Qatari Emir Considering Sending Troops to Syria
In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said he would be in support of Arab military intervention in Syria. His comments come in the time of rising violence in Syria. Although ...
Lebanon: Activist Says Nasrallah Wants Out
According to Lebanese activist Lokman Slim, in a "meeting two weeks ago, Nasrallah 'complained he no longer wanted the job'" as Hezbollah's head. Slim notes that the conflict in Syria, and Hezbollah's close association and defense of President ...
POMED Notes: “Iran’s Hand in the Levant”
On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East co-hosted an event entitled “Iran’s Hand in the Levant.” The discussion was moderated by Michele Dunne, Director of the Rafik Hariri Center at the Atlantic Council, and Barbara Slavin, Senior Fellow at the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council. The panel featured Randa Slim, a scholar at the Middle East ...
December 15, 2011
Category: Event Notes, Events, Hezbollah, Iran, Political transition, Reform, Syria
Nasrallah Reiterates Support for Assad, Criticizes SNC
In his first public appearance since 2008, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vowed to stand by Bashar al-Assad, saying "From the very beginning, we have made it clear that we stand by the (Syrian) regime, a regime of resistance." Nasrallah also ...
December 6, 2011
Category: Featured, Government, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: Hearing on U.S. Policy Towards Syria
On Wednesday, Chairman of the U.S. Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) chaired a hearing regarding U.S. Policy Towards Syria and potential future action the United State Congress and the U.S. Government at large could take to further push President Bashar Al’Assad from power. The Honorable Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Sectreary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of ...
November 10, 2011
Category: Arab League, Event Notes, Freedom, Government, Hezbollah, Human Rights, International Law, Justice, Media, Political transition, Protests, Reform, sanctions, Syria, UN Security Council, United Nations, US foreign policy
Syrian Incursion into Lebanon Sparks Sharp Response
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) condemned the Assad regime in Syria for violating Lebanese sovereignty and reiterated his call for an end of Assad rule. Chabot stated that he was "appalled by reports of the kidnapping of Syrian dissidents in Lebanon ...
Summary and Highlights of the FY12 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bills
On Wednesday 7/27, the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee held a markup session and voted to pass the 2012 State and Foreign Operations Appropirations Bill, as is, to the full committee. The bill would provide $39.6 billion ...
October 21, 2011
Category: Bahrain, Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Jordan, Lebanon, Legislation, Libya, Media, Middle Eastern Media, Morocco, Multilateralism, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, POMED, Publications, Reports, Rule of Law, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UN Human Rights Council, United Nations, US foreign policy, US politics, Western Sahara, Yemen
POMED Notes: “Hezbollah in the Wake of the Arab Spring”
On Tuesday, the Middle East Institute hosted a presentation by Randa Slim, a scholar at the Middle East Institute and Levant expert, which discussed the future of Hezbollah in the context of the Arab Spring. Slim addressed the way that Hezbollah views the Arab Spring, the domestic strategies of Hezbollah in the changing landscape of the Middle East, and how the Arab Spring affected the standing of Hezbollah in the ...
October 11, 2011
Category: Bahrain, DC Event Notes, Events, Government, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Political transition, Saudi Arabia, Syria, US foreign policy
Analysts Discuss Syrian-Iranian Alliance
In an interview, Karim Sadjadpour with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discussed the close relationship between Iran and Syria in the wake of the Arab upheavals. According to Sadjadpour, Iran welcomed the Arab unrest until it hit Syria. If President Bashar al-Assad's regime were to fall, it "would be a huge blow" to the Iranian regime and their support of Hezbollah. With the possibility of a new regime in Syria unfriendly towards Hezbollah, ...
Iran: “U.S. is Biggest Sponsor of Terrorism;” Sanctions Enforced by EU
Days after the U.S. State Department released it's annual report on terrorism and labelled Iran as the "most active sponsor of terrorism," Iran retaliated by accusing the U.S. of being the "biggest sponsor of terrorism." Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast condemned the report findings by citing that the U.S. supports "the most active supporter of terrorism in the world," Israel. The State Department report says that by supporting groups such ...
