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The 17th Model of American Congress

Congressional Research Service Report

The 17th Model of American Congress

Congressional Research Service Report SIC PARVIS MAGNA

The 17th Model of American Congress

Congressional Research Service Report

The 17th Model of American Congress

Congressional Research Service Report

Table of Contents Preamble ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Rules of Procedures… ................................................................................................................. 7 Committee on Foreign Relations ................................................................................................ 14 First Topic: Nuclear Power Threat… ........................................................................................... 17 Second Topic: Violence in The Americas .................................................................................... 56 Committee on Finance ................................................................................................................ 58 First Topic: Healthcare Reform… ................................................................................................ 61 Second Topic: Contemporary Taxes ............................................................................................ 77 Third Topic: Keystone Pipeline .................................................................................................. 88 Committee on the Judiciary ..................................................................................................... 97 First Topic: Self Ownership ........................................................................................................ 101 Second Topic: Criminal Justice System Reform ........................................................................ 128 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ............................................ 144 First Topic: Security Agencies ...................................................................................................147 Second Topic: Lobbying ............................................................................................................. 168 Committee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs………………................187 ‫…………………………………………… الحرب األهليه في جنوب السودان‬..………………………189 ‫ بورما‬.........................................................................................................…………………….....180 ‫……………………………………………………………………األكراد‬-……………………….024

The 17th Model of American Congress

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Preamble For 17 consecutive years, The Model of American Congress has been one of the leading simulation processes across Egypt’s universities. Moreover, it has and will remain the most distinctive model simulating the complete legislative process of the U.S. Senate in Egypt and the Middle East. Through these 17 years, The Model of American Congress has been able to change the lives of thousands of Egyptian students, providing them with the most indulging and strongest academic experience. This publication is a living proof that MAC’s indulging academic experience. The Model of American Congress simulates one of the most eminent and complex political systems in the entire world, as believed by many political analysts. However, we believe that this complexity is the factor that contributes in making the US political system, the most interesting and indulging political system across the globe. We believe that diversity is the cornerstone of any society. Only after being exposed to different ideologies and different personalities, a human can truly learn about himself and discover the extent of his potential. The Model of American Congress provides students with the most diverse academic experience in Cairo University, giving them the opportunity to open up to different communities and different political ideologies, and engage their minds and thoughts without any fear of prejudice or frustration. This vision could only be possible with a team of Secretariats that possess the talent to produce an environment where everyone gets the chance to learn, improve, develop and change to the best. Their huge potential, dedication, intelligence, diversity and love of each others are the reasons that made this year successful. This publication is dedicated to each and every person who has been part of this year, who allowed us to be in this position after all these years. To MAC’s Organizing Committee for their hard work throughout this year and their desire to always do their best. To the best Secretariats team whom we are always grateful for having them leading the path and giving their best throughout the year. To our delegates, the main beneficiaries of this publication and the very reason for MAC’s existence, they are the derivative for us to always do our best to provide them with the very best experience. To our ALUMNI and everyone who contributed to this year, even if they are no longer a part of it. MAC’18 High-Board

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Dedications To MAC’18 Secretariats Team, For being the best secretariats team ever, for your trust, for being the “x” that change the whole equation, for showing passion in every single detail, for the sleepless nights, for the late deadlines, for the hardships, for being a source of joy and pride. Thank you most honorable Inglorious Circus. Omar Fathy, President Pro-Tempore

To Youssef and Maryam, For the sleepless nights, for the precious friendship, for being a permanent source of support, for the creative ideas, for the challenges that have been achieved, for the barriers that have been conquered, for the best partners to end the journey with. Thank You. Omar Fathy, President Pro-Tempore

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Presidential Board Islam El-Sherif â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Malak Asaad

President Pro-tempore

Head of Organizing Committee

Omar Fathy

Mohammed Alaa El-Din

Deputy Head of Academic Committee

Deputy Head of Organizing Committee

Youssef Ayman

Farah Khaled Adam

Maryam Khaled

Supervised and Edited by: Omar Fathy Youssef Ayman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Maryam Khaled

Special thanks go to the members and the heads of the committee on coordination for their great efforts while printing this report.

