POMED Report: Analyzing the FY13 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bills
The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) released a report contrasting the House and Senate Appropriations bills for fiscal year 2013, examining the potential impact of these bills on foreign aid and democracy assistance. Among the notable findings are additional ...
June 12, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Legislation, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, POMED, Reports, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UN Human Rights Council, US foreign policy, Western Sahara, Yemen
More Clashes Erupt Along Lebanese Border
Renewed clashes broke out between Syrian troops and residents of the Lebanese border town of Aarsal today. The report from Now Lebanon states that most residents of Aarsal are Sunni and support the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. ...
Assad Denies Houla Involvement
President Bashar al-Assad gave his first speech in five months Sunday before the newly seated Syrian parliament, in which he condemned last week's massacre in Houla but placed the blame on foreign terrorists. “The crisis is not internal, rather ...
Dept of State: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
The U.S. Department of State released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011. Particular emphasis was placed on the Middle East and North Africa, where developments in the Arab Spring led to significant changes in ...
Eleven Abducted Lebanese Citizens Released
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said eleven Lebanese citizens who had been kidnapped in Syria were handed over to Turkish authorities and would soon return to Beirut. The victims, all of whom are Shi’ite, were returning to Lebanon from a ...
Syrian Violence Continues Crossing Lebanese Border
On Sunday, an anti-Assad Muslim preacher and an associate were killed by army soldiers in northern Lebanon, which has ignited fears of discord in Lebanon. The army took responsibility for the incident and quickly withdrew from the Akkar region. ...
Summary and Highlights of the FY13 House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill
On Thursday (5/17), the House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 2013 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. According to a committee press release, the bill totals $40.1 billion in regular discretionary funding, which is $2 billion or 5 ...
May 21, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Legislation, Libya, Morocco, NGOs, Oman, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UN Human Rights Council, US foreign policy, Women, Yemen
Thousands Gather to Commemorate Palestinian Nakba
Today, thousands gathered in parts of the occupied West Bank, Gaza, and parts of Israel to commemorate al-Nakba, or the catastrophe, the day where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled or fled their homes during Israel's war for independence. Protests were concentrated in ...
POMED Notes: “Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities and Needs Amidst Economic Challenges in the Middle East”
On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held a hearing entitled, "Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy Priories and Needs Amidst Economic Challenges in he Middle East." The committee heard testimony from Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Mara Rudman, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for the Middle East at USAID. Mark Ward, Deputy Special Coordinator for Middle East Transitions ...
May 10, 2012
Category: Committee Meetings, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Countries, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, NGOs, Palestine, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy
Lebanon’s Descent into “Irrelevance”
Lebanon has found itself on the margins of the Arab Spring, writes Karl Sharro at Foreign Policy, in "The Case for the Superman Underwear." He says that Lebanon has all the ingredients necessary for an uprising, including “a hide-bound political system, corrupt elites, and a young, plugged in population.” Instead, Lebanon has continued the pattern of petty authoritarianism, evidenced by erratic acts of censorship and attacks on freedom of expression. Sharro writes ...
Assange Inaugurates Television Show with Nasrallah
Michael Young writes in the Daily Star about Julian Assange’s new talk show, which debuted on Wednesday with an interview with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The article notes that the show is on Russia Today, a Kremlin sponsored channel. Young mentions that a major topic of conversation revolved around Syria. Nasrallah states that Hizbollah had contacted the Syria opposition, but, “from the beginning we have had a regime that is willing ...
Rami Khoury: The Counter-Revolution is in Full Swing
Rami Khoury writes in the Daily Star today that the fight to “beat back the revolutionary democratic waves” sweeping across the Arab world “is now in full swing.” This counterrevolution, he writes, is evidenced in Washington’s “rock solid ...
April 11, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Countries, Egypt, Featured, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
NTC Unable to Broker Ceasefire between Rival Militias
Clashes between rival militias continued for the third day after the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) failed to broker a ceasefire between the two factions. Clashes occurred as heavy fire was exchanged between the town of Zuwara and ...
March 27, 2012
Category: Diplomacy, Featured, Gulf, Iraq, Lebanon, Political transition, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Nations, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “The Human Rights Situation in Syria”
On Tuesday, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosted members of the U.N. Human Rights independent international Commission of Inquiry for Syria to discuss the findings of their recently released report. Paulo Pinhiero, the chairman of the commission, along with commissioners Yakin Erturk and Karen AbuZayd provided an overview of their investigation and described the current human rights situation in Syria. Senior Brookings Fellow Ted Piccone, deputy ...
March 21, 2012
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Category: Event Notes, Human Rights, Jordan, Lebanon, POMED, Syria, Turkey, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, United Nations
POMED Notes: Syria: On the Edge of Civil War
On Thursday, the Center for National Policy hosted a panel discussing choices facing the international community and the implications of an ever increasingly violent conflict in Syria. Among the panelists were Middle East Project Director Mona Yacoubian, Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Arabiyya Hisham Melham, and Professor Daniel Serwer from Johns Hopkins University. The event was moderated by Bloomberg News correspondent Indira Lakshmana. For full event notes, continue reading below or click ...
February 24, 2012
Category: Countries, EU, Event Notes, Gulf, Hezbollah, Lebanon, POMED, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, US foreign policy
U.N. General Assembly Meets to Discuss Humanitarian Crisis in Syria
On Monday, the U.N. General Assembly prepared to vote on a resolution, proposed by Saudi Arabia, endorsing the Arab League plan introduced by the 22-member states this past Sunday in Cairo. The Arab League introduced this document in hopes of ending the ongoing violence in Syria and ouster President Bashar Al-Assad. The resolution echoes the resolution that was vetoed at the U.N. Security Council and details alleged human rights violations perpetrated ...
February 13, 2012
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Category: al-Qaeda, Arab League, EU, Human Rights, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UN Human Rights Council, United Nations
The Tipping Point: Transitions to Democracy in the Middle East and Latin America
The Kellogg Institute for International Studies in association with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies released a report, “Transitions to Democracy and the Arab Spring: Does Latin America Hold Lessons for the Middle East,” that examines how insights from Latin America’s democratization experience may be relevant for the Middle East today. The symposium was divided into two panels: the first explored the domestic challenges to democratization in Latin America ...
February 8, 2012
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Category: Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Gulf, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, US foreign policy, Yemen
POMED Notes: Lebanon: On the Margins of the Arab Spring
On Friday, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosted an event discussing the implications of the Arab Uprisings for Lebanon’s future. The event hosted speaker Mohamad Chatah, foreign policy advisor to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Hosting the event was Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Marwan Muasher. For full event notes, continue reading below. Or, click here for the PDF The event began with a lecture ...