We as westerners commonly believe that democracy provides the most fertile soil for peace and that dictatorships are more propitious to warfare and aggression. While this may be true in the west, because no two western democracies have ever gone to war, recent events lead me to believe that these same dynamics do not apply in the Middle East. The very unpopular peace between Israel and Egypt was maintained only by the dictatorial rule of Anwar Sadat and then Hosni Mubarak. Shortly after Mubarak fell, 1000's of Egyptian protesters attacked and damaged the Israeli Embassy, which was only saved by tear gas and baton wielding soldiers. I am convinced that if the Arab regimes were truly democratic and represented the sentiments of the their people, Israel would be attacked tomorrow by Egypt, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian Administrations.
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