Decades—not weeks, months or years. That’s the time-frame we need to have in mind for the change we are trying to help bring about in the Muslim world. Jay Bryant puts it well today over at Real Clear Politics:

There remains the question of the commitment of the West in midwifing civil society in those parts of Islamia where it does not now exist. The strength of that commitment will determine the length of time it takes to get the job done. If the West is resolute, a time frame of several decades may suffic0- – something comparable in duration to the Cold War, which has been the model for the Bush administration’s commitment to the process ever since the days immediately following 9/11.