Dear Moammar Gaddafi...

„The Arab awakening seems powered by generational and societal forces determined to be done with fossilized regimes, including those that came to power in the wake of Israel's swift 1967 victory - or, in Egypt's case, four years after the 1948 war - and which then justified army and thug control as necessary in a state of perpetual conflict. In the streets of Cairo, Benghazi and elsewhere, Arabs are seizing opportunities to vanquish the culture of defeat, to abandon the mentality of victimhood.

It will take much time, space and wisdom to bring about that outcome. A not-dissimilar cultural movement in the United States, France and elsewhere in 1968 did not sweep away governments. But it did change societies and attitudes irrevocably. That would be a significant advance for the Arab world now. Already on the West Bank, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's economic and security reforms have begun to diminish the widespread sense of victimization that has driven Palestinian (and Arab) politics for decades, if not centuries. The United States and Israel must work together urgently to help Arabs shake off the shackles of despair.

Israel has contributed to the arriving possibilities by surviving - and by forcing growing numbers of Arabs to accept that survival as a permanent reality. But Israeli leaders have also at times fostered Arab rejectionist thinking (like yours) by being insensitive, brutal or selfish, especially about settlements on the West Bank. This is a moment for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to seize with generosity and vision, if he has it in him. We know you didn't, brother dictator. That's one reason we are so glad to see you go.”