POMED Notes: Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey: “Keynote Address by Representative Ed Whitfield”
The Middle East Institute held its Fourth Annual Conference on Turkey on Friday, June 14, which commenced with keynote speaker Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. Rep. Whitfield began by saying the American-Turkish relationship is very important, explaining that he was one of the founders of the Turkish caucus in Congress. He added that ...
June 13, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Congress, Courts and Judiciary, Featured, Islamist movements, Legislation, Protests, US foreign policy, US politics, Youth
Summary of Mideast Provisions in the 2014 NDAA
The House Armed Services Committee marked up the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2014 fiscal year last week. The bill (H.R. 1960) was reported out of committee with a 59-2 vote and included several provisions relating to ...
June 10, 2013
Category: Congress, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Gulf, Iran, Legislation, Syria, US foreign policy, Yemen
June 7, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Political Islam, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa Hearing: A Crisis Mismanaged: Obama’s Failed Syria Policy”
On Tuesday, June 5, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Obama’s Failed Syria Policy.” Mr. Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Ms. Danielle Pletka, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, and Dr. Jon Alterman, Director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, testified. The committee’s chairman, Rep. ...
June 6, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Civil-Military Relations, Conflict, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Gulf, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, NATO, Palestine, Political Islam, Protests, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized, US foreign policy, US politics
Summary of Department of State Congressional Budget Justification Annex: Regional Perspectives
Below you will find POMED’s summary of the State Department’s Congressional Budget Justification Annex for FY14. Click through the post for full notes, or click here for the PDF. Near East Regional Overview: Foreign Assistance Program The State Department requests $7.36 billion for Foreign Assistance Programs for the Near East in FY2014, a 9 percent decrease from FY12 actual spending, to secure “the promise of the region’s democratic transitions” and advance the reforms demanded by ...
Summary of Department of State Congressional Budget Justification Volume 2
Below you will find POMED's summary of the second volume of the State Department's Congressional Budget Justification Volume 2 for FY14. Click through the post for full notes, or click here for the PDF. Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund (MENA IF) The State Department requests $580 million for the Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund to “support the transparency, citizen engagement, and reform orientation necessary on the part of local ...
POMED Notes: “The Middle East and North Africa FY 2014 Budget: Priorities and Challenges”
On Wednesday, May 22, 2013, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing to discuss the FY 2014 budget with regards to the Middle East and North Africa. The Honorable Beth Jones, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and Alina Romanowski, Acting Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of the Middle East at the U.S. Agency ...
May 28, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Israel, NGOs, Palestine, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy, US politics
Jordanian PM Discusses Freedom of Press, Expression
At a meeting of the International Press Institute, Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour discussed Jordanians' increased demand for freedoms of expression and press. Ensour stated that "the Arab Spring has opened new horizons and created more demands” for broadening ...
POMED Notes: Hearing for the Nominations of Ambassadors to Libya and Chad
On Tuesday, May 7, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing for the nominations of the Honorable Deborah Kay Jones and Ambassador James Knight as ambassadors to Libya and the Republic of Chad, respectively. Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) presided. For full hearing notes, continue reading or click here for a PDF. Senator Menendez reminded the committee of the increasing strategic importance of the Maghreb and Sahel to America’s long-term security interests, as ...
May 7, 2013
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Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Diplomacy, Event Notes, Libya, Political transition, Reform, US foreign policy
May 6, 2013
Category: Congress, Democracy Promotion, Featured, Libya, Parliament, Political transition, Protests, US foreign policy
Reps Introduce Bill Promoting Palestinian Leadership
Congressmen Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced a resolution in Congress to prevent a takeover of the Palestinian Authority by Hamas and to promote responsible Palestinian leadership. The bill urges President Mahmoud Abbas to prevent a ...
Congressmen Seek Conditions on U.S. Aid to Egypt
On Thursday, five Congressmen sent a letter to the House State and Foreign Operation Subcommittee on Appropriations requesting that it "include language to provide specific benchmarks and, moreover, an overall strategy for U.S. foreign aid to Egypt" in its ...
April 23, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, NGOs, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes – FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing
The United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs questioned Secretary of State John Kerry at the FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing on Thursday. Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. In Senator Leahy's opening statement, submitted for the record, he said that, "We do not want a Democratic foreign policy or a Republican ...
April 21, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Budget Hearing – Department of State”
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held a budget hearing on the Department of State on Wednesday, April 17. Secretary of State John Kerry was the witness. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) presided over the hearing. For full event notes, continue reading or click here for a PDF. Representative Granger opened the hearing by noting that “the Arab Spring may last for a very long ...
April 19, 2013
Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “Securing U.S. Interests Abroad: The FY 2014 Foreign Affairs Budget”
On Wednesday, April 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Securing U.S. Interests Abroad: The FY 2014 Foreign Affairs Budget.” Secretary of State John Kerry testified on the Department of State’s budget request. Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) presided over the hearing. For full event notes, continue reading or click here for a PDF. Chairman Ed Royce opened the hearing by saying that “wasteful spending is intolerable” and ...
April 19, 2013
Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy, US politics
President’s Budget Released, Includes MENA Incentive Fund
President Barack Obama released his FY2014 budget request on Wednesday and he is requesting $47.8 billion for the State Department and international programs, a six percent decrease from the actual funds that will be appropriated through FY2013. The ...
April 10, 2013
Category: Congress, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, US foreign policy, US politics
Senator McCain Visits Libya; Tunisia a “Militant Haven”
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) visited Libya on Thursday for the fifth time since the country's revolution. He met with Prime Minister Ali Zidane, the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defense, and Justice, and the president of Libya's General National ...
April 4, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Conflict, Congress, Featured, Islamist movements, Libya, Political transition, Tunisia
POMED Notes: “Two Years after Tahrir”
On Thursday, March 28th, the American Islamic Congress (AIC) held an event titled “Two Years after Tahrir.” The panel featured Eric Trager of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Dwight Bashir of the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom, and Safei-Eldin Hamed of the Alliance of Egyptian Americans. John Pinna of AIC moderated the event. For complete event notes continue reading, or click here for the PDF. John Pinna opened the event saying ...
March 29, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Congress, Egypt, Event Notes, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, Political transition, US foreign policy