WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Sunday "the Mubarak era is over," but Egypt's transition must be orderly.
Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union," Albright said the process should be "rapid ... democratic … inclusive and … represent the will of the Egyptian people.
"There is never an indispensable leader," she added. "There is a time with dignity that one needs to leave.
"The Mubarak era is over, and the question is how to have a process that really works properly, that allows these various voices to come together," Albright said.
John Negroponte, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, praised Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman's meeting with opposition leaders and said, "Sooner or later this has to move to a negotiating phase from a demonstration phase. It has got to move off the television screens and into the back room, so to speak."
Former Ambassador Edward Walker said President Hosni Mubarak has "done a great many things, terrific things for the country and for us. … He needs to go out with honor. And if we can help him with that, that's what we should be doing."