| Shortly after sunrise last Saturday, Tunisians flipping on their radios heard startling news. The regime of Habib Bourguiba, ruler of Tunisia since the country gained its independence from France in 1956 and President-for-Life since 1975, had come to an abrupt end. After carrying out a bloodless takeover in the predawn hours, Prime Minister Zine al Abidine ben Ali took to the airwaves at 6:30 to declare that Bourguiba, 84, had been ousted. Citing a constitutional provision allowing the President to be removed if he is incapacitated, the Prime Minister claimed that a team of seven doctors had examined Bourguiba, who...
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