Dilip Hiro on the ripple of democracy

Dilip Hiro examines the “ripple of democracy” in the Middle East in today’s Observer. He concludes that “So the source of the movement that some detect sweeping the Middle East is varied and complex. Some ascribe it to President Bush's vigorous championing of democracy in the region. Others point to long standing social and political currents, even suggesting that America's strategic interests have themselves inhibited reform among its loyal yet autocratic Gulf allies. But of the fact that a revolution is in train, Walid Jumblatt is in no doubt: 'The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say something is changing. The (Arab) Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it.'”