In his State of the Union address, President Obama rightly pointed to American achievements in building new alliances and facilitating transition to newly found freedoms such as in South Sudan. With regard to the Afpak theater, the President is also right on the immense pressure on terrorist groups and on Al-Qaeda’s leadership in particular. However, with regard to the Middle East and the current volatile situation in North Africa caused by pro-democracy demonstrations, one hopes that the President will pressure its allies in the region for wide-ranging social and economic reforms that meet the demands of people on the streets. The expression of solidarity with pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran in 2009 was merely a lip service. The Obama administration remained silent on the brutal repression of Iranian demonstrators in 2009. One hopes that this time the U.S. will firmly stand on the side of those on the streets of Tunis, Cairo, and Algiers.
