Saints Need Not Apply!

Comment 1: Multilateralism does not preclude the need for leadership and decisiveness, especially when we have many dangerous facts on the ground moving at too fast a pace.

Comment 2: ElBaradei is already facing an uphill battle and he needs everybody to mount a serious campaign that has the least bit of a chance to shake the system. ElBaradei needs to cast a wider net and do some ego-stroking. His old-style as a UN technocrat might lend him credibility but it is not going to work in the political field. Continue reading “Saints Need Not Apply!” →

Development and Authoritarianism

Comment 1: Countries like South Africa, India, Malaysia and Indonesia that invest in education, technology and development can overcome much of their internal problems and shortcomings and emerge as real world powers in relatively short span of time. Meanwhile Arab countries focus on resistance ideology, importing technology and repelling indigenous talent. Authoritarianism is our plague. Continue reading “Development and Authoritarianism” →

Their Audacity to Hope

Brave individuals who challenge the status quo in authoritarian societies—and expect our support

Mention in the Wall Street Journal

Mr. Muravchik might have said more about why Western states should support liberals, in all their vulnerability. Take the Syrian dissident Ammar Abdulhamid. Audacious and articulate, Mr. Abdulhamid abandoned a life of privilege in Syria (he is the son of a famous actress) and chose exile in the U.S. so that he could give full force to his criticism of the Assad regime. Yet like many of those described by Mr. Muravchik, he has committed himself to a liberal ideal, and sacrificed a great deal, in return for very little so far. When Western governments revert to so-called reasons of state — where “realism” and supposed self-interest often triumphs — Middle Eastern liberals become a vanguard easily discarded.

Tharwa Founder Testifies Before Congressional Human Rights Caucus

September 2008

On September 24, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus hosted an event entitled “Syrian Human Rights Policies in Syria and Toward Lebanese”. The event, moderated by Congressional Human Rights Caucus Executive Director Hans Hogrefe, featured testimony from Ali Abou Dehn, a Lebanese political detainee, Kamal El Batal, the Director of Human Rights for the World Council of the Cedars Revolution and Ammar Abdulhamid, Executive Director of the Tharwa Foundation. Continue reading “Tharwa Founder Testifies Before Congressional Human Rights Caucus” →