POMED Notes: “Rethinking U.S. Policy Toward Yemen”
On Tuesday, March 26, the Atlantic Council and the Project on Middle East Democracy hosted a discussion titled "Rethinking U.S. Policy toward Yemen." It was held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The discussion included Hafez al-Bukari, director of the Yemen Polling Center, Steven Heydemann, Senior Adviser for the Middle East Initiatives, U.S. Institute of Peace, Danya Greenfield, Deputy Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, ...
March 27, 2013
Category: Elections, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Political transition, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics, Yemen
Congressmen Urge Iraq to Ground Iranian Flights
Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) are expected to send a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki today expressing their concern with Iranian arms shipments across Iraq en route to Syria. Robert Ford, the U.S. ...
March 22, 2013
Category: Congress, Diplomacy, Featured, Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, US foreign policy
Saudi Women Join Government, GCC Pursues Military Hardware
King Abdullah swore in Saudi Arabia's first female members of the Shura Council on Tuesday. One fifth of the new Shura Council is comprised of women, with a total of 30 female members. The Council is remodeling its ...
February 20, 2013
Category: Congress, Elections, Featured, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Reform, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US foreign policy, Women
February 17, 2013
Category: Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Featured, Freedom, Gulf Cooperation Council, Political transition, UN Security Council, United Nations, Yemen
“Yemen’s Long Journey to National Reconciliation”
Brookings Doha Center published an analysis paper by Ibrahim Sharqieh titled "A Lasting Peace? Yemen's Long Journey to National Reconciliation." In it, Sharqieh offers " insights into how to deal with the challenges facing Yemen’s national reconciliation process." He examines the GCC accord, the issues and architecture of national reconciliation, and the role of the international community. Sharqieh credits the GCC initiative with preventing civil war and establishing "a forward-looking process ...
POMED Notes: “The Precarious Ally: Bahrain’s Impasse and U.S. Policy in the Gulf”
On Wednesday, February 13, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace hosted a panel discussion entitled “The Precarious Ally: Bahrain’s Impasse and U.S. Policy in the Gulf.” The panel featured Frederic Wehrey, Senior Associate in Carnegie’s Middle East Center, Toby Craig Jones, Professor and Director at Rutgers University’s Center for Middle East Studies, Matar Ebrahim Matar, former Member of Parliament in Bahrain, and Jon Alterman, Director of the Middle East Center ...
February 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Civil Society, Conflict, Freedom, Gulf Cooperation Council, Islamist movements, Political transition, Protests, Reform, Saudi Arabia, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “The Arab Spring after Two Years: Prospects for Democracy in the Gulf States”
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED)'s International Forum for Democratic Studies and POMED put on a conference on Wednesday (2/13) titled “The Arab Spring after Two Years: Prospects for Democracy in the Gulf States.” Carl Gershman of NED and U.S. Representative James McGovern (D-MA) gave opening remarks. The first panel, “The Future of Reform in the Gulf,” was chaired by Tamara Cofman Wittes of the Brookings Institution and featured Jafar Alshayeb, a ...
February 14, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Event Notes, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Saudi Arabia, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: Big Changes on Horizon in Middle East
On Monday (11/27), the American University School of International Service (SIS) hosted a talk with Ambassador Dennis Ross as part of their “Dean’s Discussion” series. Ross served as envoy to the Middle East under President Clinton and was on President Obama’s National Security Council staff. During the discussion Ross spoke with SIS Dean James Goldgeier on Iran’s nuclear goals, the Arab Awakening, and how the Palestinian peace process affects the future ...
November 28, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Civil Liberties, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Economics, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Jordan, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, Political transition, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Syria, US foreign policy
November 23, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Featured, Freedom, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Reform
November 5, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Featured, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf Cooperation Council, Islamist movements, Political Islam, Political transition, Protests, US foreign policy
US-Morocco Co-Op Bolstered as Moroccan Economy Sputters
Last month U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosted the first round of the U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue, and on Friday the State Department released a statement on initial progress and goals for the partnership. The statement was generally ...
October 16, 2012
Category: Featured, Foreign Aid, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Morocco, US foreign policy, Western Sahara
October 15, 2012
Category: Featured, Freedom, Gulf Cooperation Council, Political Islam, Protests, Saudi Arabia, Women
Analysts Examine Arab World Finances, Missing Aid
The Financial Times released a special report entitled "Arab World: Banking and Finance," with key articles on Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar. Simeon Kerr wrote on Bahrain, noting the country ...
October 12, 2012
Category: Bahrain, Economics, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Gulf Cooperation Council, Lebanon, Political transition, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Uncategorized, US foreign policy
October 10, 2012
Category: Featured, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Kuwait, Muslim Brotherhood, Protests, UAE
September 27, 2012
Category: Civil Liberties, Democracy Promotion, Featured, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Reform, United Nations, Yemen
Upcoming POMED Event: Will the Monarchs Reform? Challenges to Democracy in the Gulf
The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) presents: Will the Monarchs Reform? Challenges to Democracy in the Gulf Wednesday, September 26, 2012 SEIU Headquarters, First Floor Conference Room (1800 Massachusetts Ave. NW) 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (A light lunch will be available at noon.) While 2011 and 2012 have witnessed unprecedented changes across the Middle East and North Africa, the Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and ...
September 19, 2012
Category: Events, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Kuwait, Oman, POMED, Qatar, Reform, Saudi Arabia, Women
POMED Notes: Crisis Yemen: Going Where?
On Tuesday, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations cohosted an event with the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies called “Crisis Yemen: Going Where?” Dr. John Duke Anthony moderated the panel discussion that featured former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Barbara Bodine, author Gregory Johnsen, President of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies Dr. Charles Schmitz, and Professor Robert Sharp of the Department of Defense National Defense University For full ...
Oman Foreign Minister: “There is No Gulf Union”
Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, the Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs said “There is no Gulf union" in a statement published only days before a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al ...
