WASHINGTON — Even as the United States poured billions of dollars into foreign military programs and anti-terrorism campaigns, a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting democracy in authoritarian Arab states.
The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon. But as American officials and others look back at the uprisings of the Arab Spring, they are seeing that the United States’ democracy-building campaigns played a bigger role in fomenting protests than was previously known, with key leaders of the movements having been trained by the Americans in campaigning, organizing through new media tools and monitoring elections.
A number of the groups and individuals directly involved in the revolts and reforms sweeping the region, including the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and grass-roots activists like Entsar Qadhi, a youth leader in Yemen, received training and financing from groups like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a nonprofit human rights organization based in Washington, according to interviews in recent weeks and American diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks.
The work of these groups often provoked tensions between the United States and many Middle Eastern leaders, who frequently complained that their leadership was being undermined, according to the cables.
The Republican and Democratic institutes are loosely affiliated with the Republican and Democratic Parties. They were created by Congress and are financed through the National Endowment for Democracy, which was set up in 1983 to channel grants for promoting democracy in developing nations. The National Endowment receives about $100 million annually from Congress. Freedom House also gets the bulk of its money from the American government, mainly from the State Department.
No one doubts that the Arab uprisings are home grown, rather than resulting from “foreign influence,” as alleged by some Middle Eastern leaders.
“We didn’t fund them to start protests, but we did help support their development of skills and networking,” said Stephen McInerney, executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy, a Washington-based advocacy and research group. “That training did play a role in what ultimately happened, but it was their revolution. We didn’t start it.”
Some Egyptian youth leaders attended a 2008 technology meeting in New York, where they were taught to use social networking and mobile technologies to promote democracy. Among those sponsoring the meeting were Facebook, Google, MTV, Columbia Law School and the State Department.
“We learned how to organize and build coalitions,” said Bashem Fathy, a founder of the youth movement that ultimately drove the Egyptian uprisings. Mr. Fathy, who attended training with Freedom House, said, “This certainly helped during the revolution.”
Ms. Qadhi, the Yemeni youth activist, attended American training sessions in Yemen.
“It helped me very much because I used to think that change only takes place by force and by weapons,” she said.
But now, she said, it is clear that results can be achieved with peaceful protests and other nonviolent means.
But some members of the activist groups complained in interviews that the United States was hypocritical for helping them at the same time that it was supporting the governments they sought to change.
“While we appreciated the training we received through the NGOs sponsored by the U.S. government, and it did help us in our struggles, we are also aware that the same government also trained the state security investigative service, which was responsible for the harassment and jailing of many of us,” said Mr. Fathy, the Egyptian activist.
Interviews with officials of the nongovernmental groups and a review of diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks show that the democracy programs were constant sources of tension between the United States and many Arab governments.
The cables, in particular, show how leaders in the Middle East and North Africa viewed these groups with deep suspicion, and tried to weaken them. Today the work of these groups is among the reasons that governments in turmoil claim that Western meddling was behind the uprisings, with some officials noting that leaders like Ms. Qadhi were trained and financed by the United States.
Diplomatic cables report how American officials frequently assured skeptical governments that the training was aimed at reform, not promoting revolutions.
Last year, for example, a few months before national elections in Bahrain, officials there barred a representative of the National Democratic Institute from entering the country.
In Bahrain, officials worried that the group’s political training “disproportionately benefited the opposition,” according to a January 2010 cable.
In Yemen, where the United States has been spending millions on an anti-terrorism program, officials complained that American efforts to promote democracy amounted to “interference in internal Yemeni affairs.”
But nowhere was the opposition to the American groups stronger than in Egypt.
Egypt, whose government receives $1.5 billion annually in military and economic aid from the United States, viewed efforts to promote political change with deep suspicion, even outrage.
Hosni Mubarak, then Egypt’s president, was “deeply skeptical of the U.S. role in democracy promotion,” said a diplomatic cable from the United States Embassy in Cairo dated Oct. 9, 2007.
At one time the United States financed political reform groups by channeling money through the Egyptian government.
But in 2005, under a Bush administration initiative, local groups were given direct grants, much to the chagrin of Egyptian officials.
According to a September 2006 cable, Mahmoud Nayel, an official with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, complained to American Embassy officials about the United States government’s “arrogant tactics in promoting reform in Egypt.”
The main targets of the Egyptian complaints were the Republican and Democratic institutes. Diplomatic cables show that Egyptian officials complained that the United States was providing support for “illegal organizations.”
Gamal Mubarak, the former president’s son, is described in an Oct. 20, 2008, cable as “irritable about direct U.S. democracy and governance funding of Egyptian NGOs.”
The Egyptian government even appealed to groups like Freedom House to stop working with local political activists and human rights groups.
“They were constantly saying: ‘Why are you working with those groups, they are nothing. All they have are slogans,’ ” said Sherif Mansour, an Egyptian activist and a senior program officer for the Middle East and North Africa at Freedom House.
