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International Condemnation of Violence in Syria

Syrian security forces increased their hold on Hama on Saturday and human rights activists reported at least 24 deaths on Friday during demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad.  Violence increased despite the growing concern from the international community.  Oil-rich ...

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Civil Society and Democratization in Qatar

An article in Foreign Policy discusses the reasons for Qatar's apparent immunity to the Arab uprisings. While democracy promotion efforts in the Arab world have heavily emphasized strengthening civil society, the Qatar World Values Survey (QWVS) from December 2010 showed ...

Qatari Newspaper Calls for Action in Syria

An editorial in The Peninsula, a leading Qatari newspaper, has called for action in Syria, saying "the outside world is yet to wake up to the seriousness of the situation."  The newspaper called for a meeting between Western and Arab states to "work out an effective strategy to help Syrians...to protect the lives of ordinary people." The paper also called for Syria to allow international media into the country and declared that ...

Qatar: New Media Law

Qatar's cabinet approved a new media law that is likely to be ratified during a meeting presided by Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Thani. The draft states that journalists will be able write freely, "except on issues concerning national security and friendly countries." The Peninsula then adds, "There would be no censorship on the media." The law does, however, prevent journalists from being detained ...

benghazi martyr wall

Libya: Forces Stay; Bombing; al-Obeidi’s Deportation

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on two bills regarding U.S. participation in the NATO led coalition in Libya. The first, H.RES.292, sponsored by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) passed 268-145 and instructs the President to inform Congress, within ...

McCain Outlines Strategic Objectives for the Middle East

Last week, following President Barack Obama's address on the Middle East, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the Dean Acheson Lecture at the United States Institute of Peace where he discussed the Arab Spring.  McCain opened by noting that the uprisings  in the Middle East represent a repudiation of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and stated that Arab Spring should be "a clarifying event for the United States" which presents an ...

Analyst Discusses Bahraini Government’s Vendetta Against Protesters

Writing at the Arab Reform Bulletin, Toby C. Jones highlights the Bahraini government's "vendetta against those who challenged the authority of the ruling Al-Khalifa."  Jones points to the siege of the country's hospitals; the arrests of medical personnel; checkpoints erected to harass the country's Shi'a citizens; and the government's intimidation campaigns perpetuated by the police and pro-regime supporters as examples.  He also highlights the crackdown on Shi'a opposition paper, al-Wasat, ...

Pollock Argues Against Al Jazeera’s Reformer Status

David Pollock, writing for the Washington Institute of Near East Policy (WINEP), discusses the dichotomous news coverage by Al Jazeera English and its Arabic counterpart.  With the increased publicity that Al Jazeera has received over the past few months, Pollock argues that many have praised Al Jazeera's broad based coverage, but failed to address the selectivity of the same coverage.  Pollock states: "Al Jazeera's reformist reputation does not hold up ...

Yemen Update: GCC-Saleh Resignation Deal in Danger

In response to Wednesday violence in which plainclothes gunmen killed 12 anti-government protesters in Sana'a, Yemeni opposition said it may back out of the GCC deal it had previously agreed to if the government continued to use violence against protesters.  In a statement directed at President Ali Abdullah Saleh the opposition coalition said: "In the event of your inability to protect protesters, we will find ourselves unable to pursue ...

Analyst Notes The New Age of Pan-Arabism

Writing at Foreign Policy, Parag Khanna notes the new age of Pan-Arabism that is characterized by societies demanding good governance and an inclusive political process.  He states that the anti-authoritarian revolutions are "truly borderless"  following Al Jazeera's shaming of Arab autocrats -- with the exception of Bahrain -- and young activists training together across the region.  Khanna also highlights the Arab League's backing of a no-fly zone in Libya and considerations ...

On Bahrain/Gulf Issues, Al Jazeera Goes Quiet

Andrew Hammond, writing for Reuters, notes that Al Jazeera's "pivotal" coverage of uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, is noticeably absent on the current unrest in Bahrain.  Protests in Oman and Saudi Arabia have also gone uncovered by the network.  As'ad AbuKhalil of California State University says: "Bahrain does not exist as far as Al Jazeera is concerned, and they have avoided inviting Bahraini or Omani or Saudi critics of ...

Obama Praises Qatar on Libya/Middle East

President Barack Obama praised Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani for Qatar's role in the international military intervention in Libya: "We would not have been able to shape the kind of broad-based international coalition that includes not only our NATO members and also includes Arab states without the emir's leadership."  He also thanked the emir for his support of democratic transitions in Tunisia and Egypt.  Qatar also hosted a ...

Clinton, Kerry Offer Middle East Policy Remarks at Brookings Conference

Tuesday marked the opening of the U.S.-Islamic World Conference hosted by the Brookings Institution, the Qatari Government  and the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech that emphasized U.S. commitment to cooperating with Middle East countries to achieve shared interests in values.  Clinton said the region-wide uprisings have exposed the myth that “Arabs do not share universal human aspirations for freedom, ...

State Department Officials For Meeting With Contact Group on Libya

On Monday, the State Department announced that Undersecretary for Political Affairs William J. Burns will travel to Doha, Qatar for a meeting of the Contact Group on Libya from April 12th-13th.  Burns will be accompanied by Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Phillip H. Gordon and Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffery Feltman.

Yemen: Saleh Says Ready For ‘Transfer of Power’

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh welcomed efforts from Gulf Arab nations on Monday to mediate the political crisis in the country.  Saleh had previously rejected Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) mediation last week citing "interference" in internal Yemeni affairs.  As a result of statements made by the Qatar regarding the GCC initiative, Yemen recalled its ambassador from Doha.  In a presidential statement, Saleh stated that he had "no reservation against transferring ...

Yemen: Gulf States Mediation on Possible Saleh Resignation

Arab Gulf states that have been involved in mediating the crisis in Yemen are making a more aggressive push for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.  Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Hamad ibn Jassim Jaber al-Thani spoke on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council in stating that the organization hoped to reach a deal with Saleh to step down soon.  The opposition in Yemen has suggested that current Vice ...

McCall Returns from Trip to Middle East

Dawn McCall, State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs Coordinator, concluded a trip to the Middle East during which she met with media and telecommunications industry executives and journalists as well as senior Embassy officials to discuss media trends and audience usage patterns in today's changing media environment.  McCall  traveled to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.

Libya: Qatar Recognizes Rebel Government

The gulf nation of Qatar recognized the rebel Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people on Monday.  This comes one day after Libyan rebels secured a deal to sell the country's oil to Qatar, which would then sell it on the broader market.  The Gulf Cooperation Council indicated its support for the Qatari position while the country became the first Arab nation to begin patrolling the ...

Bahrain: Qatar Officially Sends Troops

Qatar confirmed on Thursday that it had sent troops as part of the Gulf Cooperation Council force to put down Shi'ite led protests in Bahrain.  This will be in addition to the 1,000 Saudi troops and 500 Emirati troops already in the country.  Iran has withdrawn its ambassador from Qatar in response.  The recent military intervention in Bahrain has been criticized by both US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and ...

Middle East Monarchies Are Likely to Stay

Shadi Hamid, writing in the Atlantic discusses why monarchies in the Middle East have been able to maintain power where its republic counterparts have not.  He states that the old belief that monarchies are more favorable to democratization than republics seems to be changing in light of recent events where republics like Tunisia and Egypt have seen systemic change.  Hamid argues that this is because in republics, the person of the president, provides ...

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