The Atlantic Council and Legatum jointly produced a report which delineates five myths about Egypt's current political transformation and post-revolution future. The authors of the report argue that "ailure in Egypt could lead other countries in the region to turn away from the very idea of democratic reform." They insist that the country's newly elected parliament and president must guarantee that new jobs constantly become available for the nation's growing youth population, ...

Today, the House Appropriations Committee released the FY12 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which included a total of $39.6 billion in regular discretionary funding, an 18% decrease ($8.6 billion) from last year's level. Global War on Terror funding received $7.6 billion in the bill, $1.1 billion below the President's request. Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers noted that, "the bill provides essential support to secure and stabilize some of the most critical ...

In an interview with The Cable, Rep. Howard Berman discussed the negative implications of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's markup last week of H.R.2583, a State Department and foreign assistance authorization bill. Rep. Berman argued that the bill was a "waste of time" to begin with, and the over 100 amendments added by GOP Congressmen sent a negative signal to the international community. He criticized his GOP counterparts for throwing ...

On Friday, the Helsinki Commission held a hearing entitled “Minority at Risk: Coptic Christians in Egypt.” Christopher Smith (R-NJ) chaired the hearing, also attending were Steve Cohen (D-TN), Joe Pitts (R-PA), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Renee Ellmers (R-NC). The witnesses were Caroline Doss, Vice President, Coptic Solidarity; Michelle Clark, Adjunct Professor, George Washington University; and Jean Maher, President, French Office, Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization. Notes on the event ...

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) introduced, with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) as sponsors, the "Middle East Transition and Development Act" to assist regional countries, especially Egypt and Tunisia with economic development assistance. The bill, S.1388, seeks to encourage the U.S. Executive Director to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to expand the use of the Bank's resources to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The ...

On Thursday, Foreign Policy and the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network (MFAN) co-hosted a discussion on foreign assistance in the context of the Arab Spring. A keynote address was given by Tamara Cofman Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Following her address was a panel discussion with John Norris, Executive Director of the Sustainable Security and Peacebuilding Initiative, Center for American Progress; Ehaab Abdou, Co-founder, Nahdet El ...

On Tuesday, the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a panel discussion with the Heinrich Böll Foundation of North America to announce the release of a new publication, The Federal Budget and Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012: Democracy, Governance, and Human Rights in the Middle East. The discussion featured Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of POMED and author of the report; Daniel Brumberg, Senior Adviser to the Center for Conflict ...

James Traub writes in Foreign Policy on Friday about the meeting in Istanbul with the Libya Contact Group, an assembly of representatives from NATO, Middle Eastern countries, international organizations and the U.S. State Department that spoke on the possibility of a "good outcome" in Libya.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that it is essential to "keep the alliance speaking with one voice."  The coalition decided on Friday to recognize ...

On Thursday, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems hosted a panel discussion on the “Road to Reform in the Middle East and North Africa.” Panelists included Ambar Zobairi, Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa, IFES; Elmar Brok, German Member of the European Parliament; and Michele Dunne, Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council. The panel was moderated by Bill Sweeney, President and CEO, IFES. For ...

Ted Piccone, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director at the Brookings Institution, argues that the global democracy community gained a second wind at the recent Community of Democracies meeting in Lithuania. The renewed support for democracy by the Obama administration, the leadership of newer democracies, and the developing promise of the Arab Spring, have contributed to notable progress in terms of democracy assistance programs, support to civil society, and reforming the ...

On Tuesday, July 12, the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the first of two hearings on “Promoting Peace? Reexamining U.S. Aid to the Palestinian Authority.” The hearing was presided over by Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH), and ranking member Gary Ackerman (D-NY). Also in attendance were Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), ...

On Wednesday, the Institute for Gulf Affairs hosted a conference titled, "U.S. Foreign Policy and the Future of Bahrain" at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  The conference featured speeches by Bahraini political activists on the violations against human rights and a panel of experts that spoke on the current political situation in Bahrain.  The conference began with opening remarks by Ali al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf ...

Aaron David Miller argues that the U.S. has never been in a place where it's Arab allies have come "undone" in an article entitled, "For America, an Arab Winter" published in The Wilson Quarterly. Since the uprisings, the administration's response has resulted in "contradictions and anomalies." Miller provides examples including, the administration calling for Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi's resignation, but not doing the same for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In Bahrain, Yemen ...

Michael Singh, from the Washington Institute of Near East Policy argued that the United States "must catch up" as the Middle East transforms politically.  Singh asserted that the United States' interests in the Middle East will have setbacks due to "policy failures" that have resulted in "anti-Americanism" including, supporting oppressive dictators like former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and policymaker's "failure to build a broader foundation of support in these countries." ...

The United Nations is preparing for contingency plans that would include the deployment of about 200 unarmed U.N observers that would monitor a cease-fire in Libya in the wake of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi's fall.  The United Nations is also preparing to approve a later deployment of an armed, multinational force, which would involve troops from nations including, Turkey and Jordan.  If Gadhafi does leave Libya, the Security Council would have ...

In a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department Victoria Nuland said that the U.S. believes Turkey should continue to leave it's borders open for Syrian refugees.  In addition, Syrian officers have defected to Turkey and called on the United States, the UN and Turkey to create a buffer zone to protect the refugees.  "We want to see the provision of humanitarian assistance on both sides of the border, and we want to ...