Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who inherited a regime that has held power for four decades, said he will push for more political reforms in his country, in a sign of how Egypt's violent revolt is forcing leaders across the region to rethink their approaches.

The European Union has frozen the assets of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife. The sanctions were approved by EU foreign ministers, after a request from Tunisia's new interim government.

What began as a popular uprising that toppled the Tunisian government before spreading into Algeria, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan and, of course, Egypt, may now be headed for Syria.

Two different White Houses, two different speeches. In June 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood before an audience of 600 at the American University in Cairo, assailed the Egyptian government for intimidating and locking up protesters and called for President Hosni Mubarak to hold free elections.

Like many Azerbaijanis, Elnura Jivazade, a resident of the Baku suburb of Khirdalan, is watching Egypt’s political upheaval closely. But unlike most Azerbaijanis, Jivazade sees Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak each morning. His statue, a symbol of Azerbaijani-Egyptian friendship, stands in a Khirdalan park that she passes each weekday on her way to work.

Not much was needed; just some phrasing such as, “President Mubarak has served his country well, and ensuring peaceful transition to new leadership would continue that service.”

Not much was needed; just some phrasing such as, “President Mubarak has served his country well, and ensuring peaceful transition to new leadership would continue that service.”

If President Obama had said something like that, Hosni Mubarak would have been furious and probably ignored the advice, but Egyptians and others throughout the Arab world and beyond would have seen that for once the United States was not defending a dictator, but rather was standing on the side of democracy.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA) both said independently today that the Egyptian government should cease the use of violence against protesters but only Kerry called for free and fair elections this year.