I&#x27;m not an &quot;Arab Spring sceptic&quot;. I&#x27;m just a realist. The West largely kept out of the Arab Spring to avoid getting their hands dirty and the result is a huge mess.<p>We were too afraid to risk our own soldiers or pissing off the wrong people. Now we have Islamist extremists everywhere and a self-proclaimed Caliphate is trying to establish a permanent Islamic state.