The leader is bad! Maybe it's the Shah, maybe it's Mubarak -- he's bad! Inhuman! Those poor people!
Yay! The people are rising up! Chasing away the bad leader! Now maybe things will get better for those poor people!
Oh! Look! Those poor people are actually violent religious fanatics who want to live in the 7th century! They hate us and have no tolerance for anyone who diverges from their hate-filled worldview!
What a shock!
. . . apart from having nukes, that is.
Oh! Look! Those poor people are actually violent religious fanatics who want to live in the 7th century