On Monday, President Obama will sit down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With a showdown looming over Iran, their summit will not only be the most important meeting for either leader but it may also be the most consequential meeting for the entire Middle East since Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s 1993 handshake with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

The turmoil in Egypt most likely will not increase oil prices, but if it does, there are still arguments to be made to why it is worth it.

What Westerners think of as goodwill, Middle Easterners often interpret as weakness.

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.

The new dawn in Egypt will require active engagement by the administration to bolster pro-democratic secular forces over more radical Islamist elements.

Many analysts see the shadow of Iran's Islamic revolution in the Egyptian chaos. One parallel is certain: Should Mubarak flee, it will be the end of the beginning rather than the beginning of the end.

The world is still far from safe. Not only have democratic hopes faltered, but long-time foundations of regional stability are crumbling, to our detriment and that of our friends.

We should encourage states transitioning to democracy to protect themselves from Iranian efforts to subvert their progress.