Still a 'Fellow Dissident'?

Professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim is an American-Egyptian and one of the staunchest supporters of democracy in Egypt. He is a professor of Sociology at the American University in Cairo and the founder of Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies. Prof. Ibrahim is regarded as one of the pioneers of contemporary research-based civil movements in Egypt. He was recently sentenced in absentia to two years prison term on charges of "defaming Egypt's image abroad" for his harsh criticism of the Egyptian government and its clampdown on political dissent.

I strongly support Professor Ibrahim, true liberal hope for Egypt's future. In show of solidarity with Prof. Ibrahim, the Washington Post in its editorial reposted his Op-ed he wrote a year ago, which is believed to be the main reason behind his trial.

Still a 'Fellow Dissident'?

Editorial by the Washington Post

Today, we repost an opinion piece by Egyptian professor and dissident Saad Eddin Ibrahim that first appeared on our op-ed page one year ago. This month, Mr. Ibrahim was convicted of seditious libel or "tarnishing" the image of Egypt. For this transgression, the ailing, 69-year-old scholar was sentenced to two years in jail, with hard labor, and ordered to pay a fine equivalent to about $1,500. The prime piece of evidence against Mr. Ibrahim: The opinions he expressed in this newspaper.

Mr. Ibrahim, a dual Egyptian and American citizen, has for some time been living in exile in the Middle East and so may escape this sentence and other potentially draconian punishments. He is still subject to some 20 other legal actions brought against him by allies of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He is accused, among other things, of grand treason, in part for organizing a forum for Arab democracy advocates and for meeting briefly with President Bush last year after a conference in Prague. A conviction on these charges could subject him to death by hanging.

The fact that Mr. Ibrahim faces imprisonment -- or worse -- if he sets foot in Egypt speaks to the tightening grip of tyranny in that country. It is also testament to the Bush administration's failure to hold Mr. Mubarak to his commitment to further freedom and democratic institutions there.

There was a time when President Bush spoke openly, eloquently and forcefully about his sense of solidarity with Mr. Ibrahim, so much so that the president referred to himself as a fellow dissident. There was a time, only a few years ago, when he withheld millions of dollars in aid to Egypt until the country released Mr. Ibrahim from an unjust incarceration. Now, the administration can only muster an official, feeble "expression of disappointment" through an organ of the State Department as it continues to funnel billions to Egypt, enabling Mr. Mubarak to run an increasingly repressive police state.

A strong relationship with Egypt and continuing financial assistance to the country are most likely in the interest of the United States. But the relationship need not be exclusively with a regime that is on the wrong side of history; the United States should support those many Egyptians who believe in reform. At the very least, it should not continue to freely subsidize a regime that abuses its bravest citizens. Or, as Mr. Ibrahim succinctly put it in an interview this week: "Don't give dictators money to oppress us."

How Biden Will Sway My Vote

I was one of millions of Americans who woke up in the middle of the night on the sound of text message from Barack Obama’s campaign announcing his pick for the VP. At 3:29 AM EST, I woke up on the distinctive sound indicating a text message has arrived. I immediately reached to my cell phone and started reading the message “ Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee”.

I have to admit, it was quite an exciting experience, another sign of new things happening in the country which Mr. Obama has inspired during his campaign. As an undecided voter, the choice of Joe Biden was certainly reassuring to me as I try to make an informed decision in an election that will probably drastically change the direction of our country.
I was not particularly fan of Obama during the primaries. As a social conservative, Obama’s liberal and far to the left views especially on illegal immigration, gun control, gay marriages and the war on Iraq, were a turn off to me. Moreover, as an American Muslim I was also disappointed at Obama’s continuous attempts to distance himself from the Muslim community and his refusal to visit with Muslim leaders in mosques as his campaign did with Christian and Jewish leaders in churches and synagogues. A contradiction to his opposition to politics as usual and being an agent for change.

To me, Obama lacked the confidence to be our commander in chief. I was not particularly concerned about his lack of executive experience or the length of his presence in Washington, but I was more interested in his views and his agenda for the country. Above all, a president does not govern by himself but relies on an army of experts and consultants. Obama, however, did pull himself more to the center following his winning of the nomination. His vote on FISA and his approval of the Supreme Court decision on gun control were clear signs of that change.

