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Vice President Omar Suleiman announced this morning as Uprising was airing live that President Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as President after 30 years in power. Finally relenting to weeks of pressure on the streets of Egypt, the U.S. backed dictator has ended the stalemate.

In a strange turn of events in Egypt yesterday, the military issued a Communique which aired on the pro-Mubarak state television station saying “Based on the responsibility of the armed forces and its commitment to protect the people and its keenness to protect the nation… and in support of the legitimate demands of the people [the army] will continue meeting on a continuous basis to examine measures to be taken to protect the nation and its gains and the ambitions of the great Egyptian people.” Earlier in the day a Military commander addressed protesters in Tahrir Square saying “everything you want will be realized.” This was followed by the U.S. CIA Director Leon Panetta telling Reuters news agency that there was a “strong likelihood” that Mubarak would announce his resignation that day. Even the state television station began finally running footage of the protests contradicting their earlier stance. Millions of Egyptians poured out onto the streets, jammed into Tahrir Square and a mood of celebration broke out. Al Jazeera English intensified its round-the-clock coverage and even CNN stayed focused on the events in anticipation of Mubarak’s announced resignation.

President Mubarak was thought to be handing over much of his power to his appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman and some reports alleged that the Army intervened in order to temporarily take power to transition to a civilian government. However, after several postponements the President finally appeared on State Television only to announce in somewhat vague but yet unmistakable terms that he was planning on finishing out his term before elections later in the year. With the whole world watching Egypt, the U.S.-backed dictator of 30 years dug his heels in while the crowds in Tahrir Square.

Egyptian protesters furious at Mubarak’s intransigence began gathering in front of the State-controlled television. The Army issued a second communique this morning seemingly essentially throwing its weight behind Mubarak much to the collective disappointment of the Egyptian majority. In their Communique no. 2, the Army reiterated much of what Mubarak said, backing constitutional changes and a lifting of the emergency laws in place as soon as the protesters go home.

But then in a shocking turn of events, Omar Suleiman made a brief 45 second speech announcing Mubarak’s resignation. We announced the breaking news on live radio turning to Al Jazeera and CNN’s live feeds, as well as a panel of guests.

GUESTS: Lisa Hajjar, professor in the sociology department at the University of California-Santa Barbara and a co-editor at the new journal Jadaliyya, where she recently wrote the piece “Omar Suleiman, the CIA’s Man in Cairo and Egypt’s Torturer-in-Chief,” and Rahul Mahajan, author of “Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond,” former commentator here on Uprising, and blogger at EmpireNotes.org, Mostafa Hussein, Doctor with Nadeem Center for Victims of Torture, live from Cairo