In a much-hyped speech, President Obama said the U.S. would help Tunisia and Egypt enact democratic reforms by offering both countries new aid and investment. He also endorsed, more clearly than ever, the idea of establishing a Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders as a way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As well, Obama denounced regimes in Libya, Syria, and Iran for using violence to silence demonstrators demanding greater freedom. Did the president spell out a brave new vision for U.S. policy in the Middle East, or merely make a lot of empty promises?

Here’s what the political responders are saying

The wave of popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East has already swept Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia’s Zine el Abidine Ben Ali from power. Now, everyone from Western leaders to Arab protesters to nervous autocrats across the Muslim world are wondering: Who’s next? Some possibilities:

• BAHRAIN: King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
  Protesters held an Egypt-style “day of rage” on Monday, and the “deep grievances” of the country’s poorer Shia Muslim minority make Bahrain “the most susceptible” of the Gulf states to popular revolt, says regional analyst Theodore Karasik, as quoted by Bloomberg Businessweek. King Hamad, part of the Sunni elite, tried to “bribe” each family in the country with thousands of dollars, but that may not be enough to pacify the protesters, says Ditz in Antiwar.com. Bahrain is “the biggest wild-card” in the region.

• IRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  Mubarak’s fall has reinvigorated the passions that fueled the 2009 “Green Revolution,” which went largely underground after harsh government crackdowns. Thousands defied government warnings Monday and took to the streets in Tehran and other big cities, ostensibly in solidarity with Egyptians, but also shouting “death to the dictator.” The chance a full-scale uprising is “moderate,” says Mahanta in Mother Jones, but the odds of another crackdown are “tragically high.”

• PALESTINE: President Mahmoud Abbas
  The day after Mubarak fell, Abbas and the ruling Fatah party scheduled long-overdue national elections for September, and on Monday the entire cabinet resigned. This shows that Abbas is “freaking out,” says Khaled Abu Toameh in The Jersusalm Post. “In the eyes of many Palestinians, Abbas is not much different from Hosni Mubarak,” and these acts of “desperation” are an attempt to keep Egypt’s “anti-government wave” from washing him out of power.

Also, Algeria and Yemen. Read more here.

For weeks, the world watched with rapt attention as the uprising in Egypt challenged and finally toppled the government of President Hosni Mubarak. As the main narrative unfolded, however, several curious and less widely documented stories were unfolding in and around Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Here, some of the stranger aspects of the revolts:

• Two demonstrators say “I do”
  A young couple — Ahmed Zaafan, 29, and Ola Abdel Hamid, 22 — tied the knot on February 6, surrounded by tanks and thousands of their fellow demonstrators in Tahrir Square. The newlyweds said their choice of location signalled their determination to stay in the square until Mubarak caved. “These protesters are family now,” said Zaafan. “Ola and I wanted to share our happiness with everyone.”

• Humor wasn’t sidelined
  Many of the demonstrators tempered their anger with levity, carrying signs with messages like “De-Nile Not Only a River in Egypt.” One protester sporting a “big afro” held a sign saying, “Mubarak, leave so I can go home and cut my hair.” On Twitter, “Mubaraked” became a verb, as in, “I invited a friend round for dinner last night, but they didn’t leave till 12 despite my yawns. They really Mubaraked.’”

• A KFC conspiracy?
  State television incorrectly reported that anti-Mubarak protesters were being paid $100 — and getting fed Kentucky Fried Chicken (a “Kentucky meal,” as it’s widely known in Egypt, can cost the typical worker a day’s wages). The bogus rumors sparked suspicions that the uprising was being driven by Western interlopers. “I came to get the [Kentucky Fried Chicken] or the $100 but I can’t find it,” joked protester Khaled Badawy, as quoted in Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.

Read the entire list here

This week’s In-Depth Briefing gives a detailed look inside Egypt’s biggest opposition group, and the world’s largest and most influential Islamist movement: The Muslim Brotherhood.

While many of its older members are deeply conservative, many of the younger ones are modern and reform-minded. Khaled Hamza, a voice of moderation within the group and the editor of the group’s official website, says the Brotherhood would never support a rule by the clergy, as in Iran. “We do not believe Islam requires a theocracy,’’ he says. “Democracy is the only way.’’

Continue reading for more, including why the group was banned, whether or not it’s violent, and its potential rule in Egypt.