When their appeals to the United States government failed, the Egyptian authorities reacted by restricting the activities of the American nonprofit organizations.
Hotels that were to host training sessions were closed for renovations. Staff members of the groups were followed, and local activists were intimidated and jailed. State-owned newspapers accused activists of receiving money from American intelligence agencies.
Affiliating themselves with the American organizations may have tainted leaders within their own groups. According to one diplomatic cable, leaders of the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt told the American Embassy in 2009 that some members of the group had accused Ahmed Maher, a leader of the January uprising, and other leaders of “treason” in a mock trial related to their association with Freedom House, which more militant members of the movement described as a “Zionist organization.”
A prominent blogger, according to a cable, threatened to post the information about the movement leaders’ links to Freedom House on his blog.
There is no evidence that this ever happened, and a later cable shows that the group ousted the members who were complaining about Mr. Maher and other leaders.
In the face of government opposition, some groups moved their training sessions to friendlier countries like Jordan or Morocco. They also sent activists to the United States for training. (4.14.2011, Ron Nixon) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/15aid.html?_r=1
U.S. groups nurtured Arab uprisings
WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Democracy-building campaigns undertaken by U.S. agencies in authoritarian Arab states helped nurture the nascent uprisings in those countries, official say.
A selection of American groups, given limited funding and led by organizers trained in campaigning through social media, played a larger part in the pro-Democracy movements of the Arab Spring than military and anti-terrorism campaigns, receiving billions of dollars, The New York Times reported Friday.
The newspaper said interviews and American diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks showed the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and individual Yemeni activist Entsar Qadhi, who helped foment revolution and/or reforms, received training and financing from organizations such as the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House.
Congress created the Republican and Democratic institutes, which are loosely connected with those parties. Their financing, about $100 million a year, is channeled through the National Endowment for Democracy, established in 1983 to funnel grants intended to promote democracy in developing nations. Freedom House receives a majority of its funding from the State Department, the Times said.
Some young Egyptians went to a 2008 meeting in New York sponsored in part by Facebook, Google, MTV, Columbia Law School and the State Department, where they were instructed in how to use mobile technology, mostly social networking, to promote democracy.
"We learned how to organize and build coalitions," said Bashem Fathy, a co-founder of the youth movement behind the Egyptian uprisings. "This certainly helped during the revolution," said Fathy who attended training with Freedom House.
Although the grassroots youth movements proved ultimately effective, they were a source of contention between the U.S and certain Arab governments early on.
In an Oct. 9, 2007 diplomatic cable sent by Hosni Mubarak, then Egypt's president, to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, he said he was "deeply skeptical of the U.S. role in democracy promotion." (4.15.2011) http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/04/15/US-groups-nurtured-Arab-uprisings/UPI-48381302909782
U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings
April 15, 2011 — Even as the
United States poured billions of dollars into foreign military programs and anti-terrorism
campaigns, a small core of American government-financed organizations were promoting
democracy in authoritarian Arab states.
The money spent on these programs was minute compared with efforts led by the Pentagon.
But as American officials and others look back at the uprisings of the Arab Spring, they
are seeing that the United States’ democracy-building campaigns played a bigger role
in fomenting protests than was previously known, with key leaders of the movements having
been trained by the Americans in campaigning, organizing through new media tools and
monitoring elections.
A number of the groups and individuals directly involved in the revolts and reforms
sweeping the region, including the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for
Human Rights and grass-roots activists like Entsar Qadhi, a youth leader in Yemen,
received training and financing from groups like the International Republican Institute,
the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a nonprofit human rights organization
based in Washington, according to interviews in recent weeks and American diplomatic
cables obtained by WikiLeaks.
The work of these groups often provoked tensions between the United States and many Middle
Eastern leaders, who frequently complained that their leadership was being undermined,
according to the cables.
The Republican and Democratic institutes are loosely affiliated with the Republican and
Democratic Parties. They were created by Congress and are financed through the National
Endowment for Democracy, which was set up in 1983 to channel grants for promoting
democracy in developing nations. The National Endowment receives about $100 million
annually from Congress. Freedom House also gets the bulk of its money from the American
government, mainly from the State Department.
No one doubts that the Arab uprisings are home grown, rather than resulting from
"foreign influence," as alleged by some Middle Eastern leaders.
"We didn’t fund them to start protests, but we did help support their
development of skills and networking," said Stephen McInerney, executive director of
the Project on Middle East Democracy, a Washington-based advocacy and research group.
"That training did play a role in what ultimately happened, but it was their
revolution. We didn’t start it."
Some Egyptian youth leaders attended a 2008 technology meeting in New York, where they
were taught to use social networking and mobile technologies to promote democracy. Among
those sponsoring the meeting were Facebook, Google, MTV, Columbia Law School and the State
Department.
"We learned how to organize and build coalitions," said Bashem Fathy, a founder
of the youth movement that ultimately drove the Egyptian uprisings. Mr. Fathy, who
attended training with Freedom House, said, "This certainly helped during the
revolution."
