“There's a good lesson for policymakers: It's not the presence of the U...” — Ian Lustick Quote

“There's a good lesson for policymakers: It's not the presence of the U.S. that is a problem for many people in the Arab region; it's the type of presence we bring.”

“For the U.S., as the largest player in the global environment, unintended consequences are magnified.”

“The leadership of the Palestinian Authority is not held in high regard by most of the population of the West Bank. They're seen as living relatively high off the hog and certainly not accomplishing anything vis-a-vis the Israelis.”

“The Arab world is erupting, which is extraordinary, and to see it happen is like watching rings spreading on a pool - it goes out; it varies so much. The spontaneity is wonderful, but very often, if it's not well organized, it breaks up, and it peters out.”

“Now that Arab women are pouring into the streets by the million, men discover with dismay that they, not women, were the captives of the harem dream.”

“The regime of Bashar al-Assad will inevitably go down. And its collapse will be loud not only in Syria but across the Arab world.”