Defected Syrian Officer Abducted and Handed Over to Syrian Regime
Al 'Arabiya has reported that the highest ranking officer in the Syrian Army to defect, Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Harmoush, along with two other dissident officers were abducted by Turkish intelligence agents and smuggled back across the border into Syria, ...
TNC Forces Continue Assault on Gadhafi Strongholds
TNC Forces renewed their assaults against the remaining Gadafhi strongholds of Sirta, Bani Walid and Sabha. Residents are reported to be trapped in Sirte with little food, water, or medical care, while thousands have fled. Fierce fighting for the ...
Analysis: Foreign Aid Funds Technology to Protect Protesters
Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Doyle McManus argues that as "Congress is getting ready to make deep cuts in federal spending, including foreign aid, one program it ought to spare" is the State Department's funding of Internet and ...
September 19, 2011
Category: Congress, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Protests, Syria, Technology, US foreign policy
Analysis: Focus on “Iran’s Record of Abuse”
Writing in the Huffington Post, Hadi Ghaemi, the Executive Director of the International Campaign for Human Rights, asks for the U.S. to "challenge Iran's record of abuse and to support the Iranian people's aspirations for rule of law, democratic ...
Turkey Seeks “Axis of Democracy” with Egypt
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu envisioned an "axis of democracy" in the region by aligning with Egypt. He said “this will not be an axis against any other country — not Israel, not Iran, not any other country, ...
September 19, 2011
Category: Featured, Political Parties, Political transition, Protests, Reform, Yemen
Op-Ed: “A Troop Drawdown That Would Fail Iraq”
As recent media reports suggest that the Obama administration has made a decision to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, possibly to as few as 3,000. However, administration officials have denied any decision has been made on troop levels in Iraq. In an editorial by senators John McCain(R-AR) , Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT), and Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC), they argued that "such an approach would disregard the recommendations of our ...
“Release of U.S. Hikers in Iran Delayed”
The release of the two jailed American hikers in Iran,Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, was delayed Sunday because one of the judges was on vacation. The lawyer, Masoud Shafiei, said "when he attempted to get the two signatures required for the ...
Syria: Dissidents Meet Outside Damascus
After 44 people were killed on Friday after morning prayers in anti-government protests, 200 dissidents met outside Damascus to unite key opposition figures. The meeting comes two days after Syrian opposition figures formed the Syrian National Council (SNC) to ...
POMED Notes: Congressional Hearing on U.S. Assistance to the PA
On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the issue of U.S. financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and more broadly, to the United Nations. For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here for the PDF. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) chaired the committee hearing and opened the hearing with an opening statement. Ros-Lehtinen stated that the purpose of the hearing was to “address the troubling turn of events ...
September 17, 2011
Category: Committee Meetings, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Foreign Aid, Palestine, United Nations, US foreign policy, US politics
State Dept. Releases International Religious Freedom Reports
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced the State Department's annual International Religious Freedom Report, stating that "it is our core conviction that religious tolerance is one of the essential elements not only of a sustainable democracy but of ...
September 16, 2011
Category: Algeria, Bahrain, Civil Society, Egypt, Freedom, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, US politics
POMED Notes: “Saudi Arabia in the Shadow of the Arab Revolt”
On Friday, the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center held a discussion with David Ottaway, senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, with a welcome by Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, who opened the discussion by describing Ottaway’s new paper and how it relates Saudi Arabia to the Arab Spring. For full event notes, continue reading. Or, click here ...
Jordan: Protests Reveal Rift over Palestinian Issue
The protests planned via Facebook for Thursday evening outside the Israeli embassy, which prompted the early departure of the Israeli diplomatic mission in Amman, drew a turnout of 200 mostly young protesters. The discussion of the Palestinian bid for ...
Feltman Reports on Visit to Libya
After meeting in Tripoli with leaders of the TNC and civil society groups, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman described the city as "remarkably normal in atmosphere," with businesses open, traffic flowing, and police patrolling the streets. In his ...
September 16, 2011
Category: Diplomacy, Featured, Human Rights, Libya, Military, Political Islam, Political transition, Terrorism, US foreign policy, Women's Rights
Oman to Be “Honest Broker” in Hiker Negotiations
As the U.S. seeks to free the last two hikers held in Iran, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, Oman has assumed the role as the "honest broker" between the two countries. After playing a role in releasing American hiker Sarah Shourd in ...
September 16, 2011
Category: Featured, Human Rights, International Law, Iran, Iraq, Multilateralism, Oman