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Model American Congress Rules of Procedures

Section I: Parliamentary Authority -

These Rules shall be the official rules of The Model of American Congress No one may amend these by-laws except for the members of the committee

Section II: Senate Members and Officers First, the duties of the chairman/lady of each committee shall be:

To declare the opening and closing of each committee meeting, To recognize all the speakers, To decide all points of order, To put questions to a vote and announce the results, To preserve order, decorum and to clear the floor of any disorderly persons.

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Second, the duties of the Vice-Chair shall be:

To chair the committee during the chairman/ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absence or when the latter yields the floor to him, To conduct the roll call at the beginning of each session, To assist in the counting of the votes, To make sure that there is a quorum present at all times during which business is being transacted.

Third, the duties of the Ranking Member shall be:

To advise the Chairman/lady on the decision of any parliamentary questions, To direct the academic flow of the debate, To act as source of all academic materials that needed by the senators during the congressional meetings, To make sure that the committee bills are issued according to all technical and legal specifications, To read all bills.

Fourth, the duties of the Party Consultant shall be:

To arrange each and every party factions and wings, To work on the formulation of the party statement, To assist the Ranking Member in providing the Academic materials, To act as source of information with regard to party stances, To read all amendments.

Fifth, the duties of the Senators shall be:

To Work on the discussed committee topics, as well as issuing a bill on the discussed topics to be taken to the senate floor, To debate and negotiate according to their stances, To give speeches on the floor day to convince other senators with their stances, To assist the Chairman/lady in maintaining order and decorum.

Sixth, the duties of the Lobbyists shall be:

To provide the senators with the academic materials and any technical or legal support, To work on the discussed committee topics, To lobby for or against the committee bills in the other committees and in the floor, To assist the Chairman/lady in maintaining order and decorum. 8

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Section III: Standing Committees -

There shall be one chairman/lady and 20 senators for each committee. The committee on Rules and Administration shall consist of the Model of American Congress President, President Pro-Tempore, Deputy Heads of the Academic Committee and the Chairmen/ladies of the five committees.

Section IV: Agenda and Order of Business -

The agenda of the Senate floor and each of the standing committees shall be drawn up in advance of their respective sessions. The Vice Chairman shall see that each member of the committee has received a copy of the agenda. Bills passed in the committee shall be forwarded to the Committee on Rules and Administration, where they will be placed on the agenda of the Senate floor. In any committee, the main sponsor of the bill may make any changes in the bill by arranging with the Ranking Member before the markup session.

Section V: Rules of Order The following are various motions, which shall be used in the Senate. Only those points listed below will be recognized at The Model of American Congress. POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE A delegate may raise a point of personal privilege whenever thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a request concerning his personal rights or the rights of the entire assembly. For example, it can be used to ask that a senator raises his voice, to open the windowâ&#x20AC;Śetc. Note: A point of personal privilege can only be raised when another delegates has the floor. POINT OF ORDER A point of order is used to raise other motions (including the suspension of rules, recess/adjournment and acclamation). Other purposes where a point of order is used are: caucuses, mark up sessions and congressional hearings. They require a 2/3 majority vote to pass. ACCLAMATION An acclamation preserves the bill before introducing any amendments so that in the case that the amended bill fails to pass, the original bill automatically proceeds to the floor. It requires a simple majority vote to pass.

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SUSPENSION OF RULES This motion suspends the rules of the assembly for a specific purpose and for a specific period. Normally, this is designed to allow the lobbyists to partake in the debate. It requires a simple majority vote to pass. “I’d like to raise a motion to suspend the rules for…” RECESS/ADJOURNMENT A senator may call for a recess/adjournment of any meeting. A recess is meant for a specific period during the day (ex: coffee break) while an adjournment is done at the end of each day and at the end of the floor. It requires a simple majority vote to pass. “I’d like to raise a motion to adjourn this meeting until tomorrow” “I’d like to raise a motion to move to a recess for one hour” RESERVE A POINT OF ORDER This motion is used while amendments are being introduced to the bill. After an amendment is read, the delegate who presented this amendment has the right to “reserve a point of order” and clarify the amendment for 1 minute.

