Letters From

Hosni Mubarak professed that Egypt was growing economically and progressing politically. The harsh, hopeless reality behind those fabrications proved to be his undoing. Now the country's future rests with two familiar powers playing very unfamiliar roles: The military and the Muslim Brotherhood. Prepare for another year of struggle.

Ireland's economic turnaround in the 1980s is generally credited to fiscal measures similar to the ones other European countries are now implementing. But those policies were painful and won't even work this time.

The drawdown of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan will proceed rapidly through 2014. As a consequence, the mission will change sooner than many people expect, and that means the fledgling Afghan National Army has to take charge of the fight now.

Protests have erupted in Tahrir Square again, but don't expect a second revolution. Egypt's still-popular military rulers have contained the dwindling demonstrations, historic elections are underway, and everyday life in Cairo continues. Still, if the SCAF fails to deliver on its promises to cede power by July, it will face much greater unrest.