Joe Biden is someone that I tremendously respect. I value his experience in foreign policy and I can trust his judgment. Biden is the kind of leader that makes you feel very comfortable just listening to him talking and debating. Biden’s senate hearings as chairman of the foreign relations committees were really informative and exciting to watch. Joe Biden is the main reason I might actually vote for the Obama-Biden ticket, I just hope it was Biden-Obama instead.

US Muslims, Arabs becoming political faithful

By JEFF KAROUB Associated Press Aug 22, 08

DETROIT (AP) _ Faced with a choice of White House hopefuls they fear are not entirely sympathetic to their issues, American Muslims are stepping up their activism to unprecedented levels in hopes they can influence the upcoming administration in its infancy.
The efforts stem in part from difficulties many Muslim- and Arab-Americans say they have experienced since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, in which they have found themselves on the defensive and struggling to convince at times skeptical fellow citizens that they can be both Muslims and loyal U.S. citizens.

"I've never seen the level of activism I now see," said Shibley Telhami, a Mideast scholar at University of Maryland and fellow at the Brookings Institution.
"The number of people who have become more active and visible on the national political front has increased dramatically because people have suddenly sensed that they have to be more active in order to ... defend themselves as Americans, defend themselves as Arabs and Muslims," he said.

While not all Arabs are Muslims or vice versa, they face similar problems and share many of the same concerns.

Tarek El-Messidi, 27, of Cincinnati, went door-to-door in South Carolina campaigning for Democratic candidate Barack Obama. But he had an unusual mission for a Muslim: the volunteer had to assure voters that Obama is not Muslim. El-Messidi said younger Muslims in particular lean more toward Obama than Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, but neither candidate should take that for granted.

"In talking to Muslims, they're really struggling between two things: They don't know whether to view Barack Obama as a lesser of two evils or a really good candidate that they are excited about," he said. "A lot are apprehensive whether to fully endorse Barack Obama (but) there's no doubt they view him as a better candidate than McCain."

Unease with McCain seems to stem as much from the conservative Bush administration's legacy as the candidate's own views. Arab-Americans are particularly concerned about laws, such as the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism Patriot Act, that activists argue have led to racial and ethnic profiling and eroding civil liberties.

McCain has, however, distanced himself from some conservative Christians whose comments about Islam were derided by critics as divisive and inflammatory. And both he and Obama have campaign-affiliated groups of Arab-American supporters.
Still, Obama has his own challenges.

El-Messidi's campaign-trail experience underscores young Muslim voters' dilemma. They felt an immediate connection with him _ partly because of his background _ that led to increased political involvement.
"He has a funny name like we do," El-Messidi said. "He has Arabic in his actual name."
"If he can do it, we can. We can reach very high goals. ... For many Muslims, especially after 9/11, have felt discriminated against. He has given us a lot of hope and inspiration."
But it also has led to disappointment.

The first-term Illinois senator, while a Christian, is the son of a Kenyan man. He has Muslim forebears and his middle name is Hussein, but he has aggressively debunked rumors that he is Muslim _ even labeling the claim a "smear" on a campaign Web site.
While he has said that some rumors about him also have been insulting to Muslims, the vehemency of his denials has stung the community.

In June, two Muslim women said they were separately refused seats directly behind Obama _ and in front of TV cameras _ at a Detroit rally because they wear head scarves. Obama called the women to apologize and issued a statement saying the actions were unacceptable and do not reflect campaign policies.

One of them, Hebba Aref, 25, said she is grateful for the apology and remains an Obama supporter, but she stressed it is up to the Arab-Muslim community to empower itself.
One of the biggest obstacles Obama faces is that expectations may have been set too high, said James Zogby, president of the nonpartisan Arab American Institute.
"People may have thought, this will be perfect and very different," he said. "It is different but it's not perfect because politics isn't perfect."

He said incidents some incidents have dampened, but not doused, enthusiasm for Obama among Arabs and Muslims. He sees the heightened level of Arab and Muslim involvement as a reflection of the broader population and evidence of a maturing community.
"Change is the issue _ and change is a word I think that (refers to) the economy, civil liberties and foreign policy and the general mess people think we're in," Zogby said.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, said neither candidate has officially met with Muslims in Michigan, an important swing state with one of the largest Muslim populations in the U.S.
Walid said that may lead Muslim voters past the "lesser of two evils," to a third-party candidate or no candidate at all. In broader terms, it also raises concerns about both candidates' foreign policy skills, he said.