Section VI: Voting -

Voting on any motion consists of yelling out ayes and nays on behalf of the senators, if the result is unclear then voting is done by show of hands. If this proves to be uncertain as well; then a roll call is taken. Both the simple majority vote and the 2/3 vote shall consist of the number of senators present. Once voting has begun, all motions are out of order. Abstentions are to be allowed only in the voting on the bill and amendments. It’s not permitted in voting on any motion.

Section VII: Debate Flow The Congressional Committee meetings: Chairman/lady: The Committee will come to order. We are meeting today to consider our congressional agenda the "….”, the "….", and the "…." Chairman/lady: <Opening statement> I will now yield the floor to the honorable Ranking Member to give his/her opening statements and read the congressional agenda. Ranking member: Thanks honorable Chair, <opening statement> and then reading the congressional agenda

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Thanks honorable chair. Chairman/lady: Thanks to the honorable Ranking Member. With a quorum (10) being present, the committee will now proceed the consideration of the declared agenda for this congressional meeting, and now the floor will be yielded to the Vice Chairman to have the roll call, senators attending should reply as present. The Vice Chair: Thanks honorable chair, <Conducts roll call>, thanks honorable Chair. Chairman/lady: The honorable senator…..of….. is recognized for two minutes. Chairman/lady: Other members may submit opening statements comments for the record (The opening statements start by the leader of Democrats and his team then the leader of Republicans and his team) Chairman/lady: Honorable senators wishing to speak should raise their placards high and keep them high. Chairman/lady: The honorable senator…of….. is recognized for two minutes. Senator: Thanks honorable chair,<speech for two minutes> thanks honorable chair. Senator: Point of order chairman/lady: Honorable….of……what's your point? Senator: I'd like to raise a motion to move to a hearing session for…minutes. Chairman/lady: Honorable senator that’s in order, there’s a motion on the floor to move to a hearing session for…Those in favor say "aye" <pause> those against say "nay" <pause> (If only nays or ayes are heard then the voting had a consensus result whether yes or no. But the case that both nays and ayes are heard then a raising hands motion takes place) Chairman/lady: With…ayes and…nays, this motion clearly passes/fails.

The Mark up Session: Chairman/lady: The Committee will come to order. We are meeting today to consider S.111 the"…..bill title…..", a bill to….. Ranking member: Clarifying statement. Chairman/lady: With a quorum (10) being present, the committee will now proceed to the consideration of S111 the "…..bill title….” I'll now yield the floor to the ranking member to read the bill. Ranking member: <Reads the bill>. Thanks honorable chair. Senator: Point of order. 10

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Chairman: Honorable….of……what's your point? Senator: I’d like to raise a motion to move to an acclamation procedure on this bill. Chairman/lady: Honorable senator that’s in order, there is a motion on the floor to move to an acclamation procedure on this bill. Those in favor say "aye" <pause> those opposed say "nay" <pause> Chairman/lady: With…ayes and…nays, this motion clearly passes/fails. Chairman/lady: Now the floor will be opened for 10 minutes for having amendments, the party consultant will record the amendments. Chairman/lady: The time for recording S111 amendments has elapsed, now the floor will be yield to the honorable party consultant to read the first amendment. Party consultant: Thank you honorable chair. < Reads the amendment> Thank you honorable chair. After finishing reading the amendment if the member raised "reserve a point of order" at this time then he\she would be recognized for 1 minute. Chairman/lady: Honorable Senator you’re recognized for 1minute in the support of the amendment. Senator: <Explains the amendment> Chairman/lady: Honorable Senator your time has expired, since there is no further discussion, the question is on agreeing to the amendment offered by the honorable Senator. Those in favor say "aye"<pause>, those opposed say "nay" <pause> Chairman/lady: With…ayes and…nays, this amendment clearly passes/fails/ And so on the amendments are discussed and voted on. Chairman/lady: Hearing no further amendments, the question now occurs on the adoption of the amended bill. All those in favor say "aye"<pause> all those opposed say "nay"<pause> All those in favor say "aye" <pause> all those opposed say "nay" <pause> in the opinion of the chair, the Ayes have it and the motion is agreed to. Chairman: With…ayes and…nays, this bill clearly passes/fails. Senator: Point of Order. Chairman/lady: Honorable….of……what's your point? Senator: “I move that we recess until…. ”or “I move that we adjourn” Chairman/lady: Honorable senator that’s in order, there is a motion on the floor to adjourn/recess for…..Those in favor say "aye" <pause> those opposed say "nay" <pause>

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Chairman/lady: Withâ&#x20AC;Śayes andâ&#x20AC;Śnays, this motion clearly passes/fails.

