The Arab Winter

No country where the so-called "Arab Spring" burst forth is now either stable or safe. None of the nations that replaced a dictator is now more friendly to the West. In fact, all the new governments are more Islamist in nature, even Tunisia, where the revolutions began. One of the leading opposition figures in Tunisia, Chokri Belaid was murdered this very week. Belaid attempted to stand in the way of the Muslim fundamentalists and wanted better relations with the non-Islamic world. Syria is on the boil of civil war and Egypt is on a slower simmer. Expectations of Arab democracy have disappointed those who hoped peace and progress would ensue, but realists knew little good would come but much violence.