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Dear Friends,
All too often, pundits treat the Middle East as if the region were silent, unmoving, immutable. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, we are witnessing a time of remarkable tumult and change in the region, as its societies become increasingly connected with the outside world and its citizens begin to ask more of their governments. The issue isn’t the people – but whether the region’s leaders can keep up.
And at the center of this wave of change are youth. Roughly 30% of the population of the Middle East is between the ages of 15 and 29, around 100 million people. And another 30-35% is below the age of 15, representing the highest proportion of youth to adults in the region’s history. Whether there will be jobs for these youth, whether their governments will be able to satisfy their growing demands for political participation and some semblance of the opportunities available to their counterparts in Europe and the US – these remain to be seen. But clearly the experience of this next generation, and the ideas they hold about governance and reform, are critically important. The future of the region is in their hands.
The Project on Middle East Democracy works to bring Americans and Middle Easterners together for fruitful dialogue about how genuine democracy can emerge in the region and how the US can best support that process. And one important way we do this is through the youth conferences we hold each spring in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan.
This past weekend we hosted our first youth conference of 2008 in Rabat, Morocco, together with Americans for Informed Democracy and the Institut National de la Jeunesse et la Démocratie.
The topic of this year’s conference was “Find Your Voice: A Cross-cultural Forum on Political Participation and Civic Activism.” 50 young leaders – students, journalists, political activists, and other young professionals – gathered for the two-day conference, where they shared ideas, learned new skills, debated, and ultimately voted on and passed a set of policy recommendations for the US and Moroccan governments. Conference speakers represented a wide array of backgrounds; most were accomplished young activists in their respective fields. These included Scott Goodstein, director of New Media for the Barack Obama presidential campaign; Mbarka Bouaida, the youngest female member of the Moroccan Parliament; Houda Filali-Ansary, political correspondent for La Vie Eco; and Mark Parkison, Team Leader for Democracy and Governance programs at USAID Morocco.
We will be continuing to work closely with the conference participants through follow-up activities and online dialogue. And we look forward to hosting two of the conference participants in July here in Washington so they can speak directly with American policymakers.
In the meantime, check out our website for more information about our upcoming conferences in Cairo (this coming weekend, May 2-3) and Amman (May 29-31). Also, watch out for our full report, including the recommendations from all three conferences, in June.
All the best,
Andrew
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Andrew P. Albertson
Executive Director
Project on Middle East Democracy
andrew.albertson@pomed.org
202-422-6804
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POMED Updates
POMED Announces Three New Additions to our Advisory Board
We are very excited this month to annouce the addition of three outstanding leaders to POMED’s Advisory Board: Lorne Craner, Mark Palmer, and Ken Wollack. Their expertise and guidance will be invaluable as POMED continues to grow.
Lorne Craner is currently the President of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a position he has held since 2004, and also held from 1995 to 2001. As President, Craner has led the strengthening of IRI’s programs in countries such as China, Colombia, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey. Previously, Craner was Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2001 to 2004. Craner also serves on the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and chairs the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion.
Ambassador Mark Palmer is the Vice Chairman of Freedom House’s Board of Trustees and a long-time fighter for democracy and human rights both inside and outside government. he played an instrumental role in ushering the transition from Communism to democracy in Eastern Europe, through his work in the Department of State and in the private sector. He is also the author of Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World’s Last Dictators by 2025, whose policy recommendations form the basis for the ADVANCE Democracy Act of 2007.
Kenneth Wollack has served as President of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) since 1993, after serving as executive vice president of NDI for seven years. Before joining NDI, he co-edited the Middle East Policy Survey, a Washington-based newsletter, and wrote regularly on foreign affairs for the Los Angeles Times. Wollack is a member of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid and is the chairman of the board of directors for the U.S. Committee for the United Nations Development Programme.
You can find the full list of POMED’s Advisory Board here.
Event on FY09 Budget, Appropriations and Middle East Democracy
On Tuesday, April 29, POMED hosted a panel discussion on Capitol Hill entitled “Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations and Democracy, Governance and Human Rights in the Middle East.” Taking a closer look at President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget request, the speakers discussed the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to support democracy in the region, the changes in the international affairs budget request as compared to past fiscal years, and what kinds of changes we might see in the future. The panel included Ambassador Edward Gabriel, President and CEO of The Gabriel Company, LLC, Stephen McInerney, Director of Advocacy for POMED, and Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director of Freedom House. POMED’s Executive Director, Andrew Albertson, moderated the event.
POMED’s notes on the event are available here, and the slides from McInerney’s PowerPoint presentation are now available here to be viewed or downloaded as a pdf. Full video of the event and a complete transcript will soon be available as well on POMED’s website. In addition, POMED will publish a paper in May that will give further details on the president’s request – program by program and coutnry by country – so keep an eye out for that as well!
POMED Kicks Off Spring Series of Conferences in the Middle East
As Andrew mentioned above, this past weekend was marked by a conference in Rabat, Morocco, which kicked off the “Young Global Leaders Forum: Democratic Development in the Middle East and North Africa” for 2008, sponsored and organized by POMED and Americans for Informed Democracy along with local partner organizations in Jordan, Morocco, and Egypt. The forum begins with three conferences in the Middle East, followed by a number of events for conference participants over the course of the year. As part of the forum, we will bring two participants from each conference here to Washington in July to meet with American policymakers and present outcomes from their conferences at public events. A preliminary report on the Morocco conference is available here, and information is also available on the upcoming conferences in Egypt (this weekend, May 2-3) and Jordan (May 29-31).
This is POMED’s second annual series of youth conferences. Reports on the 2007 conferences from Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan are available on our website.
POMED Launches Monthly Briefing Series for Congressional Staff
In March, POMED was excited to launch a new monthly series of lunch briefings for Congressional staffers, entitled, “Rethinking Democracy Promotion.” The series provides a forum for key congressional staffmembers to meet once a month to discuss the various peaceful policy tools available for supporting democracy, political reform, and human rights in the Middle East. Each month, a leading expert from the field of democracy promotion will give remarks on a particular aspect of U.S. strategy for supporting democracy in the Middle East and North Africa.
On March 7, Ambassador Mark Palmer, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Freedom House, gave a briefing entitled “Rethinking Democracy Promotion in the Middle East.” Ambassador Palmer drew on his many years of experience supporting democracy activists while at the State Department to address the challenges posed by the Middle East today – and the tools available to US policymakers for encouraging change.
On April 18, Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy, spoke on “Regaining the Momentum in Democracy Promotion: The Challenge of the Middle East.” Despite the region’s lag in terms of democracy, Gershman pointed to a broadening, or “political opening” in governments of Yemen, Kuwait, Morocco, and Turkey. Gershman also highlighted the successful transition toward democracy in Malaysia and Indonesia as examples of democracy emerging successfully in Muslim nations, which could serve as a model in some respects for the Middle East.
On May 16, Tamara Cofman Wittes, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy, will address “The State of Reform in the Middle East,” examining recent political developments on the ground in the region and implications for U.S. policy and efforts to support democracy.
Following these three introductory briefings, the series will shift toward focusing each month on one particular policy tool for supporting democracy in the region. These will include assisting political party development; diplomatic initiatives; the use of trade and investment to build pluralism; educational exchange programs; international broadcasting; multilateral initiatives and intergovernmental bodies; technical assistance for electoral administration; and more.
As always, we welcome your input: if you have an idea for a topic we should cover in this seminar series, please contact Stephen McInerney at stephen.mcinerney@pomed.org.
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Legislative Roundup
April was another busy month for the U.S. Congress. Upon returning from the two-week Easter recess, Congress immediately prepared for the return of General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, who gave their updated reports on the current state of Iraq, the impact of the surge, and the political and military challenges ahead. The renewed focus on Iraq brought a number of new bills regarding the future of U.S. policy in the country. In addition, the House and Senate worked throughout April to reconcile the differing versions of the Fiscal Year 2009 budget resolution passed in March to clear the path for the appropriations committees to begin allocating funds for FY09. As of yet, such an agreement has not been reached, but there are signs that the appropriations process will begin soon, with or without a joint budget resolution.
Iraq
The dominant focus of Congress this month was Iraq, as Petraeus and Crocker returned to Capitol Hill to testify on current conditions in Iraq. The second week of April featured five committee hearings on Iraq with Crocker or Petraeus (or both) as witnesses, with an additional seven hearings on Iraq with other expert witnesses taking place this month.
Unsurprisingly, the renewed attention on Iraq also included the introduction of several bills directed toward U.S. policy in Iraq. Amid signs of a weakening U.S. economy, the financing of the Iraq war effort and Iraqi reconstruction became an increasing concern. A pair of bills were introduced – H.Res.1111 by Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL) and H.R.5899 by Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL) – which declare that any funding provided by the United States to the Government of Iraq for reconstruction, training for Iraqi security forces, and fuel for United States operations in Iraq should be provided only in the form of loans. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) introduced H.RES.1108 , which argues that future Iraq reconstruction should be paid for by the Government of Iraq, while Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) introduced Senate resolution S.Res.494, focusing on the need for Iraq’s neighbors and other international partners to fulfill their pledges to provide reconstruction assistance to Iraq. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) introduced resolution H.Res.1123, calling on the President of the United States not to commit the United States to any bilateral agreement with the Republic of Iraq that involves the continued presence of the United States Armed Forces in Iraq unless the agreement includes a provision under which the Republic of Iraq agrees to reimburse the United States for all costs incurred by the United States related to the presence of United States Armed Forces in Iraq after the effective date of the agreement.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a pair of bills on Iraq, S.2829, which provides special immigrant status for certain Iraqis, and S.Res.501, honoring the sacrifice of the members of the United States Armed Forces who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) introduced resolution H.Con.Res.321, expressing the need for a more comprehensive diplomatic initiative led by the United States, Iraq, and the international community. The bill specifically urges the implementation of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group calling for direct engagement of Iran and Syria.
Iran
On Tuesday (4/8), H.R.5084, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), was referred to four House committees for consideration. The resolution would require the Secretary of State to conduct ongoing assessments of the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran. If passed, the legislation would also compel the Secretary of State to compile such assessments into a report to be submitted to Congress annually. On the same day, the Senate Finance Committee held hearings to examine Senate bill S.970, sponsored by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), which seeks to impose sanctions on Iran and on other countries for assisting Iran in developing a nuclear program. The legislation includes text on Iran’s secret nuclear program history and relationship with the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel, the Palestinians, Hamas, and Carter
On Thursday (4/3) Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced Senate resolution S.Res.499 urging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the head of the Fatah Party, to officially abrogate the 10 articles in the Fatah Constitution that call for Israel’s destruction and terrorism against Israel, oppose any political solution, and label Zionism as racism. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) sponsored resolution S.Res.522 that passed on Tuesday (4/22), recognizing the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel and reaffirming the bonds of close friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel. On Thursday (4/24), the House passed resolution H.Con.Res.322, sponsored by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) expressing the same sentiment.
Following former President Jimmy Carter’s meetings with representatives of Hamas on his recent Middle East trip, a number of bills were proposed condemning his actions in one way or another. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) introduced house resolution H.Con.Res.329 expressing the sense of Congress that former Presidents and high-ranking political figures should refrain from freelance diplomacy against the wishes of the current Government and stated United States foreign policy. Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) introduced H.R.5816 to prohibit assistance for the Carter Center located in Atlanta, Georgia. On Wednesday (4/16), Rep. Mark Steven Kirk introduced house resolution H.Res.1110 condemning Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization responsible for the murder of 26 United States citizens.
Other Bills of Interest
On April 23, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) introduced resolution H.Res.1127 condemning the endemic restrictions on freedom of the press and media and public expression in the Middle East and the concurrent and widespread presence of anti-Semitic material, Holocaust denial, and incitement to violence in the Arab media and press. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced Senate bill S.2917 to strengthen sanctions against the Government of Syria, to enhance multilateral commitment to address the Government of Syria’s threatening policies, and to establish a program to support a transition to a democratically-elected government in Syria.
Outlook
The appropriations subcommittees are now anxious to formally begin the appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2009. While the House and Senate have not yet reached agreement on a joint budget resolution, it appears that either such an agreement will be reached in the first part of May or the appropriations committees will begin work using the respective versions of the budget bill passed by the House and Senate. Also, there are signs that Iran may return to the forefront of foreign policy debates in May, sparked by additional briefings on Iranian action in Iraq last week.
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