Arab Autumn

Image via WikipediaMuammar Gadhafi, who had ruled Libya for 42 years, had been on the run since rebel forces started fighting back against his dictatorship.  Thursday, Gadhafi stopped running.  He was killed when those forces brutally attacked him in Sirite, one of his few remaining strongholds.

This was the latest victory in the so-called "Arab Spring", with people all over the Middle East rising up to get rid of despots who hog the glory and loot the national treasure.  In this case it never would have happened without military support from NATO and, to a lesser extent, the United States.

So how have the other Mideast countries who have revolted fared?  For them, "Arab Spring" has had mixed results.

In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak may be gone but the military remains as the real power there, so the protests go on with less worldwide attention to bank on.  It remains to be seen whether the Egyptian people will still get the free elections they were promised.

In Syria, Bashar al-Assad has done an effective job so far of crushing his opposition through violence and intimidation while shutting out the rest of the world.  There's not much anyone can do about this without invoking the wrath of nearby Iran, which has its own ways of dealing with dissidents.  Use sanctions all you want, but remember Syria can always do business with China while the crackdown continues.

Now that Gadhafi is gone, all Libya and its people have to do is to form a credible (and palatable to the West) government.  Easier said than done, because the history of the Middle East is one of pharaohs, kings and strongmen, not democracy.