Section VIII: The Floor - The floor of MAC will involve the 100 senator as speakers, while the secretariats and the -

lobbyists are not recognized. However, the lobbyists conduct their task informally. Bills pass by simple majority, whereas treaties require a 2/3 vote. All the committee rules and motions are in order.

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Committee on Foreign Relations

Prepared by: Chairman Kareem Mohamed Abosheleoue Ranking Member Alia Gheyath El-Haboubi

Party Consultant Alaa Mostafa

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About the Committee History The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was established in 1816 as one of the original ten standing committees of the Senate. Throughout its history, the committee has been instrumental in developing and influencing United States foreign policy, at different times supporting and opposing the policies of presidents and secretaries of state. The committee has considered, debated, and reported important treaties and legislation, ranging from the purchase of Alaska in 1867 to the establishment of the United Nations in 1945.

Jurisdiction The Committee holds jurisdiction over all diplomatic nominations. Through these powers, the committee has helped shape foreign policy of broad significance, in matters of war and peace and international relations. Members of the committee have assisted in the negotiation of treaties, and at times have helped to defeat treaties they felt were not in the national interest.

Subcommittees: 1. Subcommittee on African affairs. 2. Subcommittee on East Asian and Specific Affairs. 3. Subcommittee on European Affairs. 4. Subcommittee on international development and foreign assistance, economic affairs and international environmental protection. 5. Subcommittee on international operations and organizations, human rights, democracy and global women's issues. 6. Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian affairs. 7. Subcommittee on Western hemisphere, Peace Corps and global narcotics affairs.

Chairmanship: Chairman

Ranking Member

Bob Corker

Bob Menendez 14

The 17th Model of American Congress

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Table of Contents First Topic: Nuclear Power Threat Weapons of Mass destruction Types.............................................................................................................................................. Effects ............................................................................................................................................ Treaties .......................................................................................................................................... Chemical Weapons ............................................................................................................................. Types ............................................................................................................................................. History of usage ........................................................................................................................... International conventions and agreements .....................................................................................

Biological Weapons......................................................................................................................... 21 History of usage ............................................................................................................................. International conventions and treaties ........................................................................................... North Korea ........................................................................................................................................ Historical background ................................................................................................................... Nuclear program ............................................................................................................................ Timeline of Recent Events .............................................................................................................. Positions concerning current crisis .................................................................................................

Iran ..................................................................................................................................................... Historical background.................................................................................................................... Nuclear Program ........................................................................................................................... Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ............................................................................... Iranian Presidents .......................................................................................................................... Different U.S. administrations ........................................................................................................ Current state of affairs ...................................................................................................................

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are weapons that have the capability and the potential of killing instantly large numbers of people, destroying artificial and natural structures; in addition to jeopardizing millions of lives of future generations, nevertheless, WMDs affect the environment obstructively. Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons (CBRN) are referred to as Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is worth noting that many analysts and military officials do not consider radiological weapons as weapons of mass destruction due to their effect being less hazardous relative to the other weapons. Nuclear Weapons Many analysts and military officials say that nuclear weapons should be distinguished apart from the other Weapons of Mass Destruction, as they have the power to demolish millions of lives within minutes. The UN Secretary General, Antรณnio Guterres, has stated at the UNODA that nuclear weapons do not only have destructive militarily power, but also political power, as policy-makers tend to lean with their positions with nations possessing nuclear weapons. Nine nations all over the world; the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, China, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel, possess a total of 14900 nuclear war heads. More than 93 percent of the nuclear stockpile in the world falls in hands of the United States and Russia. Global nuclear stockpiles have decreased significantly in the last 30 years by more than two-thirds. The United States and Russia have more than 6500 nuclear war heads each, with France possessing 300 war heads, China 260, England 215, Pakistan 130, India 120, Israel 80, and North Korea possessing 15 nuclear war head. 1 Similar to conventional weapons and bombs, nuclear weapons are created for the purpose of destroying artificial and natural structures. This is done one through the release of significantly huge amounts of energy capable of demolishing everything it is surrounded by. In conventional bombs and missiles, the explosion is the energy released from the outcome of the rearrangement of the atoms structuring new molecules created by a chain reaction. However, in nuclear weapons, the explosion and the energy released is caused by the change in the atoms themselves. This change comes from either combining and fusing atoms together or splitting each one apart. Therefore, the amount of energy released causing the explosion of a nuclear weapon is immensely larger in scale and magnitude than that of conventional bombs or missiles. As it is approximated that the explosion evolved from a nuclear bomb engineered with one kilogram of Plutonium is congruent to the explosion resulting from a conventional bomb engineered with fifteen million kilograms of the conventional explosive material the TNT.2

