Military

DATE=02/01/2003

TYPE=ON THE LINE

NUMBER=1-01273 SHORT #1

TITLE=ARAB REFORM

INTERNET=Yes

EDITOR=OFFICE OF POLICY 619-0037

CONTENT=INSERTS IN DALET AND AUDIO SERVICES

THEME: UP, HOLD UNDER AND FADE

Host: This is On the Line and I'm --------. A United Nations report found that there is less freedom in Arab countries than anywhere else. The report, written by a panel of Arab scholars and intellectuals, concluded that Arab countries will stagnate without democratization. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other U-S officials have joined the call for democracy in the region. President George W. Bush has promised that if the United States leads a coalition to disarm Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a democratic Iraq will be a primary goal.

Ali Al-Ahmed is executive director of the Saudi Institute. He says there is no country in the Arab world where free elections have taken place.

Al-Ahmed: "There are steps, but unfortunately all of them are insincere steps because the governments in the Arab world feel that they control and that they run and in some cases, own the country and its people. It will be [this way] for a while. I think now with the United States plan to remove Saddam and liberate Iraq, Iraq can be probably the first model of full democracy where a one-man, one-voter system can be established."

Host: Amy Hawthorne is an associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She is optimistic that democratic systems can eventually be established in the Arab world, but says it must be done by Arabs themselves.

Hawthorne: "You have United States officials for the first time openly criticizing some of their close Arab friends for their internal governance practices. And what that does is it creates a debate about democracy and democratization that is really about the Arab world's relation with the West and with the United States and not, primarily, about Arab governments' relationship with their own citizens. I think ultimately the focus has to be internal in Arab countries."

Host: Les Campbell is regional director of Middle East programs for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. He says it is important for Americans promoting democracy in the Middle East to work through local or regional groups that are not tied directly to the U-S government.

Campbell: "They can go to a country like Yemen or Bahrain or Egypt or Lebanon and find local partners, people who are like-minded who are also trying to push for democratic opening and reform. In countries where it's not possible to work internally or locally -- and there are some: Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia would come to mind -- it's possible to find partnerships with people who are exiled, people outside the country who are genuine democratic reformers."

Host: Most observers say that democratization in Arab countries will be a long-term process. For On the Line, I'm -------.