With the revolution in Iran, and resulting instability in that whole area, how do you see the Middle East scenario playing out?

That's a pretty wide band. I think I can slip through it all right.

The significance of Iran to the Middle East countries-- especially the Emirates and Saudi Arabia--is as a role model. Iran demonstrates that the people of a country can overthrow perhaps the strongest army in the area and establish a new government. This never happened before in that part of the world.

Whether the credibility of the United States commitment in that region is altered by Iran's example is another very important matter.

That area has been unstable for two thousand years of recorded history, so it is likely to survive this latest threat. My own guess is that it will tend to stabilize. But I can be wrong.