting to work as the man so eloquently said in their package, all of the goals of the revolution won't be realized without a job. what the president needs to do is get the right people in the right places in his cabinet to fix the problems and create jobs in egypt. that is the number one priority. >> the white house just last night said again that it is deeply concerned about women's rights and religious minorities under the muslim brotherhood. do you think those concerns are still well-founded? >> i think concerns like that are shared in egypt as well. we find that women are as likely as men to support the freedom justice party. the rise of the islamists is not well founded in the evidence. the other thing we found is that supporters