, Columnist
These 4 Deaths Will Revolutionize the Middle East
The funeral watch is in high gear in Iran, Iraq, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Ready for the handover?
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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There is now a consensus that any political transformation of the Middle East — a long-cherished goal of both U.S. policymakers and millions who live there — will not be achieved by revolution, foreign intervention or civil war. The failure of the Arab Spring, the disastrous consequences of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and the ongoing catastrophe in Syria have shattered fantasies of sudden change.
It is more fashionable these days to pin hope on demographics and technology — the theory that a massive cohort of young people, armed with smartphones, will succeed where all other efforts have failed.