Looking on the bright side

Whenever the cloud of revolution appears on the horizon, the New York Times famously sees only the silver lining. All those kindle "agrarian reformers" of the past, who turned into murderous thugs! The Gray Lady is at it again, as in this story by Scott Shane:

For nearly two decades, the leaders of Al Qaeda have denounced the Arab world’s dictators as heretics and puppets of the West and called for their downfall. Now, people in country after country have risen to topple their leaders — and Al Qaeda has played absolutely no role.

Of course that's true as far as it goes. But Mr. Shane goes on to a rather breathtaking either/or:

Will the terrorist network shrivel slowly to irrelevance? Or will it find a way to exploit the chaos produced by political upheaval and the disappointment that will inevitably follow hopes now raised so high?

Shrivel to irrelevance? Well, one can only hope. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford