Middle East Policy

Iran Freedom Support Act (H. R. 6198) has been adopted by Congress. This is definitely an important step in the right course towards the new Middle East. It becomes clearer day by day that the fate of the Middle East will be determined by the outcomes of the war between Middle East totalitarians led by Iran and democratic forces backed or represented by determined democratic international powers led by the US. To be accurate, I stress on the term 'totalitarian' because the general authoritarian Arab states are weaker than taking this war. Hence, what matters now is the totalitarian axis. This totalitarian axis, the terror umbrella, as already became obvious and in public consists of the Iranian regime as leader and the remnants of al-Ba'ath party (or the 'last Ba'ath' as I would love to call) besides Hezbullah and Hamas as proxies and hit men. There will be no salvation, peace, stability and of course freedom and democracy in the Middle East without targeting th...

Freedom House has just published their Freedom in the World 2006 (see the map of freedom ), which provides their rating and analysis of the freedom of each state and territory in the world for mid-2005. Also, Freedom House has published a special report, Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2006 , which I live in one of them . There has been progress. The number of electoral democracies has increased to 123, and of them, liberal democracies to 89. The following is from the overview by Arch Puddington followed by the list of the worst of the worst: In a year in which the state of world freedom showed striking improvement in major countries from Ukraine to Indonesia, several places in the Arab Middle East saw modest but notable increases in political rights and civil liberties—even though none there yet approach the status of a free society. Although the region continues to suffer from a marked deficit of freedom, this progress was the most significant develo...

Continuing my effort to spotlight the various academic and scholarly views on Middle East democratization policy in Middle East Policy blog , I will post some interesting excerpts from Tamara Cofman Wittes' article, " Arab Democracy, American Ambivalence; Will Bush's rhetoric about transforming the Middle East be matched by American deeds?" appeared in the Weekly Standard , 02/23/2004, Volume 009, Issue 23: Previous View on Middle East Democratization Policy (Tamara Cofman Wittes is a research fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.) The premise underlying America's embrace of this gradual approach is that we can avoid the risk of Islamist victories and minimize bilateral tensions if we help existing governments reform, even if they resist opening up political competition and sharing power. In theory, our new assistance under the Middle East Partnership Initiative and the National Endowment for Democracy is also supposed to...

Here are the recent news and developments concerning the political life and democratic stirring in Egypt gathered from the Egypt Monitor . Egypt watch is of extreme importance to the Middle East democratization research. For my comment on this subject go to Arab Democracy and Egypt Paradigm . Previous Egypt Democracy Watch Egypt Democracy Watch: (Covers the latest two months) Egyptian Judges Oppose New Law on Elections The Judges Club might is preparing for conflict with the government over its introduction of a constitutional amendment. In the debate on constitutional amendments, the government wants to amend Article 88 of the constitution, that stipulates that the judiciary is the authority that monitors elections. The regime wants to create a new body to oversee the election. Limited Cabinet Reshuffle On Monday August 28, new cabinet members were sworn in. The limited cabinet reshuffle included the appointment of Mamdouh Marei- former chairman of the presidential elections commiss...

Max Boot from the CFR wrote an interesting op-ed on the U.S. efforts to promote democracy after 9/11. I don't agree with all points of this piece, but it still spotlights some good and important points. Some related articles of mine: - The Neo-Internationalism After 9/11 - The End of International Isolationism - Defining the Iraqi Question - U.S. Foreign Aid and Democracy Promotion - Bush, Americans and Spreading Democracy Here is Boot's piece: Democracy, Our Best Protector Max Boot September 13, 2006 Los Angeles Times For the last five years the standard critique of Bush administration foreign policy has run as follows: The president did a great job of rallying the nation after 9/11 and of toppling the Taliban. But then he blundered by invading Iraq and trying to spread democracy at gunpoint. He should have concentrated on working with other countries to track down terrorists. The reality—or so it seems to me—is nearly the opposite. Bush has done a good job of capturing or ki...

The White House released a fact sheet concerning the United States' new Middle East strategy which was included in a presidential speech. Here is the fact sheet: Fact Sheet: Winning the Struggle Between Freedom and Terror in the Middle East President Bush Addresses American Legion National Convention Today, President Bush Discussed The Struggle Between Freedom And Terror In The Middle East – Including The Battle In Iraq, The Central Front In The War On Terror. In the coming days, the President will deliver a series of speeches describing the nature of our enemy in the War on Terror, the insights we have gained about their aims and ambitions, the successes and setbacks we have experienced, and our strategy to prevail. As we approach the fifth anniversary of 9/11, there is a tendency to believe the terrorist threat is receding – that feeling could not be more wrong. Our Enemies Come From Different Places And Take Inspiration From Different Sources – But They Form The Outlines Of A S...

This is the news section of the September issue of Arab Reform Bulletin Published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Egypt: Cabinet Reshuffle; Arrests of Muslim Brothers Continue President Hosni Mubarak carried out a limited cabinet reshuffle on August 28. Former Chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court Mamdouh Marai was appointed Minister of Justice, a development some observers expect to herald a new round of conflicts between the government and the Judges Club. Mubarak broke up the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (seen as a vestige of Egypt's socialist days) into Ministries for Economic Development (Othman Mohammed Othman) and a Ministry for Local Development (Abdel Salam Mahgoub, formerly governor of Alexandria). Observers believe more sweeping changes in the cabinet might follow the ruling National Democratic Party's annual conference on September 19-21. The Party has promised to preview amendments to the constitution related to the bala...

FREE AND UNITED WE STAND

The war on Iran has already begun and the Iranian people are under severe attack. Indeed, the terrorist thugs of the Iranian regime have been waging the war on the Iranian people to maintain and sustain their imposed totalitarian theocratic system on the Iranian people. Reminding of related earlier posts: Iran's Waning Human Rights About Iran Regime Middle East Totalitarians and Existential Choice Here is additional related information: Ban of Legal Aid Center Raises Concern over Iran's Human Rights Tehran outlaws Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi's Center for Defense of Human Rights By Lea Terhune Washington File Staff Writer Washington - When the Iranian government notified the Center for Defense of Human Rights (CDHR) that it was illegal and that if its activities continued, members risked arrest, co-founder Shirin Ebadi responded with an international e-mail appeal for support. Ebadi, a well-known lawyer, is the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Pri...

I will spotlight the various academic and scholarly views on Middle East democratization policy in Middle East policy blog to serve eventually as an open source on this topic. Here is an excerpt from Amy Hawthorne's article "Can the United States Promote Democracy in the Middle East?" appeared in the Current History , January 2003: TOWARD A STRATEGY There is no “one size fits all” answer for Middle East democracy promotion. The approach must be tailored for each country, taking into consideration local conditions. The following four basic recommendations should inform at least the initial stages of a serious United States effort, building on much of what the administration has already devised for beyond Iraq and the PA, but giving it more teeth. First, democracy promotion is a very long-term effort, requiring a consistent series of steps to demonstrate United States sincerity over many years. Toward this end, the United States must shift from zero-sum thinking—that the o...