Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States faces both a threat and an opportunity in the Middle East as protesters seek to topple regimes they believe are oppressive, according to witnesses at a congressional hearing Thursday.
A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee called the hearing to try to figure out what kind of policy would be best for U.S. interests amid revolts in six countries.
The protesters are demanding the kinds of civil liberties the U.S. government has advocated for the Middle East for decades.
“Unlike in the past, however, they were not protesting against the United States nor were they protesting against Israel,” said Rep. Steve Chabot, (R-Ohio), chairman of the subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.
Revolts that started in Egypt in December led to the toppling of the 40-year regime of Hosni Mubarak amid allegations of his corrupt personal finances and oppressive police tactics. The revolt has now spread to include Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen and Tunisia.
Chabot criticized the Obama administration for what he called a “tepid and disappointing” response to events such as the crackdown in Syria that killed hundreds of civilians.
President Obama’s policy uses sanctions to punish repressive regimes rather than trying to influence the outcome of the insurrections, Chabot said.
Without seizing the opportunity, the Obama administration “risks squandering a huge strategic opportunity for the U.S., not to mention helping to end the bloodshed that intensifies every day,” he said.
Michael H. Posner, U.S. assistant secretary of State, defended Obama administration policies by saying, “Our policy is pragmatic and it is in keeping with principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
He agreed that actions the Obama administration takes now could have a long-term effect on U.S. foreign policy.
“This is a pivotal moment in the Middle East and North Africa,” Posner said.
Diplomatic reports from the region show the political situation “is increasingly unstable,” he said.
Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked what the State Department was doing to ensure Middle Eastern democracy movements gain a stronghold for the future.
Posner said the State Department was sending teams to the Middle East to help political leaders in “building the foundation for sustainable democracy.”
The State Department efforts include using the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to invest $2 billion in Middle Eastern businesses.
U.S. diplomats also have been encouraging Egypt’s Supreme Military Council to review the detentions of protesters who might have been arrested for being dissenters rather than criminals.
In Egypt, where Mubarak ruled under martial law during the entire lives of the country’s young people, “They don’t have experience with political parties,” Posner said.
As a result, the State Department’s Bureau of Human Rights, Labor and Democracy is providing technical assistance to train candidates in organizing political parties.
The State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative is providing Tunisia with $20 million to build its media and encourage private businesses.
Posner cautioned that the U.S. government should not expect big changes toward democracy quickly.
“I think it’s going to be a real challenge,” he said.
A survey conducted in April showed the uprisings have improved the image of Arabs among Americans.
Fifty-six percent of Americans surveyed said they have favorable opinions of Arabs throughout the Middle East. Seventy percent of the 802 Americans surveyed expressed positive opinions about Egyptians, the University of Maryland poll showed.
Thirty-nine percent of the survey respondents said they sympathized with Arabs more since the uprisings started.
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