Clinton calls for orderly transition in Egypt

Some of the thousands of Egyptian protesters shout anti-Mubarak slogans during a protest in Cairo. -AP Photo

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Sunday for an orderly transition in Egypt but stopped short of demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down as protests engulfed his regime.

Mubarak, who appointed military intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his first ever vice president on Saturday and named a new premier to try to assuage his peoples thirst for change, must go further, Clinton said.

That is the beginning, the bare beginning of what needs to happen, which is a process that leads to the kind of concrete steps to achieve democratic and economic reform that weve been urging, she told ABC News.

As the anti-government revolt in Egypt raged into a sixth day amid increasing lawlessness and mass jail breaks, Clinton did a sweep of Sunday morning talk shows in the United States to outline the US position.

Were trying to promote an orderly transition and change that will respond to the legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people, which the protests are all about, she told CBS.

We are urging the Mubarak government, which is still in power, we are urging the military, which is a very respected institution in Egypt, to do what is necessary to facilitate that kind of orderly transition.

President Barack Obamas administration has performed a delicate balancing act over the past week, pushing for reform while refusing to cut off its crucial military aid or call directly on Mubarak, a longtime ally, to go.

There is no discussion as of this time about cutting off any aid to Egypt, Clinton reiterated on ABC.