It will be fascinating to read years from now which country's agents were working the crowd to stir up the activities that began yesterday. Such tactics are foreign manipulation 101. It could have been Mubarak, but I would take a hard look at other countries that reasonably believe that sustaining the status quo is preferable to some unknown future. They have 2-3 neighbors that fall in that category.

In a region famous for intrigue and struggles for power; in a region of small states and armor-friendly terrain where a tactical error can result in a strategic disaster; power is up for grabs, and intrigue is in play. How this ends for the US will depend upon how well we can "play away from the ball." Currently the ball is in Egypt, but that is only a small portion of this game. Meanwhile, the US media is like a bunch of 5-year olds chasing the ball, so that is all most Americans see. Al Jeezera is painting a broader picture.