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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

According to the lawyer of a number of Bahraini medical professionals, 21 individuals originally charged with links to anti-government activities have been acquitted.  According to BBC, most of the 28 other medics that had also been

With the inauguration of President Obama’s second term and the commencement of the National Dialogue Conference, now is an opportune moment to reevaluate U.S. policy towards Yemen. In this spirit, the Project on Middle East Democracy has, in collaboration with ...

In POMED's latest policy brief, "Jordan’s Unfinished Journey: Parliamentary Elections and the State of Reform," Curtis Ryan, associate professor of political science at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, writes, "On January 23, 2013, the Hashemite Kingdom of ...

Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) previewed legislation Sunday to allow President Obama to arm the Syrian opposition. Indicating last month that he would introduce such a bill, Engel wrote in a statement Monday, "We know who they are. And ...

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) submitted an amendment to H.R. 933 placing conditions on two forms of U.S. assistance to Egypt unless the country adopts economic reforms and human rights safeguards. The amendment will also begin a comprehensive, long-term reevaluation of ...

In POMED's latest policy brief, "Confront or Conform? Rethinking U.S. Democracy Assistance," Sarah Bush, an assistant professor of political science at Temple University, writes, "Despite leadership changes in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, the pace of democratic change has slowed and ...

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke to the Senate this week on his recent trip to Bahrain. He emphasized Bahrain's status as a close ally of the United States and expressed hope that the Government of Bahrain will abide by the ...

During Thursday's daily U.S. Department of State press briefing, Acting Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell, when asked about the National Salvation Front's decision to boycott Egypt's parliamentary elections, said that the U.S. encourages "all political parties and individuals with an ...

Two weeks ago, the subcommittees for the Senate Appropriations Committee were released to the public. Of note is the State, Foreign Operations subcommittee, which consists of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Mary ...

In an op-ed by Michele Dunne of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center and Bob Kagan of the Brookings Institution, the authors suggest "President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry need to pay attention to Egypt — now." According to ...

On Thursday, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) circulated a Dear Colleague letter seeking co-sponsors for H.R.416, a bill she introduced on January 25. The "Egypt Accountability and Democracy Promotion Act" would "condition security assistance and economic assistance to the Government of ...