Arrogant Assad has shrugged off with contempt demands made by the United States and European states that he relinquish power. He does not see any problems with continuing the crackdown on protesters, such as Saddam Hussein in his time, or like Iran under sanctions, and he continues to call the protesters “armed gangs.”

Yemen’s Saleh is convinced that his deviousness and his street smarts, which have held him in power for 21 years, will continue to serve him well in the future.

However, the toppling of rulers, which turned into the ultimate symbol of the revolutions, is not a sure recipe for a lifetime of happiness. Whoever is impressed by the coordinated operation of Western states and local resistance movements, cannot ignore the Western abandonment which characterized the revolutions that the West initiated in Afghanistan and Iraq, the American foot-dragging on all that relates to aiding Egypt, and the panic that struck the West in light of the protests that arose in Bahrain. There are “convenient” revolutions for the West and there are “dangerous” ones.

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