Middle East Policy

These are some excerpts from the latest Weekly Wire by the Project on Middle East Democracy . November 26, 2007 Questioning the US Approach to Lebanon: Andrew Exum and POMED's director of advocacy, Stephen McInerney argue that the U.S. tendency to view Lebanon only " through the lens of confrontation with Iran " prevents effective, coherent policy toward Lebanon. Moreover, another pundit says that " the US position doesn't carry much weight with the Lebanese these days mostly because of its role in Israel's invasion last year, when American officials did little or nothing to stop the incursion." Also, according to one observer " Lebanon remains the one bright hope in the Bush administration's waning attempts to promote democracy in the Middle East," but "If the opposition prevails, then Syria and Iran will have gained extra regional leverage at the expense of the US losing its Levantine toehold." Others ask "Is this deadl...

This is the news section of the latest issue of Arab Reform Bulletin (October 2007) Published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Headlines: Lebanon: Presidential Elections; Anti-Syrian MP Assassinated Egypt: Media and Human Rights Crackdown; Brotherhood Leaders Released Yemen, Morocco: New Millennium Challenge Corporation Agreements; Fact Sheet Syria: Blogger Sentenced Jordan: Ex-Legislator Sentenced; IAF to Contest Elections; Publication Restrictions Tunisia: Pressure on Newspaper; Activists’ Hunger Strike Algeria: FIS Leader Arrested Morocco: New Cabinet; Journalist Sentenced to Jail Saudi Arabia: Succession Law; Judicial Reforms; Women Driving Campaign Oman: Run-up to Shura Elections United Arab Emirates: Jail Sentence for Journalists Abolished Kuwait: TV Producer Charged with Insulting Shi’a Bahrain: NDI Returns; Cabinet Change; Anti-Corruption Efforts Upcoming Political Events Contents: Lebanon: Presidential Elections; Anti-Syrian MP Assassinated Parliament adjou...

Torture in Egypt…criminals escaping punishment The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) on Wednesday 8th August 2007 issued its report Torture in Egypt…criminals escaping punishment issued as part of EOHR’s continued campaign to put an end to this horrific crime. The report describes cases of torture and mistreatment inside police stations which occurred between 1993 and July 2007 and which were documented by EOHR’s fieldwork unit using victims’ testimonies, complaints presented by victims’ relatives, the records of public prosecution office investigations, forensic and other medical records which confirm that injuries are the result of torture. More than 567 cases of torture inside police stations are documented, including 167 deaths which EOHR strongly suspects were the result of torture and mistreatment. These cases are merely a limited sample amongst hundreds of other cases received by EOHR in which documentation was has to achieve whither by EOHR or by the victims. The c...