So, who is this Suleiman?

Jane Mayer has a troubling answer about the newly appointed vice president of Egypt and possible new leader of that country.

Suleiman is a well-known quantity in Washington. Suave, sophisticated, and fluent in English, he has served for years as the main conduit between the United States and Mubarak. While he has a reputation for loyalty and effectiveness, he also carries some controversial baggage from the standpoint of those looking for a clean slate on human rights. As I described in my book “The Dark Side,” since 1993 Suleiman has headed the feared Egyptian general intelligence service. In that capacity, he was the C.I.A.’s point man in Egypt for renditions—the covert program in which the C.I.A. snatched terror suspects from around the world and returned them to Egypt and elsewhere for interrogation, often under brutal circumstances.

I don't suppose, if he were in power, he'd let the protesters go unpunished.

The New York Times has a much more benign, not to say blandly deceptive, description of Mr. Suleiman.