In Tunisia, a lesson in benign neglect

The successful revolt proves that the fortunes of Arab countries don't depend on what Washington does

After weeks of protests against a repressive government, rising food prices, high unemployment, and escalating violence committed by government forces, Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on Jan. 14 fled the country he ruled for 23 years, leaving a power vacuum and chaos in his wake. The day marks the unprecedented fall of an authoritarian Arab ruler caused by a popular uprising — the first effective revolution against a heavy-handed authoritarian police state since the end of the Cold War. Even if the uprising changes nothing beyond Tunisia, it will still be an extraordinary and historic event that deserves special recognition.

In marked contrast to the great American enthusiasm for revolutions in ex-Soviet republics, the so-called "Cedar revolution" in Lebanon, and the Green movement in Iran, the Tunisian revolt barely registered in the United States until Ben Ali was gone, and even then, the response was muted. That the Tunisian revolt is not at all useful for those Americans who cheered on these other movements isn’t a surprise: The Tunisian people freed themselves, and they did so at the expense of a U.S. ally.

The new interim president and parliament speaker, Fouad Mebazaa, quickly took over from Mohamed Ghannouchi, the prime minister, who had named himself as acting president after Ben Ali’s sudden flight on Friday. Though the head of the regime and his family were driven from power, many of his allies remain as the de facto political establishment, and the forthcoming presidential election will be biased in favor of members of that establishment.  Under the Tunisian constitution, it will be Ben Ali’s rubber-stamp parliament that will choose the nominees for president. The protesters seem unwilling to accept any holdovers from the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party, forcing Ghannouchi and Mebazza to resign from the party in a bid to appease the crowds.