Carl,

I appreciate your breathtaking trust and faith in the ability, capacity, and desire of the world's elected leaders and the existing political, economic, diplomatic, intelligence, and security systems in place to handle crisis's.

IMHO the Middle East is in the process of coming apart, similar to the fall of the Berlin Wall but with more bloodshed this time around. 'History does not repeat it itself but it rhymes' is attributed to Mark Twain and it is an apt description of what is occuring.

Last time around we were concerned about things going very badly as the old order of things were rearranged. Fortunately, the international community worked very hard, and we were all very lucky. Hopefully we all can do it again, however: today we also have the reconstruction of Japan (and it's potential default), the potential default and breakup of the EU, America's potential default, and the recovery of the international financial system to contend with in addition to the realignment of the Middle East.

I advise extreme caution, and further recommend that the GCC, the AU, the Arab League, and the EU take the lead on resolving Libyan issues. IMHO the US needs to keep it's powder dry, as there is more to come....

On a personal note, you and your family members are able to enlist in the military, join the DoS, USAID, sign on with an NGO, or corporation which operates in the middle east. It would be an educational and eye-opening experience regarding that part of the world and it would be an opportunity for you and yours to pitch in and help resolve the current and upcoming troubles. We can always use the help....

Steve