Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Inconsistent U.S. pressure on the Mubarak regime to enact democratic reforms likely increased the perception among the Egyptian people that the United States did not support them.
Yemen’s President Saleh has indicated that he is ready to relinquish power. It is important that the United States, its European partners, and Saudi Arabia assist Yemen during its critical transition period.
Yemen's failing economy and diminishing oil supply, combined with rising popular protests against the president, have placed the country in a tenuous position.
While Yemen has become a haven for al-Qaida, it is also a quiet U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism. Now its ruler of more than 30 years is under pressure from demonstrators, his generals, and diplomats to step aside.
As the international community pursues a range of activities to help end the violence in Libya, analysts and politicians should avoid creating a false dichotomy between imposing a no-fly zone on the country and doing nothing to prevent the deaths of Libyan civilians.
Egypt’s growing middle class, large civil society, and well-developed state institutions may enable it to achieve a successful democratic transition.
As international pressure grows for the imposition of a no-fly zone in Libya, it is crucial to consider how foreign military intervention might affect the narrative of Arab independence and what long-term consequences such an intervention might have, both regionally and globally.
If the current unrest and protests in Yemen bring about the fall of the country’s regime, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula will be able to operate with fewer constraints and present an even greater threat to the United States.
As unrest continues throughout the Middle East, members of the Iranian parliament have called for the execution of leading opposition figures and concerns are growing that Iranian regime will impose a brutal crackdown on protesters.
The resignation of President Hosni Mubarak is only the first step in Egypt’s fight for meaningful democratic change. It remains to be seen whether structural change and real democracy will be implemented in the country.