1 2

World Nuclear Weapons, Ploughshares Fund March 2, 2016. Cote, Owen R. Jr, Weapons of Mass Confusion, Boston Review, April/May 2003.

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Types

There are two types of nuclear reactions, fission and fusion, leading to two types of nuclear weapons  Fission weapons: In the fission process, the atoms split and initiate a chain reaction. The fission bomb or weapon is manufactured by using heavy atoms or elements, composed of large numbers of protons and neutrons. In fission, the heavy nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei, releasing huge amount of energy, and extra neutrons break free at high speeds. When these highly speeded free neutrons strike another heavy nucleus, they force it to split into two smaller nuclei releasing more free neutrons setting off what is called a chain reaction. Plutonium and highly enriched uranium isotopes are the only elements in nature (under extremely high designed conditions) capable of executing self-sustaining fission chain reaction, emitting significantly huge amount of energy needed for fission type nuclear weapons.  Fusion weapons: In the fusion process, the atoms merge or in other words; fuse together. The fusion bomb or weapon reaction is the same reaction that happens in the center of the sun. In fusion, relatively heavy atoms are fused together forming even heavier atom with the process emitting extremely high energy. Fusion can occur only at extremely high temperatures and pressures. The energy needed to set off and trigger a fusion chain reaction is acquired by a fission explosion, for example, an atomic bomb. Scientists cannot estimate nor calculate the theoretical explosive limit of a fusion weapon. An explosion resulting from a fusion bomb or weapon is 10 to 100 times larger than the explosion that was caused by the fission bombs dropped in the Second World War on Japan. Fusion bombs are often called hydrogen bombs, as the fusion reaction results from fusing deuterium and tritium, two hydrogen isotopes, together. 

Effects

Nuclear weapons’ explosions release huge amounts of energy. This energy is represented in different forms. The blast and the radius of the fire are the initial effects of a nuclear explosion, followed by thermal radiation, electromagnetic pulse, direct nuclear radiation and the fallouts. A nuclear explosion has a set of devastating consequences; that are rather represented in many forms of energy. 3

 The blast It is the shock resulted from the instantaneous release of energy. A nuclear blast shock wave has the power to destroy and demolish most structures and objects on earth. It is equal to thousands of pounds per square inch (psi). Brick house can be flattened at about 30 psi or less.

Cirincione, Joseph ,Wolfsthal,Jon , Rajkumar Miriam , Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats ,Washington, July 10, 2005

