As soon as events started unfolding in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere that led to the so called 'Arab Spring' I feared what the future may hold in that region, and the impact on the rest of the world. I didn't share the seemingly unbridled joy that others felt that all would soon be sweetness, light, democracy and freedom in the Middle East.
What shocked me was the naive ecstasy of certain libertarian commentators who really should know better. I still can't believe that they, unless they are completely and utterly ignorant of the region's history, could celebrate the overthrow of Mubarak as the unconditional overthrow of an authoritarian regime being replaced by liberal democracy. How terribly naive.
Therefore I commend Barry Rubin's excellent article The Coming Crisis in the Middle East if you want a more dispassionate assessment of the 'Arab Spring' than we are currently being fed by the mainstream media.
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal.
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