Arab spring: Obama can do better

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.

 

Why spring Saban support Arabic?

By Maidhc Cathail

Test of a first-rate intelligence, f. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, "is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." When it comes to what has been called the "Arab spring", pass most Middle East analysts Fitzgerald test with flying colours.

Hardly anyone would dispute the claim, Haim Saban cares deeply about Israel. After all, Egyptian-born isrælsk-American media mogul admitted to the New York Times, "I'm a one issue guy, and my problem is Israel." A New Yorker profile drawn up last year:

"His greatest concern, he says, is to protect Israel, by strengthening United States-Israel relationship. At a conference described last autumn in Israel, Saban his formula. His three ways to be influential in American politics, he said, was: make donations to political parties, establishing think-tanks and manage media. "

Think tank, part of Sabans tripartite Israel-protection formula was launched in 2002 with a pledge of almost $ 13 million for the Brookings Institution to establish Saban Center for Middle East policy. In 2007 extended Saban Center operations with the launch of the Brookings Doha Center. Its Qatar-based project was inaugurated in February 2008 by Saban Center, Martin Indyk founding Director. A former research director at the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Indyk had previously founded Institute Washington AIPAC-created for Middle East policy (WINEP).

All three experts on the Brookings Doha Center — its Director, Deputy Director and Director of research — is fellows in the Middle, while Saban calmly two of the three has close ties to Washington's "democracy promotion" enterprise. Center's Assistant Director, Ibrahim Sharqieh, succeeded former a long term USAID development project in Yemen, as well as a US State Department Middle East partnership initiative (MEPI) civic education project. According to a March 12 report in the Washington Post describes the U.S. support for the Arab Democrats, USAID grants "showed crucial for activists in a half-dozen Arab lands," funding, for example, training of groups such as the National Democratic Institute (NDI), International Republican Institute (IRI) and Freedom House of up to 80 percent of the leaders of the Egyptian rebellion. MEPI, according to an April 18 Washington Post report, have funneled up to $ 6 million to Syrian opposition groups since 2006. As further Testament Haim Saban contribution to Middle East democracy from MEPI currently Tamara Wittes, former Director of the Saban Center Middle East democracy and development (MSG) project.

Shadi Hamid, Doha Center's Director of research, is aptly described as an expert on democratization in the Middle East. Prior to working for Saban Center, he was a Hewlett Fellow at Stanford University Center on democracy, development and rule of law (CDDRL). CDDRLS Director, Larry Diamond, is the founding co-editor of the National Endowment for democracy's Journal of democracy and a lifelong advocate of Arab democracy. Hamid was also Director of the research on the project on Middle East democracy (POMED), whose Board of advisors, reading like a who's who of establishment to promote democracy includes Diamond and NDI and IRI Chairmen. Hamid has also served as a program specialist on public diplomacy at the u.s. Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. James Glassman, the former Undersecretary for public diplomacy, which brought the Middle Eastern pro-democracy activists to New York for the first Alliance of youth movements (AYM) Summit in 2008, are considered public diplomacy as "direct or indirect involvement of foreign publics to support national security objectives" subjectthat "it is much easier to be influential, when others do opinions."

On its international Advisory Council boasting Brookings Doha Center such nobel prizes of the promotion of democracy by Madeleine Albright. The former US Secretary of State at the moment, NDI, leader of the democratic affiliate of the quasi-governmental National Endowment for democracy (NED). As Kenneth Temmerman candidly admitted in 2009, "the National Endowment for democracy has spent millions of dollars in the past decade to promote the ' color ' revolutions in places like Ukraine and Serbia, training political workers in modern communications and organisational techniques." During protests in Egypt, was Albright interviewed by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, one of Movements.org, AYM'S online hub that supports pro-democracy activities in digital activists corporate sponsors. In the light of her lack of scruples about sanctions-induced death of 500,000 Iraqi children has Albright's condemnation of the Mubarak regime's brutality should be taken with a grain of salt. More important, recognized NDI Chairman, however, that her democracy-promoting organisation had "worked in Egypt for a long time."

From the beginning of the Arab incursions, Brookings Doha Center has kærning out comments with titles like "Saleh falls," "in Syria, Assad must complete phase" and "If the United States does not make the Qaddafi go, who will?" which leaves doubt as to their position. In a recent Washington Post report, which reads more an editorial in support of Arab spring, warns the Center's Director, Salman Shaikh, "If these Arab revolutions is a footnote, and if people become frustrated and see any light at the end of the tunnelenJeg do not knowwhere it could result in people thinking on the al-Qaeda. "

Even some Middle East observers seem to ask: If Arab spring supported so unreservedly by Haim Saban think tank, which was created to protect Israel, and then how could it possibly true isrælske interests?

-Maidhc Cathail is an investigative journalist and Middle East analyst. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.