Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war, That this foul deed shall smell above the earth

@Ylook on twitter writes:

"Mohamed Ben Madani, editor of the Maghrib Review, said he would be surprised if Mubarak lasts longer than a week."

That may well be true.

But even though people are entitled to freedom from tyrants revolutions do not always lead to liberty.

Look to Iran.

I had many Persian friends at the time of the Revolution who saw the fall of the Shah as the start of a free, democratic and egalitarian Iran. It didn't work out that way.

Indeed, from the French Revolution, through the October Revolution and onwards, in general, revolutions have brought worse governments. Civil wars tend to happen and those are most unpleasant, especially for minorities like Christians in Egypt.

Now, in fairness, perhaps Egypt will be more like Eastern Europe throwing off the shackles of a pretend Marxism -- a civil society regaining possession of what it should have had.

But I'm not optimistic.