::Well, I didn't say it was "normal", but it was the de facto norm among Arab states. And I think we can be pretty sure it would also had happened in those countries where it wasn't "planned" yet. But yes, these guys were by no means true Socialists, but that's what we had, and it sure was better than unorganised Islamists with ridiculous agendas. Yay, we get power in Libya, legalise polygamy as the first thing?! And no, the uprising was of course not a "conspiracy", but you can be damn sure that the Islamists and their Gulf backers were biding their time and waiting for the opportunity. The poor (secular) suckers who actually began the uprisings didn't know what they were to unleash.