Home pagePress CenterIn the Media Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Bush Hopes to Revive Mideast 'Freedom Agenda.'"
In the Media | Detail
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS Middle East Program, was quoted by the Associated Press, "Bush Hopes to Revive Mideast 'Freedom Agenda.'"
For years, President Bush has eagerly waved a flag for democracy in the Mideast from afar. Now he steps gingerly into the troubled region where what he calls his "freedom agenda" is stalled.
Bush proclaimed in his second inaugural address that the United States would work for democratic reform in every nation and culture "with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world."
Jon Alterman, a Mideast expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that if there was a surprise in store during the trip, he expected it would be a stop in Lebanon, where the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora is locked in a political standoff with the pro-Syria opposition.
"Clearly a visit to Lebanon would carry with it immense security concerns," Alterman said, ". . . but I find it hard to imagine that the president will be so close and not seek to do something that will strengthen the hand of Prime Minister Saniora and his allies."
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a private, tax-exempt institution focusing on international public policy issues. Its research is nonpartisan and nonproprietary. CSIS does not take specific policy positions; accordingly, all views, positions, and conclusions expressed in these publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.