August 25, 2011
Category: EU, Government, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Legislation, sanctions, Syria, Taliban, US foreign policy
Lebanon: International Implications of March 8 Goverment
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) has introduced a new bill to "prohibit U.S. foreign assistance to a Hezbollah-dependent Lebanese government," defined as a government where the terrorist organization is part of the majority coalition, such as the one recently ...
June 20, 2011
Category: Congress, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Featured, Foreign Aid, Government, Hezbollah, International Law, Justice, Lebanon, Legislation, United Nations, US foreign policy
Syria: Protesters Oppose Iran and Hezbollah
Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Elliott Abrams wrote that if the Syrian regime falls, it would "administer in the greatest defeat" for Iran and Hezbollah. Abrams said that the fall of the Assad regime would further isolate Iran from the international community. Protesters are angered by the regional alliances of the Assad regime and view Iran and Hezbollah as "characteristics" of the Assad regime. In ...
POMED Notes: “Lebanon and the Arab Spring A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Role Amidst Historic Change in the Region”
On Tuesday, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel entitled, “Lebanon and the Arab Spring: A Congressional View of Lebanon’s Roles Amidst Historic Change in the Region.” USIP President Richard Solomon gave introductory remarks. Mona Yacoubian, Senior Program Officer for the Middle East and Director of the Lebanon Working Group, moderated the panel. Congressman Charles Boustany (R-LA), the son of Lebanese immigrants, offered his perspective on how ...
Hamid Calls for U.S. ‘Strategic Dialogue’ with Islamists
In an article for Foreign Affairs, Shadi Hamid from the Brookings Doha Center, argues that the U.S. will have to accept a larger role for Islamist parties in emerging participatory democracies in the Arab world; despite this leading to ...
May 12, 2011
Category: Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Mideast Peace Plan, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political Parties, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy
Lebanon: Possible Breakthrough in Political Stalemate
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has reportedly come to an agreement on the interior ministry portfolio candidate after four months of wrangling between parties had held up the formation of the a new government. Mikati is due to finalize the ...
May 9, 2011
Category: Bahrain, Featured, Freedom, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Protests, Reform, Sectarianism
Bahrain: Government Accuses Hezbollah of Aiding Opposition in UN Report
The Bahraini government officially accused Hezbollah of helping train anti-government opposition in an official report sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The report claims that the group has been training opposition figures at camps in both Lebanon and Iran and also accuses them of targeting other Gulf nations as well. Bahrain also claims that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of meeting with senior leaders of Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group ...
April 25, 2011
Category: Bahrain, Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Protests, Terrorism, United Nations, US foreign policy
Guéhenno Argues Against Western Framing of Arab Spring
Writing in the International Herald Tribune, Jean Marie Guéhenno asserts that the 'Arab revolutions are beginning to destroy the cliché of an Arab world incapable of democratic transformation." In place of this narrative, she states, a new one is building and that the source of the revolutions stems from a thirst for Western style freedoms "mobilized by Facebook and Twitter." She refutes these claims and states that the revolutions are "about ...
April 22, 2011
Category: Democracy Promotion, Freedom, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamist movements, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy
Scholars Discuss the Arab Spring in the Context of Lebanon’s 2005 Emancipation
Last week, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy hosted an event entitled, "Lebanon Today: Internal Politics and the Arab Spring." Speaking at the event were May Chidiac, president of MCF Media Institute; Michael Young, opinion editor for the Beirut Daily Star; Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau chief of Al-Arabiya; and Michael Doran, visiting professor at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service. May Chidiac noted how protests in the ...
Lebanon: New Government After Easter Holiday Likely
Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, has said he is optimistic that Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati's new cabinet will be officially formed shortly after the Easter holiday. The speaker said that most of the "thorny issues" has been resolved and that negotiations were focusing on "final touches." The formation of a new government has been in a three month long deadlock with political infighting over specific cabinet portfolios and ...