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The current protests in Bahrain result from longstanding political tensions that have been rising dangerously in the country for at least the last six months and were building for several years before that.
In both Egypt and Iran, youth are at the forefront of the struggle for change as both governments must struggle to generate jobs for their growing populations and diminish the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
While it is still unclear whether the Egyptian revolution will result in real transition to democracy, since much of the old regime remains in positions of power, there are reasons to be optimistic.
While Egypt has a strong set of constitutional institutions and there is a remarkable degree of consensus on what kind of constitution Egypt needs, serious obstacles remain to the formation of a new constitution for the nation.
While the removal from power of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were historic moments for the entire Arab world, the old regimes in Tunisia and Egypt are still fighting to retain as much power and control as they can.
While there is no risk-free change in a country that has been under authoritarian government for so long, Egyptians today face the real possibility that they will soon have the right and the ability to choose and to change their government for the first time ever.
What happens next in Egypt depends on what steps the military and the protesters take, not on what Washington says.
The Egyptian military will play a critical role in Egypt's transition period, but whether they will support a democratic transition or the status quo remains to be seen.
While there is an irrational fear in the United States that Egypt's move toward democracy will be hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian uprising has been democratic—not ideological—and there is no real danger that Islamists will take control.
Egyptian President Mubarak's refusal to step down has made protesters even more determined to oust him, decreased the probability that Suleiman will be an acceptable interlocutor to members of the opposition, and increased the probability of a military takeover.