The Egyptian 'Street' Rises

Making News

US Treads a Delicate Line Reacting to Events in Egypt ()

As soldiers took over for riot police, tanks rolled through the streets of Cairo and Alexandria tonight.  Tens of thousands of protesters were demanding the removal of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak. In Washington, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the US has repeatedly supported the human rights of the Egyptian people. Clinton also called on protesters to refrain from violence.  Mark Landler is Diplomatic Correspondent for the New York Times.

Guests:

• Mark Landler: Diplomatic Correspondent, New York Times, @Marklandler

Main Topic

History in the Making on the Streets of Egypt ()

In Egypt tonight, tens of thousands of protesters defied both tear gas and an official curfew imposed in Alexandria, Suez, Cairo and other parts of the country. In Cairo and Alexandria, the Army was deployed and embraced by demonstrators after brutal violence by the riot police. The government has shut down most lines of communication with the rest of the world. Well into the evening, President Hosni Mubarak, the Army's Commander in Chief, had yet to be heard from. There were reports that his family had left the country. Can his 30-year-old administration survive tonight's unprecedented uprising? What about the rest of the Middle East? What does the Obama Administration have to say? 

Guests:

• Ellen Knickmeyer: Contributor, Foreign Policy magazine
• Mona Eltahawy: Egyptian-born syndicated columnist, @monaeltahawy
• Steven Cook: Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, @stevenacook
• Mariam Memarsadeghi: Iranian-American human rights activist

Links:

• The Tunisia uprising and the Arab world (TtP on)
• Al Jazeera (English)
• President Obama on the situation in Egypt

Reporter's Notebook

Challenger Disaster and Its Impact on the Space Program ()

NASA was created to run America's race into space after the Soviet Union launched the orbiting satellite Sputnik in 1958. Twenty-five years ago, the Challenger spacecraft exploded 73 seconds after launch. Six astronauts and school teacher Christa McAuliffe lost their lives. What's happened to NASA and America's competition with other nations in space? Joan Johnson-Freese, author of Heavenly Ambitions: America's Quest to Dominate Space, is Professor of National Security Studies at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Guests:

• Joan Johnson-Freese: Chair of National Security Studies, Naval War College

Links:

• Johnson-Freese on how Challenger brought NASA 'down to earth'