The Obama administration has accelerated the shift toward a "realist" embrace of the autocrats.

. . . Kyrgyzstan nevertheless has offered a reminder that the appeasement of autocrats has its own costs. Even from a strategic point of view, that strategy is ultimately counterproductive. Ms. Otunbayeva says that her interim government aims to create a democracy, with free elections in six months. The Obama administration can atone for its past behavior by providing unqualified support for that transition.