Rules I have established for those commenting on this blog are being flagrantly violated. I am shutting down comments for a period of time. I am notifying a few commenters that they are banned. I will not tolerate ad hominem attacks on anyone and the regular escalations that take place here.

When big shifts occur in the world, like the successful revolution (thus far) in Egypt, Americans like to race toward ideological frames that fit the moment and which should be applied to every nation in a similar circumstance, perhaps to Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Yemen, even Saudi Arabia.

This “It’s Time” ad will be running on various CNN slots this week to push for reduction of forces in Afghanistan. The ad is more assertive and emotional than I am on these issues. I’m not a pacifist and there are times when war and the deployment of force are important, vital tools.

There are a number of tragedies here — but the biggest is that it is unlikely that a Palestinian government in the future will make the robust set of offers that Saeb Erekat put before the Israeli government.

The statement below was just released by Obama National Security Advisor Tom Donilon regarding Iran blocking coverage of Egypt’s protests and its statements that it will not allow opposition protests inside Iran.

David Wurmser, Vice President Cheney’s Middle East Adviser during the George W. Bush Administration, and I had an interesting discussion about developments in Egypt and implications for US foreign policy on BBC Radio 4. The five minute clip can be listened to here.

This is a guest post by Amjad Atallah, the Executive Consulting Editor for the Palestine Note, where the post originally appeared. He is also Director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation and an editor for the Middle East Channel at ForeignPolicy.com.

Mubarak has given up his powers to the military. In the eyes of the Egyptian public, this counts as resignation. Now the tough part really begins.

James Goldgeier has just published a smart, short piece that outlines the structural differences between the revolutions that brought down totalitarian regimes in 1989 and what is now unfolding in 2011.

This afternoon at 5 pm EST, I’ll be chairing a session with former Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister and current Leader of the Opposition in the Malaysian Parliament Anwar Ibrahim.