Clinton Arrives in Egypt on 1st Post-Mubarak Visit

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Cairo Tuesday seeking a partnership with Egypt in its transition to democracy, as she became the highest U.S. official to visit since Hosni Mubarak was toppled.

Clinton held evening talks with her Egyptian counterpart Nabil al-Arabi at the old foreign ministry building hard by Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 18 days of mass protests that led to Mubarak's overthrow.

She is also expected to meet other members of the new civilian leadership, members of the pro-democracy youth movement and the country's old military leadership, which Washington expects to ensure the transition.

Clinton made no remarks on her flight to Cairo from Paris, where she had talks about the fighting in Libya with both a Libyan opposition leader and foreign ministers from seven world powers.

Her visit comes against a backdrop of anxiety not only in Egypt but also in the wider region where violence threatens Egyptian and Tunisian-inspired democracy movements in neighboring Libya as well as in Bahrain and Yemen.

Egypt's own future looks uncertain as it grapples with the next political steps, prepares for a constitutional referendum and copes with an outburst of violence between the majority Muslims and minority Coptic Christians.

After helping to ease Mubarak out of power last month, the United States is trying to keep Egypt as a major ally and ensure it preserves its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, the cornerstone of U.S. diplomacy in the region.

In announcing her trip to Egypt as well as to Tunisia, Clinton last week said Washington "wishes to be a partner in the important work that lies ahead" as Egypt and Tunisia move towards genuine democracy.

"We have an enormous stake in ensuring that Egypt and Tunisia provide models for the kind of democracy that we want to see," Clinton told U.S. lawmakers last week.

As she prepared to enter the talks, Interior Minister Mansour al-Issawi disbanded the long-feared security police in a reform that had long been called for by pro-democracy activists.

Issawi, who took office 10 days ago on a pledge to restore public confidence in the police, announced a replacement security arm, to be called National Security, that will be restricted to "guarding the domestic front and battling terrorism."

With at least 100,000 employees, a large network of informants and powers to conduct emergency trials, the now dissolved State Security Investigations branch was widely despised and its officers accused of routinely committing torture.

Dirk Vandewalle, a political scientist at Dartmouth College, said Washington sees how it must now push for democracy after having had "close relationships" with authoritarian regimes in Egypt and other countries in the region.

It wants to see in both Egypt and Tunisia "whether or not it's going to be true reform or if it's going to be cosmetic reform that leaves the major player, the army, in place, particularly in Egypt," Vandewalle told Agence France Presse.

Clinton's talks in Cairo come at a sensitive time in the transition, with Egyptians due to vote on Saturday on a series of amendments to the constitution that are intended to pave the way for a swift return to civilian rule but which critics say have been rushed through and do not go far enough.

Young militants who spearheaded Egypt's pro-democracy revolution called on Monday for a "no" vote in the referendum.

Two would-be presidential candidates -- Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa and former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei -- have also called for the vote to be postponed or scrapped.

Only the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, which was suppressed under Mubarak, and elements of his former ruling National Democratic Party have called for a "yes" vote.

The judicial commission overseeing the referendum warned on Tuesday that a "no" vote would force the military to impose the arrangements for the transition by decree.

"If (the amendments) are rejected, we will face a legislative void, which will be filled by a decree of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," commission chairman Mohammed Atteya said.