"If the candidates cannot engage the American Muslim community in a healthy way, which is the world's most educated Muslim community, then how can they strengthen economic ties or have a meaningful successful diplomacy in the Muslim world?" he said.
One fledgling group is more optimistic.

The American Muslim Democratic Caucus plans to debut at the Democratic National Convention Monday with a reception that organizers expect will draw delegates and Islamic leaders from across the country, including Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison.

"This is a way of raising our voice in a Democratic society," said Syed Fayyaz Hassan, a caucus board member from Dallas who also serves as president-elect of the Texas Muslim Democratic Caucus. The Pakistan native traces his political involvement to the 2001 terror attacks _ one week after gaining his U.S. citizenship.

"Since we're a Democratic Party group, we are sold on the idea of being Democrat. But we would raise concerns of the Muslim community in the Democratic Party."
El-Messidi, who leads activism training workshops for Muslim students, said taking a consistent stand against discrimination would be wise for both candidates, even if it engenders hostility.
"Part of being a leader is taking stances that are difficult _ standing up for what's right," El-Messidi said. "What's right is a vast majority of Muslims ... love this country and feel very blessed to be in this country.
"We are as American as anyone else is."

Air Force Welcomes New Chief of Staff

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that he has no doubt the new Air Force chief of staff will "give his all" to the job.
Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz became the Air Force's 19th chief of staff during a ceremony today at Bolling Air Force Base here.

"[Schwartz's] goal is to recommit the Air Force to the high standards of excellence that have always been its hallmark," Gates said. "He is one who has lived the core values of airmen and women: integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do."

Gates said Schwartz "is the right man at the right time for this demanding job" because of his experience and expertise to further prepare the Air Force for "challenges on and beyond the horizon."

Some of these challenges include modernizing the Air Force's aging fighter and tanker fleets, restoring trust in the Air Force's stewardship of nuclear weapons and related materiel, protecting space and cyberspace and making the most effective use of air power in counterinsurgency operations while maintaining strategic deterrence and technological superiority, Gates said.

"Airmen and women led by General Schwartz are going after these tasks with zeal and, in so doing, will write new chapters of greatness for the Air Force," he said.

Schwartz said he is "humbled and honored" to serve as Air Force chief of staff. He reflected on the "incredible journey" he and his wife, Suzie, have had in the Air Force and the journey today's airmen have embarked on amid the global war on terror.

"We stand on a foundation built through blood and sweat of those who have gone before us," he said. "Through sacrifice and devotion alongside our joint and coalition partners, we continue to serve together in the defense of liberty."

He also noted the challenges recently faced by the Air Force regarding scrutiny over the service's handling of its nuclear weapons program. This eventually led to the resignation of Schwartz's predecessor, retired Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley, and former Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne.

"Knowing our nation expects our very, very best, we certainly have some things to fix, some fences to mend and some challenges to overcome," the general said. "We will show ourselves worthy of the sacred trust our leaders, our joint brethren and the American people place in us, because this business is all about trust."

Prior to becoming chief of staff, Schwartz spent nearly three years as commander of U.S. Transportation Command, at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., where he was the single manager for global air, land and sea transportation for the Defense Department.

Schwartz began his Air Force career in 1973 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a bachelor's degree in political science and international affairs. During his 35-year career, he has logged more than 4,200 flying hours in a variety of aircraft and participated in war and peacetime operations in Vietnam, Iraq and Cambodia.

Schwartz served in several other command assignments, including Special Operations Command Pacific, Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, and 11th Air Force. He also served as director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.

© Copyright 2008 American Forces Press Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

America Is Better Off Without Musharraf

By HUSAIN HAQQANIAugust 21, 2008
WSJ

Pervez Musharraf's resignation as president of Pakistan allows the country to move toward full democracy. Some in Washington view this as a threat -- the replacement of a reputedly stalwart ally in the war against terrorism with a democratic government responsive to the unpredictability of public opinion.

But with Mr. Musharraf gone, the United States need not take blame for his actions, particularly those unrelated to international cooperation in fighting terrorists. Mr. Musharraf's exit is not a loss. It is an opportunity to jump-start a much more durable and stable relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan as nations sharing democratic values.

In national elections on Feb. 18, the people of Pakistan spoke with an uncharacteristically unified voice, voting overwhelmingly for moderate, democratic political parties and rejecting not only Mr. Musharraf's political party, but those aligned with extremism and fanaticism. Less than 5% of the vote went to Islamist parties sympathetic to the Taliban.

The democratic coalition led by the party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was allowed to form a government, but Mr. Musharraf refused to step down as president or relinquish the lion's share of power within the government. His resignation this week under threat of impeachment has been celebrated by Pakistanis from all corners of the country.

Pakistan's greatest challenge now is to change its pattern of alternating between military strongmen and elected civilian governments that are ousted before their term is complete. The Pakistani military appears ready to join civilians in changing that pattern. Civilian elites who in the past have supported suspension of the constitution on grounds of alleged incompetence and corruption of elected officials may also have learned their lesson.

There is no shortcut to building democracy. Reforms pushed through governments installed by coups d'état have repeatedly failed to bring stability, and Mr. Musharraf's much-trumpeted economic achievements are in tatters at the end of his nine-year rule.
In the final analysis, Pakistan will only be as strong as its political system. Pakistan's democratic parties, most notably the current coalition partners PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League (N), must be given a chance to lay the foundations of lasting constitutional governance. Like all transitions, the transition from one-man rule to a pluralist system will be tough. But Pakistanis have proven their commitment to the democratic ideal after four failed military dictatorships in 60 years.

The U.S.'s primary concern in Pakistan remains the ongoing war against al Qaeda and the Taliban, mainly in the country's northwest region bordering Afghanistan. With Mr. Musharraf gone, the war against terror will in fact be pursued with much more vigor and much less political manipulation.

Anti-Americanism among Pakistan's people may ease, now that Washington is not seen as backing an unpopular strongman. That should make it easier for the elected government to fight terrorism without being accused of doing America's bidding in return for economic and military assistance.

The assumption that dealing with a single, authoritarian leader is the best way to do business with a foreign government is erroneous. In a nation of 160 million, the U.S. should not count on only one man as its ally. Those who are American allies by conviction and a shared belief in democracy, tolerance and free markets are bound to be better allies than an ally of convenience seeking only aid and political support.

The elected government of Pakistan can and will turn its attention to the immediate and critical problems of our nation -- inflation, a looming energy crisis, food shortages, an educational system that doesn't work, and a civil society that has been dismantled by dictatorship. And of course, above all, the people and government of Pakistan must contain and destroy the extremist insurgency which threatens the very soul of the nation.
With the mandate of the people behind it, the new Pakistani government can muster popular support to restore the writ of law to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and to marginalize extremists all over the country.

As Joe Biden has argued, the U.S.-Pakistan relationship should no longer be "transactional," i.e., based largely on the "exchange of aid for services." An economically viable Pakistan is a stable Pakistan, and a stable Pakistan would be better positioned to end fanaticism in our region. Pakistanis have been encouraged by the recent, unanimous passage in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of legislation introduced this month by Sens. Biden and Richard Lugar that would help build a U.S.-Pakistan relationship based not only on shared battle plans but shared values and shared economic and political interests.

Another critical piece of legislation that works toward that end is the Afghanistan and Pakistan Reconstruction Opportunity Zones Act of 2008. Introduced by Chris Van Hollen in the House and Maria Cantwell in the Senate, and supported by the Bush administration, it would encourage economic investment and local factories and businesses in Taliban-infested areas through favored trade relationships with the U.S. The Biden-Lugar legislation and the ROZs are important signals to the people of Pakistan that the U.S. is indeed a genuine partner, not just a military ally.
'
Pakistan has weathered a very difficult period in our national history -- a near-decade-long dictatorship, the spread of terrorism, an economic crisis and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, our icon of democracy. But we have made it through. The Musharraf resignation is not anyone's loss; it could help turn Pakistan around and that would be the world's gain.
Mr. Haqqani is Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.

U.S. Army hopes to keep native Arabic speakers

By Gordon Lubold - TCSMFriday, 08.08.2008
Washington — The Army may begin paying a retention bonus of as much as $150,000 to Arabic speaking soldiers in reflection of how critical it has become for the U.S. military to retain native language and cultural know-how in its ranks.

