Current Events

When discussing the future of Arab dictatorships, I usually ask people to examine how wonderful it would be if the people of these countries could enjoy the freedom and prosperity that exist today in e.g. Japan and Germany. It's not an idle fantasy. Now we look at the enormous hole in the ground and try to remember what it was like a year ago, when two homely yet majestic buildings still stood on the site. Then, to put things in perspective, we look at a map of the Muslim world and imagine what it will be like when the dictators are gone and the countries they now rule have joined the civilized world. If this strikes you as fancifully optimistic, look at a map of Germany, Italy, Japan or even Russia and remember what those countries used to be like. [OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today ]