Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak speaks with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, in this August 18, 2009 file photo. Obama called on Mubarak on Thursday to make "absolutely critical" reforms, ratcheting up pressure on a key U.S. ally in the face of street protests seeking his ouster. Weighing in for the first time after three days of Egyptian unrest, Obama was careful to avoid any sign of abandoning Mubarak but made clear his sympathy for demonstrators he said were expressing "pent-up frustrations" over the lack of meaningful change. REUTERS/Jim Young/Files (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)