[Tolik]

Interesting article PING!

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of good stuff that is worthy attention. I keep separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson, Lee Harris, David Warren, Orson Scott Card. You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Valin]

Consider yourself flagged.

[Valin]

http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/fs/33380.htm

Fact Sheet
The White House Office of the Press Secretary
Sea Island, Georgia
June 9, 2004


Fact Sheet: Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative


"...[T]he United States has adopted a new policy, a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East. This strategy requires the same persistence and energy and idealism we have shown before. And it will yield the same results. As in Europe, as in Asia, as in every region of the world, the advance of freedom leads to peace."

President George W. Bush
November 6, 2003
Washington, D.C.

Presidential Action

Today, President Bush led the G-8 in establishing a historic "Partnership for Progress and a Common Future" with the Broader Middle East and North Africa to support efforts to advance freedom, democracy, and prosperity in the region. The G-8 Leaders met with Leaders of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey, Yemen, and the new President of Iraq to discuss the challenges facing the region.

Calls for Reform: In November 2003, President Bush announced a "forward strategy of freedom" to advance freedom and democracy in the greater Middle East. Since then, the world has witnessed a gathering momentum for reform in the region: business and civil society leaders issued reform declarations at Aqaba, Sanaa, and Alexandria, where they declared that "reform is necessary and urgently needed." At the May 22-23 Arab League Summit, Arab leaders declared their determination to "firmly establish the basis for democracy."

"Partnership for Progress and a Common Future": President Bush led the G-8 Leaders today in launching the historic "Partnership for Progress and a Common Future" to support political, economic, and social reform in the Broader Middle East and North Africa. To that end, the G-8 agreed to:

· Establish a "Forum for the Future," which will bring together in one forum G-8 and regional foreign, economic, and other ministers for regular discussions on reform, with business and civil society leaders participating in parallel dialogues. The inaugural meeting of the Forum will be held in the fall of 2004.

· Adopt a "Plan of Support" that will offer assistance through new initiatives:

o Democracy Assistance Dialogue, which will bring together democracy foundations, civil society groups, and governments from the G-8, the region, and other countries, to promote and strengthen democratic institutions, coordinate and share information on democracy programs, initiate new democracy programs, and sponsor exchanges. Turkey, Yemen, and Italy will co-sponsor the Democracy Assistance Dialogue and co-host the first meeting in 2004.

o Microfinance Initiative to help over two million entrepreneurs escape poverty through microfinance loans over the next 5 years. Jordan will host a Microfinance Best Practices Training Center and Yemen will host the first microfinance pilot project.

o Literacy Initiative to assist the region's efforts to halve the illiteracy rate over the next decade, including by training a corps of 100,000 teachers by 2009. Afghanistan and Algeria will co-sponsor this initiative.

o Business and Entrepreneurship Training initiative to help as many as 250,000 young entrepreneurs, especially women, expand their employment opportunities. Bahrain and Morocco will co-sponsor this initiative.

o Private Enterprise Development Facility at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to invest $100 million to finance small and medium-sized enterprises;

o Network of Funds to coordinate the work of development institutions and international financial institutions working in the region; and

o Task Force on Investment to assist the region's efforts to improve the business climate.

The Plan of Support also commits the G-8 to work in partnership with the region's governments, business leaders, and civil society to "intensify and expand" existing programs, focusing on: promoting democracy; improving education; and creating jobs and economic

[Thud]

The sky is always falling for some people.

It's always the same people.

And they're always wrong.

The No. 1 Vietnam lesson - of the real ones - is that you can't save people who don't want to be saved. If the Sunnis insist on victory or death, it will be their death. One-sided slaughter is not a civil war. We'll ensure that the Sunnis lack the means to defend themselves when they finally honk the Shia off enough. That won't impede creation of a peaceful democratic Iraq. It just won't have many Sunnis in it.

Iraq's Sunnis have three choices. They can become reconciled. They can become dead. Or they can become gone.

My money is on Iraq having less than 10% Sunni Arabs within five years.

[Convert from ECUSA]

Thanks for posting this very interesting article, Tolik.

Ping to Salem and IAF Thunderpilot!

[Max Combined]

Long, but meandering article that proves that the author thinks he is really smart, but which does not really say anything new or meaningful in the final analysis.