The Hill News

2011 could well be the year that reshapes the future of North Africa and the Middle East forever. The unrest now spreading across the region reminds us of the fall of Russia’s empire in Eastern Europe. The Middle East is now going through its biggest political upheaval in decades. The era of stagnation is over and calls for democracy, human rights and dignity have spread across an area where dissent is alive but has been massively repressed.

As Western leaders appear to look on with fear rather than joy, it is clear that one simple message should be noted by western diplomats: The era of appeasing tyrants and trading freedom for stability in the Middle East is over.

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