Some see the newly minted revolution in Tunisia and the unfolding one in Egypt (and possibly Yemen, Jordan and elsewhere) as hopeful news, and others as worrisome.

Thoughwe are engagedmilitarily inIraq and Afghanistan, there is little apparent recognition that we are under attack by a familiar sort of enemy and great reluctance to act accordingly.

America has not yet learned from history,as we arecontinuing to write off extremist regimes in the Middle East.

The secular, pro-American autocratic political cultures that have defined much of the Middle East are dying, if not dead, and the United States would do well not to pretend otherwise.