Free nations generally look for ways to deal with dictators amicably.

As soon as people become a little less fearful, they will also begin demanding more freedom.

People may believe that there can be a society where dissent is not permitted, but which is nonetheless not a fear society because everyone agrees with one another and therefore no one wants to dissent.

Free societies are societies in which the right of dissent is protected.

Non-democratic regimes always need to mobilize their people against external enemies in order to maintain internal stability.

I am optimistic that peace can be achieved in the region because I believe that every society on earth can be free and that if freedom comes to the Middle East, there can be peace.

This scepticism is the same scepticism I heard a generation ago in the USSR when few thought that a democratic transformation behind the iron curtain was possible.