Ms. Qadhi, the Yemeni youth activist, attended American training sessions in Yemen.
"It helped me very much because I used to think that change only takes place by force
and by weapons," she said.
But now, she said, it is clear that results can be achieved with peaceful protests and
other nonviolent means.
But some members of the activist groups complained in interviews that the United States
was hypocritical for helping them at the same time that it was supporting the governments
they sought to change.
"While we appreciated the training we received through the NGOs sponsored by the U.S.
government, and it did help us in our struggles, we are also aware that the same
government also trained the state security investigative service, which was responsible
for the harassment and jailing of many of us," said Mr. Fathy, the Egyptian activist.
Interviews with officials of the nongovernmental groups and a review of diplomatic cables
obtained by WikiLeaks show that the democracy programs were constant sources of tension
between the United States and many Arab governments.
The cables, in particular, show how leaders in the Middle East and North Africa viewed
these groups with deep suspicion, and tried to weaken them. Today the work of these groups
is among the reasons that governments in turmoil claim that Western meddling was behind
the uprisings, with some officials noting that leaders like Ms. Qadhi were trained and
financed by the United States.
Diplomatic cables report how American officials frequently assured skeptical governments
that the training was aimed at reform, not promoting revolutions.
Last year, for example, a few months before national elections in Bahrain, officials there
barred a representative of the National Democratic Institute from entering the country.
In Bahrain, officials worried that the group’s political training
"disproportionately benefited the opposition," according to a January 2010
cable.
In Yemen, where the United States has been spending millions on an anti-terrorism program,
officials complained that American efforts to promote democracy amounted to
"interference in internal Yemeni affairs."
But nowhere was the opposition to the American groups stronger than in Egypt.
Egypt, whose government receives $1.5 billion annually in military and economic aid from
the United States, viewed efforts to promote political change with deep suspicion, even
outrage.
Hosni Mubarak, then Egypt’s president, was "deeply skeptical of the U.S. role in
democracy promotion," said a diplomatic cable from the United States Embassy in Cairo
dated Oct. 9, 2007.
At one time the United States financed political reform groups by channeling money through
the Egyptian government.
But in 2005, under a Bush administration initiative, local groups were given direct
grants, much to the chagrin of Egyptian officials.
According to a September 2006 cable, Mahmoud Nayel, an official with the Egyptian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, complained to American Embassy officials about the United States
government’s "arrogant tactics in promoting reform in Egypt."
The main targets of the Egyptian complaints were the Republican and Democratic institutes.
Diplomatic cables show that Egyptian officials complained that the United States was
providing support for "illegal organizations."
Gamal Mubarak, the former president’s son, is described in an Oct. 20, 2008, cable as
"irritable about direct U.S. democracy and governance funding of Egyptian NGOs."
The Egyptian government even appealed to groups like Freedom House to stop working with
local political activists and human rights groups.
"They were constantly saying: 'Why are you working with those groups, they are
nothing. All they have are slogans,’ " said Sherif Mansour, an Egyptian activist
and a senior program officer for the Middle East and North Africa at Freedom House.
When their appeals to the United States government failed, the Egyptian authorities
reacted by restricting the activities of the American nonprofit organizations.
Hotels that were to host training sessions were closed for renovations. Staff members of
the groups were followed, and local activists were intimidated and jailed. State-owned
newspapers accused activists of receiving money from American intelligence agencies.
Affiliating themselves with the American organizations may have tainted leaders within
their own groups. According to one diplomatic cable, leaders of the April 6 Youth Movement
in Egypt told the American Embassy in 2009 that some members of the group had accused
Ahmed Maher, a leader of the January uprising, and other leaders of "treason" in
a mock trial related to their association with Freedom House, which more militant members
of the movement described as a "Zionist organization."
A prominent blogger, according to a cable, threatened to post the information about the
movement leaders’ links to Freedom House on his blog.
There is no evidence that this ever happened, and a later cable shows that the group
ousted the members who were complaining about Mr. Maher and other leaders.
In the face of government opposition, some groups moved their training sessions to
friendlier countries like Jordan or Morocco. They also sent activists to the United States
for training. http://www.newsfrommiddleeast.com/?xstart=b&new=76871
"To Achieve World
Government it is necessary to remove from the minds of men their individualism,
their loyalty to family traditions and national identification" Brock Chisholm - Director of the World Health Organization
"A society whose citizens refuse to see and investigate the facts, who refuse to
believe that their government and their media will routinely lie to them and fabricate a
reality contrary to verifiable facts, is a society that chooses and deserves the Police
State Dictatorship it's going to
get." Ian Williams Goddard
The fact is that "political correctness" is all about creating uniformity. Individualism is one of the biggest obstacles in the way of the New World Order. They want a public that is predictable and conditioned to do as it's told without asking questions.
"The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first." Thomas Jefferson
- Pacific
