By George S. Hishmeh – Washington, D.C.
For one reason or another, Barack Obama will be hesitant, certainly confusing about revealing his follow-up plans, if any, for ushering Moammar Qaddafi of Libya now, carnage in this strife-torn oil-rich North Africa Arab State had become intolerable. In the strategic oil reserves port of Misrata in the Mediterranean, has been more than a thousand reportedly killed in the civil war, which has been raging in the country in several weeks.
All spokespeople for the American President will say comparable to what Deputy Secretary Philip h. Gordon told journalists in Washington on a special briefing: "if we have a situation where other assets is necessary that we do not have at the moment, and NATO's military commanders ask for themthen, of course, the United States would consider these requests. But it is not the situation we are facing now, and I would add () was not in any way a dominant theme of the discussions in Berlin, "where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the end of the NATO Foreign Ministers ' meeting on Libya and the current uprisings in the Arab world.
"Contradictions in the Centre of U.S. policy in Libya," The Washington Post editorialized, "is becoming more acute."
In an earlier press interview acknowledged the US President that the war between the poorly armed anti-Qaddafi forces and Loyalists were. He also said that he did not foresee the freeing American planes that bombardment of Libyan troops, as they did with success in the first weeks of air attacks.
There was more confusion about U.S. policy in the Middle East. It was also revealed, partially thanks to WikiLeaks, that the US Government has funded so-called anti-Government pro-democracy groups in the Arab States. New York Times reported that "as US officials and other look back at uprisings in Arab spring, they see that the United States democracy-building campaigns played a major role in fomenting the protests than was formerly known with key people movements have been trained by the Americans in election organisere through new media tools and monitor the elections." These groups were in Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen.
Among the American organizations reportedly offers training was the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a non-profit human rights organization, which receives a "bulk" of its money from the u.s. Government. The Republican and democratic institutions are "loosely associated with it," reported The Times, with the Republican and democratic parties, both created and funded by Congress through the National Endowment for democracy, "to channel grants for the promotion of democracy in developing countries" at a price of $ 100 million per year.
It was also revealed that three days later by The Washington Post, the Syrian political opposition groups and a London-based satellite television station called Barada, among others, driving anti-Syrian Government programming for country Arab strife-torn. Television station, the paper reported, "is closely associated with the movement for Justice and development, a London-based network of Syrian exile." The paper said that "classified U.S. diplomatic cables show that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have funneled as much as $ 6 million to the Group since 2006 to operate satellite channel and to finance other activities inside Syria." But it said it is "unclear" whether the official financing have been ongoing since it began during the Presidency of George w. Bush and continued under President Obama "even as his administration sought to build up relations" with President Bashar al-Assad.
Tamara Wittes, a deputy assistant secretary of State, which stands for democracy and human rights portfolios in the Bureau Near Eastern Affairs explained to the post: "there are a lot of organizations in Syria and other countries who are seeking changes from their Government. It is an agenda which we believe, and we will support. "
Before joining the Government, was Ms. Wittes staff of The Saban Center that is affiliated with the Brookings Institution and was until recently run by Martin Indyk, who had served two periods as Ambassador for Israel.
Barada's TV News Director told the post he was "not ready" U.S. Government funding, says the channel receives money from "independent Syrian businessmen" as the paper revealed, he refused to name.
Publication of these activities by the two newspapers are actually praise-worthy, but that the US Government has initiated such programs are short-sighted and shocking, certainly shameful. On the other hand, it stresses the fact that some Arab Governments must open their societies and to allow their citizens to express their concerns and opinions freely and without fear. Arab spring will hopefully pave the way for this cherished goals.
At the same time President Obama would do well if he would help all Arab regimes in the region to learn how to handle on the new Arab generation that currently leads these intafadas or uprisings hopes.
-George s. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. Contact him at: Hishmehg@aol.com.
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