POMED Notes: “Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa Hearing: Elections in Iran: The Regime Cementing its Control”
On Tuesday, June 18, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Elections in Iran: The Regime Cementing its Control.” Mr. Alireza Nader, Senior International Policy Analyst at RAND Corporation, Dr. Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and Mr. Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Associate at the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, testified. The subcommittee’s ...
POMED Notes: Senate Discusses Syria Transition Act
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a business meeting to discuss S.960, a bill relating to the situation in Syria, and S.Res.143, World Press Freedom Day. Senators Corker (R-TN), Boxer (D-CA), Risch (R-ID) Casey (D-PA), Rubio (R-FL), Shaheen (D-NH) Johnson (R-WI), Coons (D-DL), Flake (R-AZ), Udall (D-NM), McCain (R-AZ), Murphy (D-CT), Barrasso (R-WY), Kaine (D-VA), and Paul (R-KY) were present. Chairman Menendez (D-NJ) ...
POMED Notes: Senate Hearing “National Security and Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY2014 International Affairs Budget”
The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the proposed FY2014 International Affairs budget titled “National Security and Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY2014 International Affairs Budget.” Secretary of State John Kerry testified and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. Senator Menendez opened the hearing by reminding the committee of the importance of America’s international leadership despite budgetary constraints. ...
POMED Notes: House Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa, “Demonstrations in Tahrir Square: Two Years Later, What has Changed?”
On Tuesday, February 26, the United States House Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa held a hearing entitled “Demonstrations in Tahrir Square: Two Years Later, What has Changed?” to discuss US policy toward Egypt in light of the country’s recent political turmoil. The subcommittee heard testimony from Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; Katrina Lantos Swett, Chair of the US Committee ...
Senate Appropriations Subcommittees Formed
Two weeks ago, the subcommittees for the Senate Appropriations Committee were released to the public. Of note is the State, Foreign Operations subcommittee, which consists of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Mary ...
Weekly Wire – January 28
POMED's Weekly Wire for the week of January 28 is now available. This week's edition covers these and other highlights: Jordan Election Turnout Exceeds 50 Percent, MB Boycotts Sec. Clinton Testifies on Benghazi, Kerry Confirmation Hearing Commences Protests Mark Egypt Revolution Anniversary; State of Emergency Declared World Bank Approves $500m Loan to Tunisia Iraq: Seven Protesters, Two Police Killed in Protests To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
Ros-Lehtinen to Lead House MENA Subcommittee
Photo Credit: AP/EduardoVerdugo Former House Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) has been named to lead the new Middle East and North Africa subcommittee, and will be replaced as Foreign Affairs chairperson by Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA). Ros-Lehtinen, the ...
Congress Conducts Hearings on Benghazi Attack Findings
At a Foreign Relations Committee briefing to discuss findings of the Accountability Review Board report on the September 11 Benghazi attack, Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns lamented that "we have to do better." Also speaking at ...
POMED Notes: Benghazi – The Attacks and Lessons Learned
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Thursday (12/20) entitled “Benghazi: The Attack and the Lessons Learned.” The hearing featured testimony by William Burns, Deputy Secretary of State, and Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, with Senator John Kerry (D-MA) presiding. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was originally scheduled to appear, but was unable to attend due to illness. For full notes continue reading, or ...
Libyan Prime Minister Appoints Cabinet
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan proposed a new cabinet to the Libyan General National Congress on October 30. Zeidan indicated that the cabinet would include members of the liberal National Forces Alliance, the Islamist Justice and Construction party, as well ...
POMED Notes: The Security Failures of Benghazi
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hosted a hearing on Wednesday (10/10) entitled "The Security Failures of Benghazi." The witnesses included Charlene Lamb, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Programs, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State; Eric Nordstrom, Regional Security Officer, U.S. Department of State; Lt. Col. Andrew Wood, Utah National Guard, U.S. Army; and Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, Under Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of State. For full ...
Debate over U.S. Aid to Egypt Continues
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chairman of the House Republican Study Committee, expressed concerns and raised a number of questions ...
U.S.- Morocco Strategic Dialogue Begins
Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for Morocco Saad-Eddine Al-Otmani launched the U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue on September 13 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. In opening remarks, Secretary Clinton said the U.S. is "not satisfied with simply ...
POMED Notes: Implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report
On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI). The hearing consisted of three panels. The first panel featured Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR). The second panel featured Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. The third panel consisted of: Matar Ebrahim Matar, former member of Bahrain’s Parliament; Leslie Campbell, senior ...
POMED Notes: “Next Steps in Syria”
On Wednesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the conflict in Syria and how the U.S. should or should not respond. Witnesses included the Honorable Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy for the Brookings Institution; the Honorable James Dobbins, Director of International Security and Defense Policy Center for the Rand Corporation; and Andrew Tabler, Senior Fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at the ...
POMED Notes: “Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within the Palestinian Political Establishment”
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the topic of corruption within the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah party. Rep. Steve Chabot chaired the hearing, with Reps. Gary Ackerman, Ted Deutch, Gerry Connolly, and Tom Marino also present. Testifying witnesses included Elliott Abrams, Jonathan Schanzer, and Jim Zanotti. For full event notes, continue reading below or click here. Chabot began the hearing by stating that the purpose of ...
POMED Notes: “Threats to Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders Worldwide – Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing”
On Thursday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on threats and restrictions faced by human rights defenders and civil society. Congressman James McGovern (D-MA) chaired the hearing. Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) was also present. Panel one featured Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the State Department, Donald Steinberg, Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Tomicah Tilleman, ...