Tunisia's dictator runs to Saudia.
Egypt is revolting,
Algeria, Morocco, and Jordan may be next.
Who will replace the "leaderships"?
In Egypt, it's almost certainly the Islamic Brotherhood, Moslem extremists that Egypt's dictator put down before.
In Algeria, again, Islamic extremists that were once thought crushed by the nation's military after winning a democratic election.
Does the U.S. know anything about the people in the streets? Who are the leaders; are there any leaders who are not extremists? In a word: No.
Someone suggested in an article that the U.S. should have been in contact with the people who want change. Offering them quiet support while urging the despots in power to be aware of their people's needs.
The U.S. did not do that.
But even if it did, could, should, the U.S. be trusted? Remember Hungary in 1956? The U.S. promised Hungary support - support that never materialized and Communist tanks quashed the people who took to the streets. A little more than a decade later, the U.S. promised support to Czechoslovakia ; support that never materialized. For the record, Republican Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower was president when the Hungarians revolted, Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson was president when the Russians quashed Czechoslovakia's effort at freedom.
It's reasonable that the mass of Moslems taking to the streets will gravitate to the extremists simply because the extremists - in particular Egypt's Moslem Brotherhood - have provided services to the poor that the governments failed to provide, specifically education, health care, and bread.
The U.S. foreign aid budget funnels about a billion dollars-a-year to Egypt. It also provides more than a billion-a-year in military aid. Where did it go? We know that the money designated for "Palestine" went into Arafat's pockets before being spent on his wife in France. His successors seem to have followed in his financial footsteps since most of the funds never reached the man in the street.
While the world currently focuses on the Moslem-dominated states, Moslems in Europe are preparing the same for their democratic hosts. They demand special schools and special considerations. What's the difference between Jews demanding special schools and Moslems with the same demand? The Jews pay for their own schools - and pay taxes to support public schools open to all.
I'm not sure democracy is necessarily a good thing for everyone.
The U.S. has on several occasions given Cuba "democracy" only to see it over turned and the island returned to a dictatorship. Some people simply cannot handle democracy. Strangely, Puerto Rico, populated with people one would think have the same mentality as Cubans, seems to thrive on democracy.
What will become of the Moslem states currently in turmoil is anyone's guess; I suspect things will get worse for non-Moslems in the region - an example is the Christians' plight in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel must remain alert and constantly aware that her friends are less than trustworthy. The Islamists can - and do - terrorize politicians into inaction or support of terrorism.
