The trajectory of the democratic movement in the Arab world was never going to be straight line with clear goals and objectives. The Arab regimes are not homogeneous; they have medieval Islamist monarchies as in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, secular but completely authoritarian regimes -- both western puppets like Mubarak to anti-west figures such as Bashir al-Assad. Gaddafi falls in a class by himself – originally anti-west but later made up with the west before being discarded and proclaimed an enemy once again.