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 Thermal radiation It is the heat and light energy emitted from a nuclear explosion. This energy is high enough in magnitude to vaporize all materials at the epicenter (center of explosion) within seconds of the explosion. Created from the thermal radiation, a tremendous fireball expands rapidly, consuming all the oxygen within its radius. The light emitted from the nuclear explosion can be seen from hundreds of kilometers away; it can even be seen from near bye cities. The flash radius relies on the power of the nuclear weapon, the atmospheric and weather conditions. Some might think that the light energy emitted from the explosion is only represented in the flash seen hundreds of kilometers away; however, the light energy resulted from the explosion is extremely intense and high in magnitude to the extent of exploding sand, blinding people kilometers away, ignite flammable materials and objects at far distances, and burn human skin. The blast and the thermal radiation of a nuclear explosion, combined, are totally destructive to any object within the radius of the fireball, and even for some distances away from the epicenter.  Electromagnetic pulse Though it does not have a direct effect on humans, electromagnetic pulses can create devastation and panic at the site of a nuclear explosion, as it disables and turn off all electrical devices, technological medical devices, computers, and means of communication in its path, putting the site of explosion in absolute isolation from the world.  Direct nuclear radiation Released from nuclear explosion, several forms of radiations, alpha, beta, and gamma rays, are emitted. Harmful and can be deadly, Gamma rays and neutrons can easily penetrate solid objects and human bodies. On the other hand, alpha and beta particles are less dangerous, due to their short ranges of effect that extend about few meters or centimeters, and due to their inability to penetrate human skin; however, if ingested, alpha particles have the worst effect on human body, creating the most damage. The effect of radiations on human body varies whether the radiation dosage and exposure was large and instantaneous, or small and over long time intervals. Large and instantaneous radiation dosage causes cell death within hours, days, or weeks. However, body cells can repair from the slow and small radiation dosage; they still induce changes in the cells detected in the future, and passed on through mutated genes. Moreover, the most dangerous delayed long term radiation effects are the significant increase in case numbers of anemia, leukemia and thyroid, lungs, breast and bone cancers. Hiroshima survivors are casualties suffering of cataracts, hair-loss, increase in infertility and birth defects.4  Fallouts They consist of large numbers of particles, buildings, other objects and structures from earth propelled and lifted upwards from the blast, irradiated and mixed with the radioactive products of the nuclear explosion. These propelled materials and the radioactive fallouts take from few minutes to 24 hours to fall back to earths’ surface. The rising and descending of these scattered pieces forms a mushroom shaped cloud. The direction and speed of the wind, weather conditions and land 4

Decker, Debra, Kempfer, Jacqueline, Rauhut, Kathryn, Umayam, Lovely Re-Energizing Nuclear Security, Nov7,2017

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topography are all factors effecting and influencing the distribution of the fallouts. Away from the explosion site and the epicenter, the radioactive fallouts, resulted from the nuclear explosion, may fall and settle in places and cities hundreds of kilometers far. As a result, the radioactive fallouts is the stealthiest and most dangerous effect of a nuclear explosion, as it has a much wider scoop than that of the blast and the direct nuclear radiation, due to its unpredicted area of exposure and effect. Nevertheless, as scientists have not yet reached a method of neutralizing the resulted radioactive fallouts, its disposal and elimination remains a costly and hazardous job. The fallouts will remain insidious until the particles have solely decay and terminate emitting radiations, a process that lasts thousands of years to occur. ď&#x201A;ˇ

History of usage

During the final stages of the Second World War, on August 6th 1945, the United States, under the leadership of President Harry Truman, dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city Hiroshima, leading to around 135,000 casualties. Three days later, the United States launched their second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. As an outcome of the acute effects of the attack, the second bomb caused 64,000 casualties. These events drew a line that ended the Second World War and led to the unconditional surrender of Japan on August 14th 1945. ď&#x201A;ˇ

Treaties

The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is a United Nations treaty that prohibits the usage and development of nuclear weapons and nuclear technology, promoting disarmament and peaceful usage of nuclear energy. The NPT was opened for signature in 1968, entering into action two years later in 1970. About 190 one nations have signed the treaty, including nations possessing nuclear weapons. The treaty was extended indefinitely on May 11th 1995. A testament to the treaties significance, the NPT is the most ratified disarmament and arms limiting agreement. Reaffirmed at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference, a provision of the treaty every five years is obliged. To assure the peaceful purpose of the NPT, the treaty assigned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a safeguard system that conducts inspections and prevents weaponry development, verifying compliance with the treaty and promoting peaceful cooperation of nuclear technology.5 Chemical Weapons In comparison with other Weapons of Mass Destruction, chemical weapons are the easiest and cheapest to manufacture, in addition to the equipment needed for its production being widely accessible. Therefore, the chemical weapons are notably widely spread. Chemical weapons use toxic chemicals to kill, injure and incapacitate people, as well as causing a temporary or permanent sensory of irritation.

