story." In The Last Pharaoh, Elaasar writes that the American president can expect one of several difficult scenarios to unfold in Egypt in the months ahead. "The Mubarak regime is preparing itself for the next step," the author explains, "which is making his son, Gamal Mubarak, to be the next president of Egypt. But the other scenario that can play out is that there are other political powers, so it could be the extreme religious right that can take over, or things can get out of control because of the poverty level and the suffering of the Egyptian people, so the people in the street can do something when things reach a very desperate level." Author Alaadin Elaasar urges the American president to shift U.S. policies on Egypt toward strategies that promote democracy in the country."We really need to make sure that there would be democracy and change," Elaasar warns, "because if this does not start, people reach the extent of desperateness. And then desperateness breathes out all kinds of violence and all kinds of extremism that opens the door for extremists to jump in and pretend they have the solution." The author says the worst-case scenario in Egypt would be a military coup, which would turn Egypt into what he describes as a "God-knows-what" regime. Whatever the fate of the Mubarak regime, author Alaadin Elaasar believes significant change in Egypt's government will have profound effects on the region, and on U.S. interests in the Middle East. For that reason,