Secretary
of State Colin Powell delivered a major speech in December
2002, proclaiming a new US commitment to encouraging the
development of democracy in the Middle East. The creation
of a “free and democratic Iraq” is one of the stated objectives
of US-led regime change there. Yet the US continues its
post-September 11 pattern of increasing military and other
aid to Middle Eastern countries that are intensifying
authoritarian practices and rolling back political reforms
to contain domestic dissent, as Bush’s war plans for Iraq,
Israel’s reoccupation of Palestinian Authority areas and
the “war on terrorism” proceed.
(DA
-- Development Assistance; ESF -- Economic Support
Fund; FMF -- Foreign Military Financing; IMET
-- International Military Education and Training; INCLE
-- International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement;
NADR -- Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining
and Related Programs.) Chart compiled by Jawad Muaddi.
Country
US
Foreign Aid
(m=million, b=billion)
Authoritarian
Practices
FY
2002
Actual
FY
2003 Request
FY
2004 Request
Algeria
IMET:
67,000
550,000
550,000
The
government repressed those who oppose its policies.
Protests by opposition parties and family members
of the disappeared were broken up by security forces.
Those who supported an election boycott were not permitted
to assemble in public.
Bahrain
IMET:
395,000
FMF: 28.5 m
450,000
600,000
25 m
Decree
56/2002, passed in October 2002, grants amnesty to
officials who committed human rights violation prior
to February 2001, including notorious torturer Col.
‘Adil Jasim Filayfil. Unilateral decrees demonstrate
disregard for the spirit of democracy. Rollback of
press freedom with decree 47-2002.
Egypt
ESF:
655 m
IMET: 1.2 m
FMF: 1.3 b
615
m
1.2 m
1.3 b
575
m
1.2 m
1.3 b
Arbitrary
mass arrests and roundups of foreigners. Arrests of
those who protested Israel’s occupation. Intimidation
of anti-war protesters by security forces on February
15, 2002. Arrests and torture of those who oppose
the government’s policies.
Israel
and the 0ccupied Territories
ESF:
720 m
NADR: 28 m
FMF: 2.04 b
800
m
2.1 b
480
m
2.16 b
Major
escalation of military aggression in Occupied Territories.
New laws that further discriminate against Palestinian
citizens of Israel. Obstruction of the work of humanitarian
officials, emergency workers, journalists and human
rights organizations. Extrajudicial executions.
Jordan
ESF:
250 m
IMET: 2 m
FMF: 100 m
250
m
2.4 m
198 m
250
m
2.9 m
206 m
Passage
of numerous “temporary laws” in order to silence opposition
to the government and strengthen the regime’s power.
New laws limit freedom of the press. New district
lines were drawn to provide more representation to
pro-regime areas. Military has occupied Maan since
November 8, 2002, in order to suppress opposition
forces in the city.
Morocco
DA:
5.7 m
IMET: 1 m
FMF: 3.5 m
6.7
m
1.5 m
5 m
5.4
m
1.7 m
10 m
On
September 25, 2001, Morocco strengthened its hold
over occupied Western Sahara by signing offshore oil
exploration deal with Oklahoma-based Kerr McGee. Banned
protests of US bombing of Afghanistan. Abuse of children
by border police. Blocked popular Islamist party’s
access to the ballot box.
Pakistan
DA:
10 m
ESF: 624.5 m
INCLE: 90.5 m
NADR: 10 m
IMET: 894,000
FMF: 75 m
37.5
m
200 m
1 m
50 m
50
m
200 m
1.2 m
75 m
Strengthened
military rule through sham referendum, amendments
and manipulated elections. Musharraf banned his two
main opponents, former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto
and Nawaz Sharif, from running and did not give opposition
parties sufficient opportunity to campaign.
Palestinian
Authority areas
ESF:
72 m
75
m
75
m
Indiscriminate
arrests, torture and executions of suspected collaborators
and members of militant groups.
Saudi
Arabia
IMET:
24,000
25,000
25,000
Continued
to oppress those who oppose the government’s policies
through arrests, torture and secret trials. Secrecy
of the judicial system masks the details of most abuses.
In March, a newspaper editor was dismissed after the
publication of a poem that criticized corrupt judges.
Tunisia
IMET:
1 m
FMF: 3.5 m
1.5
m
5 m
1.7
m
10 m
Oppression
of human rights defenders and political opponents.
In 2002, police prevented meeting on May 19, closed
a human rights group’s office on June 2, prevented
a protest in support of the group on June 16 and prevented
the meeting of another human rights group on September
10.
Turkey
ESF:
200 m
IMET: 2.7 m
FMF: 28 m
2.8 m
17.5 m
200
m
5 m
50 m
Continued
to oppress those who oppose the government’s policies
through torture and denial of access to attorneys.
Courts still imprisoned those who insulted state institutions
or addressed sensitive questions about Kurdish minority
rights or the role of the military or religion in
politics.
Yemen
ESF:
8 m
IMET: 488,000
FMF: 20 m
10
m
650,000
2 m
15
m
1 m
15 m
Mass
roundups of anyone suspected of having a connection
with Afghanistan.
MERIP
OP-EDS
A Country at a Crossroads The Austin-American Statesman (Austin, Texas) November 9, 2007
Kamran Asdar Ali
"A
very frank discussion"— so President Bush described
his Nov. 7 telephone
conversation with Pervez Musharraf, four days after the Pakistani
general
imposed a state of emergency and dissolved the high court expected
to rule
his continued presidency unconstitutional. And frank the discussion
probably
was: In the face of spirited protest in Pakistan, and a querulous
press in
Washington, back-channel pressure succeeded in persuading Musharraf
to
promise parliamentary elections. Yet the generous U.S. aid earmarked
for
Pakistan — on top of nearly $10 billion since 2001 — is
quite evidently not
at risk.
What may be at risk is Musharraf's tenure as head
of the military government. Full
story>>
The
war debate in Washington is bogged down. Partisan rancor is one
reason why, and bipartisan desire for US hegemony in the oil-rich
Persian Gulf is
another. But many Americans are vexed by a nobler concern: that
a
“precipitous” US departure from Iraq would leave intensified
civil war,
ethnic-sectarian cleansing and massive refugee flows in its wake.
This
concern is legitimate. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that Iraq’s
civil war
and humanitarian emergency have grown steadily worse as the US
military
deployment there wears on. Full
Story>>
Should
the United States, seeking to recalibrate the balance between
security and liberty in the "war on terror," emulate
Israel in its treatment of Palestinian detainees? That is the position
that Guantanamo detainee lawyers Avi Stadler and John Chandler
of Atlanta, and some others, have advocated. That people in U.S.
custody could be held incommunicado for years without charges,
and could be prosecuted or indefinitely detained on the basis of
confessions extracted with torture is worse than a national disgrace.
It is an assault on the foundations of the rule of law. Full
Story>>
There
is an oft-told Palestinian allegory about a family who complained
their house was small and cramped. In response, the father brought
the farm
animals inside -- the goat, the sheep and the chickens all crowded
into the
house. Then, one by one, he moved the animals back outside. By
the time the
last chicken left, the family felt such relief they never complained
of the
lack of elbow room again. Full
Story>>
