Who, if anyone, is behind the protests in Egypt?
Protests are growing in the Arab world--Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen--as the public grows increasingly dissatisfied with the meager lives their leaders provide for them.
Richard Spencer, UK Telegraph correspondent, wonders where the Arab Nelson Mandela is.
More to the point, where is the Egyptian Ayatollah Khomeini?
The greatest fear in the western world is the emergence of radical Islamist governments replacing the current class of dictators who supposedly provide "stability" and some measure of friendship with the west, while keeping the radicals away from power.
It was in 2005 that George W. Bush's Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, called for democracy in the Middle East, and she said it was time to support that.
But the US and other allies haven't done any such thing. What we have done is support dictators loathed by their own people because we fear Islamists rising to power--the Muslim Brotherhood, for example.
We already know the common people in these countries hate the western world and our values. The murder of Christians throughout the Islamic world is one of the biggest under-reported stories of modern times. No matter who is in charge, there will always be a problem.
Isn't it time we started to believe in our own values? Isn't it time to stand up for democracy and believe in where it takes us, even if some radicals gain power in the short term?
There is no "Nelson Mandela" figure waiting behind the scenes to ascend any throne in Egypt or anywhere else in the Arab world. What we can expect to happen is some some of Ayatollah Khomeini replacing Hosni Mubarak, or any other leader whose government topples, and we in the west need to prepare for that.
It's time to believe in democracy in the Arab world, as well as everywhere else, and stop supporting dictators who have neither the skills nor the interest in improving the lives of their people.
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