a red line for this administration. what lessons did you learn, did president bush learn, that you hope president obama takes into can account? >> i think the lessons are really tough, you see, and very difficult. and i think the trouble is the lessons themselves are subject to great and heated debate. my view is that in the end the whole of the middle east and beyond is undergoing this period of huge transition where you have these dictatorial regimes whose time is up. on the other hand, the battle for the future is between what i would call the modern-minded types of people, the people who took to the streets first in egypt, who want what we want. but against them are various groups, islamist groups, that i'm afraid don't have the same concept, democracy or freedom that we do. and if any of them get hold of the potential to engage in mass destruction, we've got a huge problem on our hands. >> and look what we're dealing with in the united states, the boston bombings, the prospect of