Bahraini Legislators Respond to Letter from US Congress
A group of Bahraini legislators issued a response to a letter sent earlier this month by 20 Members of the United States Congress that expressed concern at the delayed visit of U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture ...
June 25, 2013
Category: Afghanistan, Diplomacy, Economics, Featured, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Leadership Transitions, Qatar, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
U.S. Navy Officer Presents New Strategy for Bahrain
Commander Richard McDaniel, USN, Federal Executive Fellow at Brookings' Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, published a report entitled "No 'Plan B:' U.S. Stretegic Access in the Middle East and the Question of Bahrain," on how the U.S. ...
June 25, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Featured, Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism, US foreign policy, Youth
Obama Discusses Turkey’s Protests with Erdogan
On Monday, President Barack Obama spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan about a range of issues, including the Syrian crisis and protracted demonstrations in Turkey. According to a White House statement, “The two leaders discussed ...
Disagreement Over U.S. Policy in Syria
Photo Credit: Evan Vucci-Pool/Getty ImagesSyria's rebel commander, Gen. Salim Idris, confirmed that they have received new weapons, though he refused to indicate the source. He also urged the U.S. ...
June 21, 2013
Category: Conflict, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, Sectarianism, Syria, US foreign policy
Kuwait Cabinet Sets Parliamentary Poll Date
The Kuwaiti cabinet approved July 25 as its date for the country's next parliamentary polls today, scheduling elections for Kuwait's National Assembly for the third time in 16 months and for the sixth time since 2006. The ...
HRW Reports on Civil Society Restrictions in Bahrain
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a new report titled "Interfere, Restrict, Control: Restraints on Freedom of Association in Bahrain." The report details the repressive laws and policies that restrain civic and political groups and trade unions in Bahrain. The report ...
June 20, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, United Nations, US foreign policy
Egyptian Opposition Group: U.S. Ambassador’s Comments “Blatant Interference”
Egypt's National Association for Change (NAC), a broad coalition of pro-democracy groups led by Mohammed ElBaradei, criticised U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson for her comments regarding the Egyptian Army and the mass opposition protests scheduled for June ...
June 19, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Civil-Military Relations, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Legislation, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Protests, US foreign policy, US politics
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 ...
June 19, 2013
Category: Committee Meetings, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Elections, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Secularism, Syria, UN Security Council, US foreign policy, US politics, Women, Youth
G8 Summit Calls for Urgent Syria Peace Conference
On Monday, senior officials of the Group of Eight (G8) met for a two-day conference to draft a statement on the war in Syria acceptable to both Russia and to those who seek to depose President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting’s ...
June 18, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil-Military Relations, Courts and Judiciary, Diplomacy, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Protests, Reform, Social Media, Turkey, Uncategorized, US foreign policy
Amendment on US-MENA Tear Gas Sales in NDAA
During the recent mark up of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (H.R. 1960), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced an amendment (H.R. 4310) that would place certain restrictions on the sale of ...
Senior Muslim Brotherhood Member Discusses Egyptian NGO Law
Amr Darrag, Senior Muslim Brotherhood member, professor of engineering at Cairo University, and recently appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, commented on the goals of the controversial proposed NGO law in a ...
June 17, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political Islam, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference–”Continuity and Change in the Gulf: How Stable and For How Long?”
The Project on Middle East Democracy and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace cohosted a three-panel conference on Friday, June 14, 2013. The final panel was entitled “Continuity and Change in the Gulf: How Stable and For How Long?” It featured Kristian Coates-Ulrichsen, Baker Institute Fellow for Kuwait at Rice University, Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, and Mark Lynch, Associate Professor of Political Science and ...
POMED Notes: Center for a New American Security Annual Conference
The Center for a New American Security hosted a conference on June 12, 2013 at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. entitled “Looking Forward: U.S. National Security Beyond the Wars.” Numerous members of CNAS staff moderated discussions between participants like Senator Bob Corker, Wes Bush, CEO and Chairman of the Northrop Grumman Corporation, Eric Edelman of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Michele Flournoy of Boston Consulting Group, ...
POMED Notes: Dynamic Gulf Conference–”New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) co-hosted a conference titled "Dynamic Gulf: Forces of Change in a Strategic Region." The first panel, "New Trends in Activism: Youth, Women, and Islamists", was moderated by Stephen McInerney, Executive Director of POMED, and featured as panelists Kristin Smith Diwan, Assistant Professor of Comparative and Regional Studies at the American University School of International Service; Jane ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Event Notes, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US foreign policy, Women, Youth
U.S. to Provide Military Aid to Syrian Rebels
In a statement Thursday, Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications, Ben Rhodes announced that the intelligence community has determined with high confidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, against the opposition multiple ...
June 13, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Congress, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Islamist movements, Legislation, Protests, US foreign policy, US politics, Youth
U.S. Eases Trade Restrictions on Syrian Opposition
Secretary of State John Kerry signed a limited waiver of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (SAA) on Wednesday. According to a State Department press release, the waiver will allow the export of U.S. origin goods to parts ...
New POMED Policy Brief: “The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey”
In POMED's latest policy brief, "The Gezi Park Protests: Time for a New U.S. Approach to Turkey," Professor Howard Eissenstat writes, "Amidst ongoing protests in Turkey, the media has focused its attention on both the causes of the crisis and the Turkish government’s response. Despite this focus, there have been noticeably few assessments of potential outcomes, or recommendations for a broader U.S. response. This brief attempts to help fill that gap, with a ...
June 13, 2013
Category: Human Rights, Policy Briefs, Publications, Reform, Turkey, US foreign policy