Sadly, none to be exact. The most recent was of course the Iranian revolution of 1979. Demonstration for the Shah of Iran began in January of 1978, with demonstration and strikes paralyzing the country for months, not unlike what has been transpiring in Egypt. President Carter's lack of support of the Shah when Khomeni deposed him, was the single most influencing factor that led to the rise of radical fundamentalist Islam. Today with Obama unfortunately, we have Carter 2.0.
During the recent revolts of 2009; Obama chose not to "mettle;" that lack of leadership no doubt contributed to the failure of that movement to oust Ahmadinejad and Islamic rule. Why Obama chose to now support the protesters in Egypt is any one's guess. Mubarak and his predecessor Anwar Sadat help keep peace in the region and recognized Israel as a state. We recently also saw the Obama administration's obsession with Israel's building additional housing in Jerusalem, while did nothing as Iran sought nukes. Much easier to stab America's allies in the back than it is to stand up to it's enemies.
The situation in Egypt continues to be a confusing one; Mubarak appears to be ready to step down and hand over rule to Egypt's military; something that presently is outside of Egypt's constitution. Obama is full of himself using phrases like "Egypt's transformation" and "the people calling for change." Gee, where have we heard those before?
The problem is that Egypt, as with most all countries in the Middle East, has only known dictatorships and Islamic rule. If Egypt's military is to take over power from Mubarak, it can only last so long. Radical Islam is ready to pounce and is biding it's time. The Muslim Brotherhood has been entrenched in Egypt since it's inception there in 1928, clearly they are in no hurry. The odds favoring Egypt becoming a western style democracy are not good; if we can somehow keep Egypt from becoming another Lebanon or Gaza, it will be no small miracle for the U.S. and Israel.
