WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has called on the now-ruling Egyptian military to ensure a transition towards "genuine democracy," saying that the people of Egypt had spoken.
Obama gave a statement Friday, soon after it emerged from a euphoric Cairo that President Hosni Mubarak, a 30-year US ally who America subtly helped push towards the exit, had resigned after days of raging street protests.
"The people of Egypt have spoken -- their voices have been heard and Egypt will never be the same," Obama said.
"Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day," Obama said, praising the military for safeguarding the state, but also calling on them to secure a credible political transition.
The US administration had struggled for days to find ways of making an impact on the 18-day crisis, as Mubarak had defied pressure to end his long authoritarian rule.
Obama had ratcheted up calls for a peaceful, swift transition to democracy, and on Friday pledged that the United States would stand with the people of Egypt -- one of America's staunchest allies and a recipient of some two billion dollars in annual aid.
"By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian peoples' hunger for change," Obama said in his brief statement.
On taking power Friday, the military moved quickly to reassure the citizens whose street revolt toppled Mubarak that it would respect the popular will.
And the White House called on the new authorities in Egypt to honor existing peace agreements with Israel.
"It is important the next government of Egypt recognize the accords that have been signed with the government of Israel," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Mubarak's hurried departure Friday -- a day after he said he would stay until September's elections -- will have brought relief in Washington, facing a dearth of options to force an end to the crisis.
But Mubarak's exit also posed searching questions about future US Middle East policy, with a possible power vacuum in Egypt.
Obama nevertheless hailed the toppling of the Arab strongman, brought down by two weeks of mass protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, as a defining moment in world history.
"The word Tahrir means liberation. It's a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom," Obama said.
The president also drew parallels to other tumultuous world events, referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Indonesian revolt against president Suharto, and Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi.
He called on the armed forces to ensure a political transition that was "credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people," warning of "difficult days ahead."
"Over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace, as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights," he said.
And he emphasized the peaceful nature of the uprising.
"Egyptians have inspired us and they've done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence," Obama said.
"For Egypt, it was the moral force of non-violence, not terrorism, not mindless killing, but non-violence, moral force, that bent the arc of history towards justice one more."
The Pentagon announced that the top US military commander will visit Israel and Jordan Sunday and Monday to reaffirm US support following the collapse of the Mubarak presidency.
Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will begin his trip in Amman where he will meet with King Abdullah II and his Jordanian counterpart, Lieutenant General Meshaal Al-Zabn.
"He will discuss security issues of mutual concern and reassure both these key partners of the US military's commitment to that partnership," Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said.
In Israel, Mullen will hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and the country's military leaders.
US lawmakers on Friday were also weighing tighter controls on exports that can help repressive regimes cling to power.
"We continue to watch and have concerns about the misuse of any equipment that the United States provides or sells to another nation," said a spokesman for the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Josh Holly.
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