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By refusing to leave office the Egyptian president has exposed America’s inability to decisively influence events The Obama administration was embarrassingly wrongfooted when the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak confounded expectations by refusing to leave office. Mubarak’s speech came just hours after Barack Obama and the director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, appeared to give credence to the rumours that the Egyptian president was heading for the exit. Obama has been putting pressure on Mubarak since last week to stand down straight away, but Mubarak, in a televised address tonight, said he would not bow to international pressure, a direct snub to the US president. Mubarak’s response provides a graphic illustration of America’s slow decline from its status as the world’s sole superpower to a position where it is unable to decisively influence events in Egypt, in spite of that country being one of the biggest recipients of US military aid. Since the uprising began, the Obama administration has shifted from solidly supporting Mubarak, to suggesting a few days later that he should go now, only to back him at the weekend to remain in office until the autumn – a decision that the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, reversed hours later when she threw US support behind the Egyptian vice-president, Omar Suleiman. But even support for Suleiman may leave US policy trailing behind events in Egypt, with the vice-president seen as too close to Mubarak. Obama, speaking in Michigan, sought to align the US belatedly with the demonstrators of Tahrir Square, acknowledging their role in the uprising. His words seemed to pave the way for Mubarak to go, but, as throughout the crisis, they were ambiguous enough to be open to various interpretations. The US president can now say he was only speaking generally about the Egyptian crisis. He told an audience of students: “What is absolutely clear is that we are witnessing history unfolding. It’s a moment of transformation that’s taking place because the people of Egypt are calling for change. “They’ve turned out in extraordinary numbers and all ages and all walks of life … And so going forward, we want all Egyptians to know America will continue to do everything we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in Egypt.” Barack Obama Hosni Mubarak Egypt Protest US foreign policy Obama administration US politics Middle East United States Ewen MacAskill guardian.co.uk