Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S.1601, the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2012 and its accompanying report.  The press release noted the committee’s difficult task of funding more with less, including “responding to the turbulent events in the Middle East and North Africa,” with a total budget of $44.64 billion, which is $6.15 billion below the President’s request.  On the Middle East and North Africa:  ...

Syrians, some with gunshot wounds, have fled into Lebanon in an attempt to escape from the brutal crackdowns taking place all over Syria.  As Syrian refugees escape to bordering towns in Lebanon and Turkey, the military has also moved near the border of both Turkey and now Lebanon. Funerals were held for about 20 protesters on Friday, however Syrian security forces killed five protesters as the funerals quickly transformed into protests ...

One person was killed and at least 7 others injured today during clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. Earlier, about 600 people had gathered to protest against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The army has deployed heavily in the Bab Al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods to prevent further violence.

Moisés Naím, writing for the Carnegie Endowment, discusses why the United States and Europe are attacking Libya with bombs and Syria with words. He first dismisses arguments that the justification for war in Libya is oil, arguing that it would be easier for U.S. oil companies to have security under Gadhafi rather than under the chaos that has ensued.  He states that there are five reasons why the same response ...

On Tuesday, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel entitled, “Lebanon and the Arab Spring: A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Roles Amidst Historic Change in the Region.” USIP President Richard Solomon gave introductory remarks.  Mona Yacoubian, Senior Program Officer for the Middle East and Director of the Lebanon Working Group, moderated the panel.  Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA), the son of Lebanese immigrants, offered his perspective on how ...

Writing in the New York Times, Roger Cohen stated "Osama Bin Laden is dead -- and so is an old Middle East" and noted that the recent events in the Middle East demonstrate how the al-Qaeda leader had lost touch with Arab youth who have "move irrelevant....Facebook and Twitter turned out to be far more effective agents of change than any 'martyrdom' attack on apostates, crusaders and Zionists – the ...

The Bahraini government officially accused Hezbollah of helping train anti-government opposition in an official report sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The report claims that the group has been training opposition figures at camps in both Lebanon and Iran and also accuses them of targeting other Gulf nations as well.  Bahrain also claims that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of meeting with senior leaders of Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group ...

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 ...

Last week, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy hosted an event entitled, "Lebanon Today: Internal Politics and the Arab Spring."  Speaking at the event were May Chidiac, president of MCF Media Institute; Michael Young, opinion editor for the Beirut Daily Star; Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief of Al-Arabiya; and Michael Doran,  visiting professor at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service. May Chidiac noted how protests in the ...

Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, has said he is optimistic that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati's new cabinet will be officially formed  shortly after the Easter holiday.  The speaker said that most of the "thorny issues" has been resolved and that negotiations were focusing on "final touches."  The formation of a new government has been in a three month long deadlock with political infighting over specific cabinet portfolios and ...

Al Hayat editor Ghassan Charbel wrote an op-ed on Wednesday, lamenting that in spite of its own history of liberal freedoms, Lebanon has been inactive in the Arab Spring. He writes, “How Lebanon seems to be a failure today in the face of the Arab revolutions, the dreams of change, others heading toward the future or the search for it…” He points to a recent meeting between Maronite leaders as ...

Courtesy of Al Jazeera After a violent crackdown on Sunday protests left up to 17 dead in Homs, thousands poured into the streets on Monday in funeral rallies to mourn the victims.  More videos of Monday's protests can be viewed at The New York Times blog The Lede.  Meanwhile, Hezbollah expressed its support for embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday.  Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Moussawi said that stability in Syria is essential for ...

On Monday, the Bahraini security forces released 86 detainees following legal procedures taken according to royal decree 18 regarding the State of National Safety.  However, the government also expelled more than 15 Lebanese people living in Bahrain following a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in which he expressed support for the Bahraini opposition's demands.  Authorities also stripped more than a dozen Lebanese of their work and residency protests ...

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held an open nomination hearing to confirm the appointments of Mara E. Rudman, to be Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for the Middle East, and Robert Patterson, to be Ambassador to Turkmenistan. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) presided over the nomination hearing. For full notes, continue below or click here. Senator Casey began the hearing by highlighting the fact that ...