Since 1945, Washington has championed, funded (through oil purchases), and defended the Arab Peninsula’s tyrannies. With the West focused on Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, it may be in tiny Bahrain where Washington pays the piper for 35 years of intervention in the Arab world.

The geopolitical and economic implications of a US-NATO led military intervention directed against Libya are far-reaching. Libya is among the World's largest oil economies with approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than twice those of the US

Egyptians should keep the experience of Russia, Serbia and the colour revolutions in mind as they navigate the perilous waters of US-style democracy. It would be a tragedy if a few years down the line, Egyptians look back wistfully at pre-revolutionary times, as do many Serbs, Georgians, east Europeans and Russians.

The popular uprisings across the Middle East are sparking similar unrest in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with youth groups and workers in that country now calling for a “Day of Rage” demonstration in the capital, Riyadh, on March 11.

Actually, except for how a policy that is all pressure and hostility is likely to strengthen hardliners in the regime, the conduct of business between the west and Iran is no more likely to determine the future course of internal opposition to the regime in Iran than it did in Libya

Prediction is always risky or plain silly, but my guess is that when the dust settles, which it will, in a month or two or three's time, one will see that Western—and Israeli—interests in the Middle East will have been substantially undermined and anti-Western—and anti-Israeli—interests substantially bolstered

While the outcome is ultimately unknown, what is clear is that a spark has been lit in the Arab world as the ‘Global Political Awakening’ marches on, and this will be a very difficult flame to control.

Mubarak will leave, the younger officers will emerge, the constitution will make some changes and life will continue. The events in Egypt should be taken as a mild coronary and treated with great relief by Israel that it wasn’t worse.

One of the biggest mistakes that the United States and other outsiders could make in crafting their posture toward Egypt and Egyptian Islamists would be to create a self-fulfilling prophecy of radicalism by denying the legitimacy of peaceful expressions of political Islam.

Learning to cope with a new Middle East—one where Hezbollah, the Sadrists, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front all are influential and have a say in policy—is the challenge that the Obama administration will have to navigate.