U.S. still seeks transition as scene turns violent

WASHINGTON — Just 12 hours after President Obama stood in the Grand Foyer of the White House on Tuesday evening and publicly commended the lack of violence around the anti-government protests in Egypt, machete-wielding thugs galloped into Cairo's main square on horses and camels and began to attack the protesters.

By lunchtime Wednesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was standing in the press briefing room condemning the dramatic events playing out at the hands of forces loyal to embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Gibbs repeatedly reinforced what Obama had said the night before: a transition to a new government, without Mubarak as its head, must begin now.

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"Now means now," Gibbs said, as live images of firebombs raining from rooftops and ambulances screaming across Cairo were broadcast around the world.

From the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon, fresh details emerged Wednesday about the administration's behind-the-scenes efforts to respond to and manage an unsettling and fast-moving crisis that has gripped Washington for more than a week.

Obama's new chief of staff stated the problem plainly early Wednesday. "This is out of our control," William Daley told reporters at a breakfast hosted by Bloomberg News. "We don't control this."

Daley said the president has been in "constant communications" with his senior foreign policy aides, intelligence officials and others since the protests began last week. Before he spoke out on Tuesday evening, the president also had what Gibbs called a "direct and frank" — but private — talk with Mubarak.

• CLASHES: Protesters, Mubarak supporters square off

Obama "did end his call by telling the president that he would remain in contact," Gibbs said.

Other top officials also worked the phones. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen spoke to his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Sami Enan, for a second time Wednesday, according to spokesman John Kirby. Mullen "reiterated his desire to see the situation return to calm," Kirby said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates also called his counterpart, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Omar Suleiman, Egypt's intelligence chief. She urged Suleiman, who was named vice president by Mubarak on Saturday, to ensure the government holds those responsible for the violence accountable.

"We are doing an aggressive, active outreach to a broad range of figures," State department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. Former ambassador Frank Wisner, dispatched by the White House this week to talk to Mubarak, was on his way back from Cairo on Wednesday.

As top officials have reached out to those in power in Egypt, staff members continued to game out scenarios for how the protests could be brought to an end, how a new Egyptian government could be formed and what the changes will mean for the United States, the global economy and security worldwide.

"These are very fluid and dynamic events," Gibbs said. "What we've seen happen over the course of the past many days, quite honestly, are events that many people have not seen, nobody's seen in their lifetime."

On Monday morning, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, members of Obama's National Security Council sought some outside counsel. They invited about 20 Egypt experts to discuss the administration's options for dealing with the potential overthrow of a man who has ruled as an autocrat but has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East for three decades.

"There was pretty near consensus in the room that there was no realistic solution to this crisis if Mubarak holds on, and that the longer he holds on, the greater the likelihood of something terrible happening, such as we're seeing today or worse," said Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch, who was there.

He said most attendees felt the "administration's message had evolved in a good direction" in support of the protesters after initial expressions of support for Mubarak's regime. "I came away with the impression that they were very sober and realistic about the situation."

Officials also have been reticent to react too fast after Clinton said on Jan. 25, the day protests broke out, that the U.S. government's "assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable."

Earlier this week, the White House limited the news media's access to Obama. During a Cabinet meeting and the signing of a nuclear arms treaty — events where reporters would typically ask the president a few questions — only photographers were allowed in.

Gibbs told reporters: "Some things in foreign policy ... have to be done away from the TV cameras."

As top officials have reached out to those in power in Egypt, staff members continued to game out scenarios for how the protests could be brought to an end, how a new Egyptian government could be formed and what the changes will mean for the United States, the global economy and security worldwide.

"These are very fluid and dynamic events," Gibbs said. "What we've seen happen over the course of the past many days, quite honestly, are events that many people have not seen, nobody's seen in their lifetime."

On Monday morning, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, members of Obama's National Security Council sought some outside counsel. They invited about 20 Egypt experts to discuss the administration's options for dealing with the potential overthrow of a man who has ruled as an autocrat but has been a key U.S. ally in the Middle East for three decades.

"There was pretty near consensus in the room that there was no realistic solution to this crisis if Mubarak holds on, and that the longer he holds on, the greater the likelihood of something terrible happening, such as we're seeing today or worse," said Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch, who was there.

He said most attendees felt the "administration's message had evolved in a good direction" in support of the protesters after initial expressions of support for Mubarak's regime. "I came away with the impression that they were very sober and realistic about the situation."

Officials also have been reticent to react too fast after Clinton said on Jan. 25, the day protests broke out, that the U.S. government's "assessment is that the Egyptian government is stable."

Earlier this week, the White House limited the news media's access to Obama. During a Cabinet meeting and the signing of a nuclear arms treaty — events where reporters typically would ask the president a few questions — only photographers were allowed in.

Gibbs told reporters: "Some things in foreign policy ... have to be done away from the TV cameras."

Contributing: Susan Page, Tom Vanden Brook