Anti-government protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square react to a televised statement on Feb. 10, 2011, by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down the following day. His departure and that of Tunisia's Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali have some seeing the twilight of U.S. influence in the Middle East and others seeing new opportunities. (Associated Press)
An Egyptian protester throws a stone toward soldiers, unseen, as a building burns during clashes near Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Ahmad Hammad)
An Egyptian man rode his donkey to a polling station in Menoufia, Egypt, as large numbers turned out Wednesday for the second round of parliamentary elections. Writing on the wall reads "no to reminiscence of the old regime." (Associated Press)
**FILE** A tourist couple walks Dec. 8, 2010, in the shallow waters at a closed beach in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. (Associated Press)
Egyptian women listen during a Muslim Brotherhood campaign rally in Bashteil, a neighborhood of Cairo, on Thursday. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group set to dominate Egypt's new parliament, has accused the country's military rulers of trying to undercut the authority of elected legislators even before the house is seated. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** Anti-government protesters wave Bahraini flags Nov. 25, 2011, during a rally and march that drew tens of thousands to Maqsha, Bahrain, just outside the capital of Manama. Participants in the rally, organized by several opposition societies, waved Bahraini flags along with those of Arab spring countries Syria, Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt, while calling for the fall of the Bahraini government, freedom for prisoners and democracy in the Gulf island kingdom. (Associated Press)
Illustration: Egypt vote by Greg Groesch for The Washington Times
Protesters carry symbolic coffins honoring those killed in recent clashes with security forces during a rally in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Islamists appear to have taken a strong majority of seats in the first round of Egypt's first parliamentary vote since Hosni Mubarak's ouster. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Election workers count ballots from this week's parliamentary elections in Luxor, Egypt, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011. (AP Photo)
