Since January 25, when a wave of popular protests began to sweep across the Middle East region, the U.S. has been put into several very precarious policy positions. The most obvious question is: should the U.S. stand on the side of revolution and support the protesters seeking new Democratic leadership; or, should we continue to support the incumbent, sometimes brutal, autocratic regimes that have been our long-time allies in the region? The answers aren’t always clear. To sort out the tangled web of international relationships driving U.S. foreign policy is Zachary Lockman, Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and History at New York University.