King Statement on Trip to the Middle East

King Statement on Trip to the Middle East

King says Kerry could be game-changer in Middle East peace equation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after returning from a trip to the Middle East with Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and Central and South Asian Affairs, and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“First, it was extraordinarily valuable to meet with dozens of Americans who are serving our nation at U.S. embassies and consulates in the region. They provided unparalleled advice on some extremely difficult and complex issues. It was an honor to talk to those who are serving our country in these challenging and sometimes dangerous assignments.

“During our visit to Israel and the West Bank, I was encouraged by the results that Secretary of State Kerry and his team are achieving to develop a framework for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Resolving this seemingly intractable challenge would do much to relieve tension in the Middle East.

“Secretary Kerry’s tenacity could be a game-changer, and after meeting with all of the key leaders and their top negotiators on both sides I am more hopeful than ever that a two-state solution is possible. The U.S. can help facilitate these negotiations, but it is ultimately up to the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resolve the most difficult questions and choose a peaceful resolution to decades of conflict. During my visit to an Israeli missile defense battery, I was reminded that the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza is a constant concern for Israelis and that it is vital that the parties place a priority on security cooperation as they seek to establish a mechanism for peace.

“During our visit to Israel, we spent several days meeting with regional leaders and security experts to discuss the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany. I am convinced that we must ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon capability, and that we should use these negotiations to test whether the Iranian leadership is willing to relinquish its nuclear weapons ambitions in exchange for rejoining the community of nations.

“Finally, in Lebanon I was struck by the perseverance of the Lebanese people who face growing threats from terrorism, sectarian tensions, a burgeoning refugee catastrophe, and other spillover effects from the war in Syria. I was pleased to be one of the first American officials to meet with the leaders of Lebanon’s newly formed coalition government who universally expressed their gratitude for U.S. humanitarian and security assistance to Lebanon. It was humbling to pay my respects at a memorial to the hundreds of American military personnel and diplomats who have given their lives in Lebanon over the years. It was a solemn reminder of the heavy price our nation has paid to engage in the world over the years and a testament to those Americans who put their lives on the line to serve our country.”

BACKGROUND: During their trip to the Middle East, Senators King and Kaine traveled to Israel, the West Bank, and Lebanon. In Israel they visited an Iron Dome missile defense site near the Gaza border. In Jerusalem, they met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, the Senators held substantive discussions with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, and Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. They also met with a group of Palestinian business leaders and entrepreneurs, Israeli Justice Minister and chief negotiator Tzipi Livni, and Members of the Israeli Knesset.

Over the course of their two-day visit to Lebanon, Senators King and Kaine met with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) Commander General Jean Kahwagi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative Ninette Kelley, NGO representatives, and various Lebanese political figures.

Emerging Trends Two Years After The Arab Awakening.

Emerging Trends Two Years After The Arab Awakening.

Presented by Marwan Muasher 

26th Camden Conference

Doug Mills

World and National Editor

RCN America Network

Marwan Muasher is a Jordanian diplomat who currently serves as Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. He began his career as a journalist with the Jordan Times before serving with the Ministry of Planning and in the office of the Prime Minister of Jordan. Foreign postings began as Director of the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington, D.C. In 1995 Muasher was Jordan’s first Ambassador to Israel. A year later he was Minister of Information and government spokesman in Amman. From 1997 to 2002 he was Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States. For two years he was Foreign Minister and then served as Deputy Prime Minister leading a reform and planning agenda for the government. From 2007 to 2010 Muasher was Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the World Bank. He is the author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (Yale University Press-2008) and is writing a book on the Arab Awakening.

Two years after it's beginning the Arab Awakening has yet to be defined. True, lasting change could take decades. We do , however, see six emerging trends in the Middle East.

1. A battle of ideas. For the first time in 100 years the political space is open. The previous governments ruled with no checks and balances and little regard for the common man. Now the landscape is open. This battle needs to be about more than just the secular vs. Islam, it must be about the people and rights for all regardless of their beliefs.

2. The Secular need to work on the ground. In the past the secular governments have been elitist and looking out for their own interests, apart from the common man. The new secular groups need to work with the people, create a plan and follow through on that plan.

3. Secular Religious Holiness is over. In the past to criticize the government leaders was considered a crime against god. Now the landscape is open and leaders are being held accountable. You are able to openly criticize the leaders.

