Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

“The Islamist movement in the Arab world is no longer in their expansion phase. The youth in these countries do not want them. The fact we saw these movements exploded without the Islamists driving the course of events is the most glaring sign that things have really changed.”

"The contradiction is a symptom of a deeper philosophical quagmire born of a sense of guilt felt by some Westerners for past sins, both real and imagined, committed against the non-Western 'other.' Western guilt yields a state of perpetual self-loathing, which in turn leads its victims to celebrate any anti-Western cause as morally worthy. Thus, when Egyptians--rightly--rebel against a pro-American autocracy, their cause is automatically perceived as just. However, if Iranians rise up in pursuit of similar goals against a far worse, anti-American and totalitarian regime--one that murders its own citizens in the name of God--Americans are asked to stay silent.

"But as events unfolding in places like Tunisia and Egypt make clear, political change is the Muslim world’s new reality. Iran, too, will once again become the battleground between citizens asserting their fundamental rights and a regime committed to perpetuating its unjust rule. When that day arrives, will the left once again respond with fear and loathing--or truly embrace universal values?"