Storms start to move out of Minnesota, continue for western Wisconsin

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

      WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 2,400 Americans have contacted U.S.
officials seeking government-chartered evacuation flights from
Egypt as anti-government protests continue to roil the country, the
State Department said Monday.

      The department said more than 220 have already left on the
special flights and more are scheduled. It expects to evacuate
about 900 U.S. citizens from Egypt on Monday and another 1,000 on
Tuesday. Amid the chaos at the airport, the department warned those
wishing to take the flights from Cairo to Cyprus, Greece or Turkey
that they should prepare for lengthy waits at the airport and they
should bring food, water and other necessities.

      The department said the majority of U.S. citizens wanting to
leave are in Cairo but that others are in the cities of Alexandria,
Luxor and Aswan.

      Assistant Secretary of State Janice Jacobs told reporters Sunday
that she expects it will take several flights over the coming days
to handle the number of Americans who want to leave Egypt, where
rioters are threatening to overturn the ruling regime of Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.

      Jacobs acknowledged that Internet interruptions in Egypt are
making it difficult for Americans there to get information about
the evacuations. But she said they have been able to get
information from people in the United States who do have access to
State Department and embassy websites.

      Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appealed for an
orderly transition to lasting democracy in Egypt even as escalating
violence threatened Mideast stability. She refused to speculate on
Mubarak's future and his teetering government, but said U.S.
officials "obviously want to see people who are truly committed to
democracy, not to imposing any ideology on Egyptians."

      She warned Sunday against a takeover resembling the one in Iran,
with a "small group that doesn't represent the full diversity of
Egyptian society" seizing control and imposing its ideological
beliefs.

      Though the U.S. military is closely watching developments, the
Defense Department has not been asked to involve itself in the
State Department's evacuation plan, Marine Col. Dave Lapan, a
Defense Department spokesman, said Monday.

      That presumably could change if the threat to Americans in Egypt
were to become too great and if it becomes impossible for citizens
to get out of the country commercially.

      The U.S. wants to see "real democracy" emerge in Egypt,
Clinton said, "not a democracy for six months or a year and then
evolving into essentially a military dictatorship or a so-called
democracy that then leads to what we saw in Iran."

      Clinton. who was interviewed on five Sunday morning news shows,
made clear there are no discussions at this time about cutting off
aid to Egypt, which receives about $1.5 billion in annual foreign
assistance from the U.S. to help modernize its armed forces and
strengthen regional security and stability. White House spokesman
Robert Gibbs had said Friday that military and civilian aid was
under review.


      Jacobs said the U.S. will have enough flights to take out all
American citizens and dependents who want to leave. And the U.S.
may also send charter planes to other cities in Egypt, such as
Luxor, if there are a number of Americans stranded there. She said
Americans with tickets on commercial airlines should first contact
those carriers about getting out.


      Americans taking the charter will be billed for the cost of the
flight and will need to make their own travel arrangements home
after arriving in Europe.


      According to the State Department there are about 52,000
Americans registered with the embassy in Cairo. Officials noted,
however, that many people don't register - or deregister when they
leave - and some Americans may not want to leave.

      Americans looking for information on the flights should monitor
the State Department and embassy websites or send an e-mail to
egyptemergencyusc(at)state.gov. They can also call toll-free,
1-888-407-4747, from within the U.S. and Canada. From outside the
U.S. and Canada people can call 1-202-501-4444.

Gallery

Egyptian reform leader calls on Mubarak to go

Face of Mideast unrest: young and hungry for jobs

Clinton: Egypt must transition to democracy

More than 2,400 Americans have contacted U.S.
officials seeking government-chartered evacuation flights from
Egypt as anti-government protests continue to roil the country, the
State Department said Monday.

More than 2,400 Americans seek Egypt evacuation

Go Deeper.

Like this?