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: House Subcommittee Hearing “American NGOs Under Attack in Morsi’s Egypt”
On Wednesday, June 13, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled "American NGOs Under Attack in Morsi's Egypt." The Honorable Lorne W. Craner, President of the International Republican Institute, Mr. Charles W. Dunne, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Freedom House, Ms. Joyce Barnathan, President of the International Center for Journalists, and Mr. Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute, testified. The ...
June 14, 2013
Category: Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Egypt, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood
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
POMED Notes: “Egypt’s Draft NGO Law–Impact and Implications”
The Middle East Institute's event "Egypt's Draft NGO Law: Impact and Implications" was moderated by Kate Seelye, senior vice president of the Middle East Institute, and featured Sarah Morgan, deputy Washington Director of Human Rights Watch, and Nancy Okail, director of Freedom House' s Egypt program. The panelists outlined the potential threats Egypt's proposed NGO law poses to civil society, human rights, and democracy, and also discussed the impact the ...
June 10, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Islamist movements, Legislation, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political transition, US foreign policy
“U.S. Strategy in the Middle East: An Address by Senator John McCain”
At an event hosted by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution on June 6, 2013 at 2:15pm, Senator John McCain gave his first public remarks on the conflict in Syria and his thoughts on wider Middle East policy for the first time since he visited Syria last month. Brookings Institution Vice President and Director for Foreign Police Martin Indyk provided introductory remarks and Senior Foreign ...
June 7, 2013
Category: al-Qaeda, Civil-Military Relations, Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, NATO, Palestine, Political Islam, Political transition, Sectarianism, Secularism, Syria, Turkey, UAE, US foreign policy
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 ...
Top Islamic Leader Calls for No-Fly Zone in Syria
Top Islamic leader and Secretary General of the 57-country Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has called for a no-fly zone in Syria. Though the OIC’s official position is opposed to military intervention, Ihsanoglu said on Monday that he views ...
June 4, 2013
1 comments
Category: Conflict, EU, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Syria, United Nations
Syrian National Council to Boycott Geneva Talks
The Syrian National Council (SNC) announced today that they are boycotting the proposed Geneva peace talks set for mid-June. The opposition has decided to suspend their participation in the peace conference until the international community intervenes to end the ...
POMED Policy Brief: The United States as ‘International Broker’: Egypt’s Ailing Economy and Opportunities for Support
In POMED's latest Policy Brief, "The United States as ‘International Broker’: Egypt’s Ailing Economy and Opportunities for Support," Mustansir Barma writes, "The U.S. government should increase efforts to work with political actors on all sides to advance Egypt’s democratic ...
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
Summary of FY2014 State Department Congressional Budget Justification Volume I: Department of State Operations
The State Department requested $47 billion for State and Foreign Operations in FY2014 and in the recently released Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) Volume 1, Secretary of State John Kerry states, "This budget strikes the balance between fiscal discipline and sustaining and advancing America's global leadership - and is six percent less than in FY 2012." In the Secretary's opening statement for the CBJ, he says "the United States must actively engage the people and ...
May 23, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Reports, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “The Call for Economic Liberty in the Arab World”
On Tuesday, May 21, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “The Call for Economic Liberty in the Arab World.” Mr. Hernando de Soto, President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, and the Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, Chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group, testified. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), presided. For the full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. In his opening statement, Chairman ...
May 21, 2013
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Economics, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Political transition, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Building a Brighter Future in Syria”
On Friday, May 17, Freedom House hosted a panel discussion titled “Building a Brighter Future in Syria.” Panelists included Kinda Kanbar, a Syrian journalist; Mohammed Aly Sergie, Senior Editor at Syria Deeply; Omar Hossino, a Syria analyst; and Oubab Khalil, Chief of Staff for the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition Forces. Daniel Calingaert, Freedom House Executive Vice President, moderated the discussion. For the full event notes continue reading or click here for ...
May 17, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Political transition, Sectarianism, Syria, US foreign policy, Women, Youth
Sen. Menendez Proposes “Syrian Stabilization Act”
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced legislation that would significantly increase the U.S.'s involvement in the Syrian conflict. The Syria Stabilization Act of 2013 has five components: the authority to provide weapons, training, and non-lethal supplies to ...
May 8, 2013
Category: Conflict, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Legislation, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy, US politics
Jordan’s King Discusses Reforms, Syria During Washington Visit
King Abdullah II of Jordan visited Washington this week, meeting with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and members of Congress. During their meeting on Friday, President Obama congratulated the king on his recent economic and political reforms ...
April 29, 2013
Category: Conflict, Featured, Foreign Aid, Jordan, Political transition, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
White House Suspects Chemical Attacks; Syrians Advocate Engagement
The White House today established that the U.S. Government now believes with "varying degrees of confidence" the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale against the opposition. However, the Obama Administration stated that, given the ...
April 25, 2013
Category: Conflict, Diplomacy, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, Sectarianism, Syria, US foreign policy
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