Bill Clinton, Wes Clark to speak at Arab Forum

[Gloria]

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=10949



Arab reform: a pair of very different faces

By Rami G. Khouri
Daily Star staff
Monday, December 13, 2004

Analysis

DUBAI: At the eastern and western poles of the Middle East this week, Arab reform reveals its two very different faces. Gatherings of prominent Arabs and Westerners in Rabat and Dubai offer two contrasting versions of the best path to a crucial goal which is now widely acknowledged in the region and abroad: the need to reform Arab political and economic systems, and perhaps also underlying social and educational norms.

The two gatherings in question are the Rabat meeting Saturday of the Forum for the Future, and the Arab Strategy Forum that opens in Dubai Monday. They are as far apart conceptually as they are geographically, and therein lies a potential clue to solving the puzzle of why Arab reform is talked about so much but not achieved to any significant degree.

The Rabat meeting that brought together G-8 officials with their Arab counterparts was marked by strong and continuing tensions about prevailing political problems in the region. Specifically, Arab officials and civil society activists widely questioned a U.S.-driven reform agenda, while the Arab-Israeli conflict remained active and Iraq was also in turmoil. This reflects the deeper doubts throughout the Mideast about the appropriateness or efficacy of a reform agenda that was initiated and first defined by Washington.

SNIP

The three-day Arab Strategy Forum offers a different approach to identifying the challenges, constraints and opportunities of the Arab world. It also hopes to suggest the most feasible means of moving the region on a path of reform aiming for stability and prosperity. Up to 1,000 participants are expected, where Arab and international officials and analysts will debate political reform, security and economic and human development issues.

Among the speakers are former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Dubai Crown Prince and U.A.E. Defense Minister General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Syrian Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban, Hanan Ashrawi from Palestine, U.S. scholar Fouad Ajami, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohammad ElBaradei, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark, former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, the foreign ministers of Iraq and Qatar, the prime ministers of Libya and Malaysia, and numerous other scholars, officials and businessmen and women from across the world.

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[Donna Zen]

1. Sweet...

ElBaradei is being "hunted" by the BFEE but hanging with Good Guys! Wes and Bil--Arkansas's favorite sons--and smart ones too--trying to bring peace. Ironic.

Is this the same forum that Powell was to attend? Guess not, he isn't on the list of speakers.

One other thought: In May, Clark met with many of these same people (high-power think tank) to draft a proposal out lining the direction needed if the third world countries were to successfully emerge as stable nations. Wes was the keynote speaker at that event. That meeting took place at the same time as the G-8 was going on in Georgia. The eventual paper was presented to the G-8. What I'm wondering is if this meeting was linked to that same process?

We forget, much to our own disgrace imho, how the rest of the world sees Wes Clark. In a way he is a bridge...he fought not for oil, but to save Muslim lives. That fact was brought up in the French newspapers who cited its importance. His is a vision for inter-locking world bodies of discussion as opposed to bushjunior's desire to bring down NATO and the UN.

There is a great saddness associated with this article: while the D-/F team rams the levers of power into killer over drive with no care about the consequences of their madmen policies; the A team--our best and brightest--are forced to the sidelines.

Glad to see that somewhere the world has some sense. Oh_what we were offered; what coulda been.

[Gloria]

2. Yes, Wes spoke at the conference in Morocco...I think it was

Morocco. It was a business-oriented conference.

I just heard the CNN Headline News story on Baradei being listened to by us. And it ended: No evidence of wrongdoing by Baradei! Ugh, why not say put some of the judgmental tone on the Bush Administration??? You tell us they're after Baradei because he didn't turn up the proper "evidence" for an Iraq invasion and now he's being too "cautious" with Iran.... and then you imply that Baradei may have done something "wrong"??

Talk about turning the story on its head....

[Donna Zen]

3. CNN + ElBaradei

Soon CNN will have him linked to Scott Peterson. It's just a matter of time. Maybe Larry King will have the scoop.

Someone just posted at CCN:

Wes's panel up at 4:45 EST.

We'll have to look for a report, but he'll probably have a hard time getting a word in edgewise: a keynote speaker and 4 other panelists in a 75 minute session.

I have no clue what that means...televised?

[Catherine Vincent]

4. Two old friends back together again!