Only one other job in the Army, Special Forces, rates such a super-sized retention bonus. Now, as the military makes a fundamental shift toward rewarding the linguistic expertise it needs the most, it is expanding a program to train and retain native Arabic and other speakers from the same regions in which it is fighting.

"This is a war not only against the U.S., but against our way of freedom," says Sergeant Madi, a native interpreter and U.S. citizen who asked to be identified only by his surname due to security concerns for him and his family. "We have been fighting for over 16 years against Islamic extremism. It is also my war."

After the invasion of Iraq and the insurgency that followed, the U.S. military recognized its dearth of linguistic competence in the country it had just toppled, and it scrambled to identify Arabic and other linguists.

The military's conventional language training program, the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., could not churn out enough American soldiers proficient in Arabic, Kurdish, Dari, Pashtu, and Farsi, and the military quickly turned to private contractors to fill the gap. Numerous programs have sprouted up, including one at Fort Lewis, Wash., where soldiers are given a 10-month immersion program in language and culture.

But the Army has also been quietly growing its own capability to recruit and train Arab Americans and others as American soldiers to do high-level work overseas. The Army now has more than 600 such linguists, known by their military job designation as "09 Limas."
They come from places like Morocco, Egypt, and Sudan, but are recruited by the Army wherever there are large Arab American populations, including Dearborn, Mich.; Miami; Dallas; Los Angeles; and Washington, D.C.

The Defense Department is now authorized to put green-card holders on a fast track to U.S. citizenship. The 09 Lima linguists are in so much demand that the Army is raising the number it will recruit next year, from 250 to 275.

But as the U.S. government recognizes the long-term commitment it is making to Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, the competition for these native speakers is fierce among other government agencies such as the FBI and CIA, as well as other military services and private contractors.

Army personnel officials want to put the 09 Lima retention program on par with Army Special Forces, which would mean paying those linguists as much as $150,000 each to stay in the service. The Army implemented the bonus program for Special Forces in 2005 after it watched the highly trained soldiers being lured by lucrative deals offered by such firms as Blackwater USA. That bonus, which is tax-free if paid in a war zone, helped to stabilize that community.

The Army has yet to decide if the 09 Limas will rate the same pay, but defense officials say it's important to put linguists on par with the "high-demand, low-density" nature of Special Forces.
"We've received numerous reports from combatant commanders on the effectiveness of the 09 Limas versus the private contract linguists, and demand is extremely high," says Errol Smith, assistant deputy secretary for foreign language programs at the Pentagon.

The program represents the shift within the U.S. government toward recognizing the value of native linguists while determining how best to assess any Trojan horse-like security threat they might pose. Mike McConnell, director of national security, is pushing to streamline the screening process.

"We have to make some breakthroughs on how we assign, trust, assess, and utilize those who have direct contact with foreign entities," says one source familiar with Mr. McConnell's plan. "That unfolding story carries a lot of implications with it, and it's a huge cultural shift for the entire nation."

Yet when it comes to linguistic and cultural expertise, few can compare to a native speaker, defense officials say. "They hear things that are said around them, they are able to see things that others can't see," says Mr. Smith.

Smith tells the story of a commander in Iraq who was using a civilian interpreter, or "terp" in the vernacular of the military, employed by a private contractor, as the American commander spoke to a local Iraqi. During the meeting, the civilian interpreted literally the words of the local Iraqi, who had told other Iraqis to feed the American commander parsley. But an 09 Lima standing nearby heard something different: feeding parsley to someone was a reference to an old expression in which parsley was fed to a bird to choke it to death.

"He was pretty much giving an order to have the commander killed," says Smith. "Right there, a life was saved .... You can see just by knowing a bit of slang, being a native speaker, it can make a difference."

The 09 Limas have become so much in demand that U.S. Central Command, Tampa, Fla., which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has asked to extend their deployments. Current mobility regulations prevent it, Smith says, but the Army is working on a package of incentives that would allow the linguists to stay on in the war zone longer than 12 months if they chose to, he says.

Sergeant Madi, the 09 Lima, says he may be just a junior enlisted soldier, but the Army recognizes that it must know its enemy and the populations in which it operates. "There is a thirst to get this knowledge in any way," he says.By Gordon Lubold - TCSM -->