Despite formally handing over power on April 12, however, the junta continued to arrest opponents and still wields considerable influence. Scattered fighting between rival armed forces erupted in the capital last week.

The best hope for Syria is that continued protests, strikes and other forms of nonviolent resistance will cause enough disruption that powerful economic interests would force the government to negotiate with the opposition for a transfer of power to a democratic majority.

There are still reasons to be hopeful that the so-called "Arab Spring" will transform the Middle East for the better. It took nearly a decade between the first strikes in the Gdansk Shipyard and the fall of communism in Poland.

The downfall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime is very good news, particularly for the people of Libya. However, it is critically important that the world not learn the wrong lessons from the dictator's overthrow.

At the end of the day, the Egyptian uprising was one of history's most significant nonviolent struggles and that is how history will remember it.

It's time for the United States to recognize that the future of the Middle East is not in the hands of aging autocrats like Saleh or even traditional elite oppositionists, but in civil society.

Just because the incumbent regime may be evil and resistance to the regime is just, its replacement could end up being worse -- a possibility greatly enhanced if power is seized through force of arms.

Although most Americans may not be familiar with Oman, Omanis are certainly familiar with the United States and its support for their sultan.

The biggest question is not whether Gaddafi will be ousted, but how many of his fellow Libyans he is willing to bring down with him.

Democracy will not come to the Middle East through foreign intervention, sanctimonious statements, voluntary reforms by autocrats, or armed struggle by a self-selected vanguard. It will only come through the power of people.

The movement in Egypt had been planned carefully and had been effective in conveying the need for both sustained pressure on the regime and strict nonviolent discipline.

The difference between Egypt today and Iran of the late 1970s is striking. There is virtually no chance that Egypt will take such a tragic turn should the revolution succeed.

As with other civil struggles, a nonviolent movement can ebb and flow. There may have to be tactical retreats, times for resetting of strategy, or a focus on negotiations, before broader operations that capture the world's attention resume.

Obama's apparent shift away from the Mubarak regime -- like the similar reversal in US policy toward the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia a couple weeks ago -- serves as an important reminder as to where power actually comes from.