Welcome to the Arab Spring, with all its promise and problems.

The Arab Spring began in December 2010, with demonstrations and widespread protests across much of the Arab world, aimed at removing dictators and rulers from power. It began in Tunisia and led to civil uprisings across Egypt, Libya and 18 other Mideast and North African nations.

These protests involved strikes, riots and marches. There were often violent responses between authorities and demonstrators due to suppressed freedom of speech, unemployment, human rights violations, government corruption and repression of citizens. As a result of the Arab Spring movement, some leaders of Arab countries have been forcibly removed, some resigned and the others will not seek re-election in the future.

The aim was to have democracy replace dictatorships. Now, it looks like it will take a long period of readjustment before the transition is successful. The basic problem stems from the fact that multiple groups were involved in fighting against the dictators, and these groups were not all in support of the same things. Some wanted free elections, some wanted jobs and improved economies, some wanted their branch of Islam to be in control of the government, and some wanted much more fundamentalist religious control.

Last week, beginning on Sept. 11, in more than 20 cities, growing Arab Spring protests were occurring. The protests were presumably about an anti-Islamic video, which insulted the Prophet Muhammad. The video was apparently produced by an Egyptian American Coptic Christian, and placed on YouTube. It quickly spread to the Middle East.

Inflamed masses of Muslims took to the streets, particularly targeting United States embassies and consulates. Many protests were violent, with mob attacks led by small groups inciting the majority participants. In Libya, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three U.S. Consulate employees were killed in a deadly attack.

There are serious questions about the reason for these attacks, and whether or not they were truly spontaneous, as some of our government leaders have maintained. Even the Libyan national assembly leader, Mohammed Magarief, said that he thought that the attack in Libya had been planned for several months, and was linked to al-Qaida.

Some heavy war weapons were used, including rifles with grenade launchers, in several of the attacks. They had the hallmarks of a pre-planned attack, with the anti-Islamic video as a cover, to start troubling action against Americans in the Mideast.

Even if the attacks were not preplanned, they cannot be justified. We live in a country that values freedom of speech. There is no justification for anyone making or distributing hate material. The people who did this are contemptible. But their venture should not put other Americans, or people anywhere, at risk. In America, people experience criticism of their most cherished beliefs all the time. For example, when artists have made paintings that insult deeply held religious beliefs, many people have boycotted or protested the exhibits that showed them, but major riots did not take place.

How do people in much of the Middle East relate to living in a democratic world? Many who took part in the Arab Spring say they would like their country to be more democratic; however, it could be difficult for them to change quickly, after living in a culture that prevents free speech. Yet, there is no real democracy without it.

Where do we go from here? Many Americans are angry at the recent events in Egypt and especially the killings of Americans in Libya. We have free speech in America, and we generally tolerate it even when we dislike it. Many Americans feel that the apology for the video was unnecessary because our government did not support it, and also because it is likely that many of the demonstrations were either pre-planned or quickly instigated by the enemies of the United States.

We should not cut off aid to Mideast nations, but we are obliged to protect our embassies, consulates and American citizens. What we should do is have specific conditions for giving financial and military training aides to those Mideast nations in order to keep our sphere of influence alive in the region. The United States just gave a billion dollars in debt relief to Egypt. For that kind of financial support, we should expect reasonable protection of our people and government property there.

The United States will gain prestige and respect by demanding more support from those it helps. That includes Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other countries in the Middle East.

— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.