Congressman Hank Johnson (D - GA) sent a letter to King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain urging the King to rescind the recent travel bans placed on NGOs and journalist prior to the one-year anniversary of the February 14th mass protest. Johnson reminded al-Khalifa of his pledge  to engage international organizations and individuals  after the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, and called on the King to recognize the "important role of NGOs in ...

The New Republic has been hosting an online symposium of opinion pieces dedicated to answering the question: What should the U.S. do about Syria? Click the title to see the full text of each piece. It's Time to Arm the Syrian Opposition is a piece by Daniel Drezner that first lists solutions for Syria that can be eliminated: U.N.-Approved intervention (failed), negotiations with Bashar Al Assad (not possible), no-fly zone (no effect), U.S. ground ...

On Thursday, Project on Middle East Democracy, in coordination with the National Security Network and the Foreign Policy Initiative, held a panel event titled The Unfinished February 14 Uprising: What Next for Bahrain? The event began with opening remarks from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) then moved onto a panel discussion. Panelists included Joost Hiltermann, deputy program director at the International Crisis Group, Elliott Abrams, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies ...

The Kellogg Institute for International Studies in association with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies released a report, “Transitions to Democracy and the Arab Spring: Does Latin America Hold Lessons for the Middle East,” that examines how insights from Latin America’s democratization experience may be relevant for the Middle East today. The symposium was divided into two panels: the first explored the domestic challenges to democratization in Latin America ...

On Monday, Human Rights First released the report Bahrain: The Gathering Storm, detailing the deterioration situation in Bahrain. With the escalating attacks against civilians, continued reports of torture in custody, and Bahrain government denying entry for human rights observers, the report anticipates further unrest. February 14 marks the year anniversary of protests in Bahrain, and Brian Dooley, the author of the report, predicted the day to be filled with "large rallies expected to be mounted by ...

Today, Syrian forces assaulted the city of Homs, killing 50 people. With more than 200 people killed over the weekend one activist called this "the most violent bombardment in recent days." Catherine al-Talli, a member in the Syrian National Council, said the 50 killed were "mostly civilians" and that "the regime is acting as if it were immune to international intervention and has a free hand to use violence against ...

In a statement on the Senate floor, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on the State Department and Foreign Operations, laid out a strong declaration tying Egyptian aid to the recent NGO raids. Leahy noted there has been progress in Egypt exemplified by elections which have seated a new parliament, but infringements on due process, and the raids on the NGOs - that aim to promote democracy and human ...

On Wednesday, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced S.2058 barring companies "who engage in business or trading activity with Iran from buying oil from America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve." The "Iran Certification and Reporting Bill," co-sponsored by 16 other senators, was introduced in an attempt to "close loopholes, increase transparency, and improve effectiveness" of current sanctions. In order to take effect, the bill needs to be passed by the full Senate, incorporated with the existing legislation ...

Yesterday, James Clapper, director of National Intelligence, presented his annual "worldwide threat assessment" to Congress. Clapper publicly implicated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2011 plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.,  "some Iranian officials -- probably including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the ...

The decision by the Obama Administration to move forward with a proposed arms sale to Bahrain has been largely criticized by several human rights and international organizations. News of the newly-proposed arms sale surfaced last week surrounded by controversy due to its lack of transparency and explanation. Freedom House released a statement raising concerns about the message the U.S. is sending to the Bahraini regime and the international community. President of Freedom House ...

On Tuesday, the Center for National Policy hosted a panel on U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and if the peace talks with the Taliban will be successful. The speakers were the Honorable Paul McHale, former assistant Secretary of Defense and member of Congress, Michael O'Hanlon, director of research and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Joshua Foust, a fellow at the American Security Project and correspondent for The ...

Representatives Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced a resolution with David Dreier (R-CA), Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and David Price (D-NC) applauding Tunisia's peaceful "Jasmine Revolution." The resolution praised Tunisia's peaceful "Jasmine Revolution" as "the first of several movements throughout the Middle East and North Africa and inspired democracy and human rights activist throughout the region and around the world." The elections on October 23, 2011 were considered "the first competitive, multi-party democratic election of the ...