CAIRO (Reuters) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday talks to resolve Egypt's crisis were making progress, but the main Islamist opposition in Cairo said it could quit the process if protesters' demands were not met.| Bet you never saw that coming... |
"Obviously, Egypt has to negotiate a path and they're making progress," Obama told reporters in Washington.
Protesters barricaded in a tent camp in Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo have vowed to stay until Mubarak quits and hope to take their two-week campaign to the streets with more mass demonstrations on Tuesday and Friday. Many young men dismissed the political dialogue taking place.
| No one gives a rat's ass what they think. Hasn't that been made obvious enough? |
The opposition has been calling for the constitution to be rewritten to allow free and fair presidential elections, a limit on presidential terms, the dissolution of parliament, the release of political detainees and lifting of emergency law.
"We are assessing the situation. We are going to reconsider the whole question of dialogue," the Brotherhood's Essam el-Erian told Reuters. "We will reconsider according to the results. Some of our demands have been met but there has been no response to our principal demands that Mubarak leave."
The potential rise to power of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, widely seen as by far the best organized opposition group, troubles Egypt's Western allies and neighbor Israel, which has a peace treaty with the Arab country.
Obama said on Sunday the Brotherhood lacks majority support.
| But he likes them just fine... |
"We have significant disagreements (with the Brotherhood)," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.
| "C'mon guys, don't blow it now!" |