Nearly four months ago, longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak finally yielded to political reality and stepped down from power. Mubarak's fall -- coming on the heels of the ouster of neighboring Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali -- was seen by many as part of a domino effect.
The Arab world, it seemed, was finally on the brink of a peaceful democratic transition that had eluded the troubled region for generations.
Today, however, the promise of a peaceful Arab Spring appears to be yielding to the reality of a long, violent summer as dictators across the Middle East and North Africa draw a line in the sand and fight to maintain control of their countries.
Protesters, meanwhile, are showing no sign of backing down.
"We've seen the last (Middle East) dictator leave voluntarily," Michael Rubin, a regional expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank, recently told CNN.U.S. President Barack Obama and other Western leaders will continue to push for peaceful change when possible, Rubin said. But dictators in the region have been spooked by the fate of Mubarak, who is now facing trial and a possible death sentence, and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, who is facing an onslaught from armed rebels and NATO air forces.
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