4. Political reform must accompany Economic reform. Previous economic reform was to benefit the leaders not the common man. The people need to know that they will have a say in this reform and that they will see benefit from it.

5. The need for a 3^rd political party who is willing to pursue a true democratic process to benefit all. In the past there have been to parties, The Political Elite and the Islamist. They both talk democratic change but only what will benefit them and their views.

6. Talk of change alone will not work any more. The people are looking for results.

In light of these trends what should we the western world be doing? Marwan Muasher stated that we should stop trying to pick the winner and try to work with all to help produce an environment where each person and viewpoint is important. This may take decades but, the process has started and is very exciting.

The Middle East What Next? 2013 Camden Conference Part 1

26th Camden Conference
by Doug Mills
World and National News Editor
RCN America Network

As a writer I am always happy When I cover a convention or meeting with high expectations and those expectations are met. Then there is that rare instance when those high expectations are not only met but are blown away! Such was the case for the Camden Conference this past week. So often the hype does not match the reality.

The 26^th Camden Conference included an amazing array of speakers who were the best in their field from Egypt, Israel, Iran and many others. If you think these were long dry speeches you should have been there when R. Nicholas Burns one of our former top diplomats in the State Department sat down on the same stage with Seyed Hossein Mousavian Iran’s former diplomat in charge of nuclear negotiations with Europe you would be dead wrong, the fireworks had everyone in the auditorium on the edge of their seats. But I am getting ahead of myself.

As a writer I am always happy When I cover a convention or meeting with high expectations and those expectations are met. Then there is that rare instance when those high expectations are not only met but are blown away! Such was the case for the Camden Conference this past week. So often the hype does not match the reality.

The topic for the 26th Annual Camden Conference, “The Middle East - What Next?”. The keynote address was presented by Robin Wright. Robin Wright is a journalist, author, and foreign policy analyst. She has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Sunday Times of London, CBS News, and the Christian Science Monitor. She won the National Magazine Award for The New Yorker. She has also written for The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Magazine, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and many others. Wright has been a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and spent several years as a roving correspondent in Asia and Latin America. She most recently covered U.S. foreign policy for the Washington Post. Besides a long career in journalism, Wright has been a fellow at the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Yale, Duke, Stanford, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Southern California. She received her B.A. and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Wright has held a joint appointment as a United States Institute of Peace Senior Fellow and Wilson Center Distinguished Scholar during which she produced three books: The Iran Primer: Power, Politics, and U.S. Policy (2010), Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World (2011), and The Islamists Are Coming: Who They Really Are(2012).

Rock The Casbah: What Next In The Middle East?

It had been two years since the Arab Spring movement. What is the state of the Middle East today? Are things better or worse? Robin gave us 5 Positives of Change in the Middle East.

1. Music: Music has helped to fuel change especially in the rap community. Music very often plays a part in social change.
2. New Roll Models: Young people are being presented new positive roll models to follow.
3. New Muslim Comedians: A new crop of Muslim comedians have emerged providing comic relief and pointing out some of the more negative aspects of jehadism.
4. New Muslim Theater: Many new theater productions are being produced teaching the positive side of the Muslim religion.
5. Women are on the front lines of the change that is taking place.

However after two years there is still very much to be concerned about.

1. 120,000,000 are now struggling to gain rights. The old order is gone and the new order has not taken shape. It is “the law of the jungle” in the streets of the Middle East.
2. Every one of these countries is worse off economically today than it was two years ago.
3. The proliferation of democracy. This new freedom has caused the rise of hundreds of political parties, all with different priorities.
4. The proliferation of Islamist ideas. Many new Islamist groups have emerged and with the old line groups are all seeking to foll the vacuum left by the Arab Spring Movement.
5. Security of the region has been affected by the rise of new militant groups.
6. Tribes are reemerging as a defining forge in society.
7. Demographics, government leaders are older, the population is young and the economy is down.
8. Corruption is rampant.
9. Women are not fairing well and are often targeted for violence.
10. The map of the Middle East could change drasticly as countries break up into tribal factions.

Bad news? Scarey news? Robin reminded us how long after the American Revolution it was till all people in this country were truly free. “Change takes time.”