Western nations have long snickered at the lack of democracy in most of the Middle East and North Africa and have offered ad nauseum free advice to Arab leaders on how to conduct their own affairs. But on occasion tables are turned, and the special wisdom and expertise of these oft-derided Middle Eastern leaders becomes very precious indeed for Western leaders who know a thing or two about bombing foreign civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq, yet are at a loss when it comes to taming their own populations.
