"Arab Spring" Turns Ugly

The so-called "Arab spring" is turning into a "long, hot summer." Crowds have become mobs, and, smelling blood, there's no stopping them. Drunk with people or street power, they want everything done now, with no excuses. Understandably impatient after decades of autocratic rule, these new devotees of democracy are going too far, too fast, making rational and sensible government impossible. In their quest for democracy, they are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The rule of law and legitimate reform take time.

Shortcuts lead nowhere but back to authoritarian regimes.

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