On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an orderly transition to a democratic government in Egypt. But she refused to publicly urge President Hosni Mubarak to step down.

Hillary Clinton: “Any efforts by this government to respond to the needs of their people, to take steps that will result in a peaceful orderly transition to a democratic regime, is what is in the best interests of everyone including the current government.”

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has predicted that Mubarak will have to resign because “the people have decided.” Carter, who brokered the existing peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, said, “This is the most profound situation in the Middle East since I left office.”