This is an opinion piece I wrote for an online news day on 25/02/11.

What scares the West most about the unrest is the lack of control they have

In Washington and London, those in power are watching events across the Middle East with fear and uncertainty.

For the first time people across the region – most of them young – are fighting to force change and reform. David Cameron and Barack Obama have spoken of the need for democracy to prevail and for the will of the people in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya to be respected.

But beneath the platitudes there is a fear of what lies ahead. What scares the West is the lack of control they have.

Historically they have been accustomed to having a much more hands on role. The truth is that Britain and the United States are no friends of democracy in the Middle East. Read the rest of this entry »