The age of the image is upon us and the clock cannot be turned back. And yet the Mubarak regime is in denial. It started with muffling the voice of al-Jazeera. I was fortunate to be in Cairo during the first two days of the current uprising. On January 25 and 26, when the roads around me were starting to be blocked, when sirens and loud speakers could be heard in the areas surrounding Tahrir Square, and when both the police and protesters were mobilizing in larger numbers than ever before, I was struck by the inattention that al-Jazeera was giving the protest.

Gil Scott-Heron once sang that the revolution will not be televised. The Tunisian revolution, and the continuing Egyptian uprising, would seem to refute the great man’s chorus.

As Arab regimes struggle with demonstrations fueled by Twitter and Al Jazeera, and U.S. diplomats try to understand the impact of WikiLeaks, it is clear that this global information age will require a more sophisticated understanding of how power works in world politics.

It is the greatest drama to shake Egypt since the killing of Anwar Sadat in 1981. Huge nationwide protests have challenged the long rule of President Hosni Mubarak, threatening to dislodge him. As yet, the denouement remains unwritten.

In Yemen's capital of Sanaa, progovernment demonstrators – thought to have been brought in by the government – carried posters of President Saleh, plastered their SUVs with posters of President Saleh, and ostentatiously declared their love for President Saleh.

In his video blog this week, Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks about the situation in Egypt and its impact on the region and the Middle East Peace Process.

When the people rise up, there’s no guarantee they’ll succeed. Just ask a Burmese or an Iranian. Egypt’s revolution has a number of counts against it, the main one being the hollow core where Egyptian civil society ought to be.

On Feb. 15, the BBG will host a three-part conference in Washington, “The New Media Revolution and U.S. Global Engagement.” Speakers will include BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson, board governors, VOA and RFE/RL personnel and NGO members and academics.