,Nephew , Richard ,Rosenberg, Elizabeth , Ruggiero, Anthony, The Art of Sanctions for Nonproliferation, December 07, 2017

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Chemical weapons pose two crucial aspects worthy of consideration. 

The first aspect, having good commercial uses, the manufacturing agents and precursors are widely spread on the open market with considerably large numbers of manufacturing facilities. The second aspect, as mentioned, the development and storage of chemical weapons in confidentiality is facile, exposing the industry vulnerably as terrorism target.

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Unveiling their fears, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that millions of United States civilians are under threat as 123 chemical facilities are vulnerable to attacks. In contrary, the industry of chemical weapons have not faced the expected intense public opposition, as there has not been any recent lethal chemical catastrophe since the one happened in 1984, Bhopal, India, where 5,000 people died as a result from the explosion of Union Carbide plant, releasing chlorine gas in the air.6 

Types

Chemical weapons kill and incapacitate humans in different ways relaying on their toxic effect and composition. With more than 70 types of chemical weapons, they all lay in 4 main classes:  Choking agents: target the lung tissues, causing irritation, respiratory distress. (Examples : Chlorine gas, Phosgene gas)  Agent Orange: cancer causing agent. (Examples: dioxin)  Blister agents: cause blisters on the skin and the respiratory track, leading to respiratory damage and blindness, and in most cases death. (Examples: Mustard gas, Lewisite)  Blood agents: interferes with the human body’s supply of oxygen, the blood agents result in death. (Examples: Cyanide, Cyanogen chloride)  Nerve agents: this class of chemical weapons is particularly lethal, immediately incapacitating the central nervous systems, and killing the target. (Example: Tabun, Sarin, Soman, VX).

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History of usage

During the First World War, Germany launched blistering agents, phosgene and sulphur mustard, subsequently killing 100,000 and injuring one million. Nevertheless, Nazi Germans produced enormous amounts of nerve agents in the Second World War. This time, the Nazis used Zyklon B (nerve agent) n the Jewish concentration camps and brutally killing large numbers of them. In the Vietnam War, the United States used Agent Orange a defoliant used in warfare as a chemical weapon containing dioxin, an agent causing cancer. In 1984, a United Nations investigation team perceived the usage of chemical weapons by Iraqi forces in the Iraq-Iran War after having found chemical weapons in Iraq. Iraq had again used chemical weapons but against the Kurds and killing more than 100,000 of them in 1988. Also in 6

Alicia Sanders-Zakre, Russia Destroys Last Chemical Weapons ,Arms Control Association, November 2017

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1987, Libya launched a chemical attack against the Chadian troops Chemical weapons were not only used by nations military and forces, but also have been used by terrorists. The most remarkable use of chemical weapons was by the Japanese cult, Aum Shinrikyo, in 1995. The cult loosened Sarin, nerve agent, in Tokyo’s subway, killing 12 civilians and injuring 5,000 more. 

International conventions and agreements

Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is an international agreement came to action in 1997, prohibiting the usage and development of chemical weapons, and destroying existing chemical stockpiles. One hundred seventy five, countries have signed the agreement. More than 2 million chemical weapons and 12 million metric tons of chemical agents have been demolished by 2005. Though, the agreement requires getting rid of the existing stockpiles, nations slake in their neutralizing process of their chemical weapons, leaving 71,000 metric tons of chemical agents active and not dismantled. Furthermore, some countries are suspected of possessing secret chemical weapons arsenals, and yet still conduct further research in the prohibited field. These countries are believed to be North Korea, China, Iran, Syria, Israel and Egypt. Biological Weapons Biological weapons are commonly called and referred to as germ weapons. They use biological toxins and disease causing agents such as bacteria, fungi and viruses to widely spread deadly diseases intending to mass kill people, animals or any living organism; moreover, the threat of these weapons has many forms. His threat varies from water sources poisoning, food poisoning, and the most threatening of all is the aerosols dispersal of highly intoxicated infectious materials. For many years, scientists have struggled and faced many challenges and difficulties to stop the out spread of infectious diseases like the cholera, smallpox and black plague. However, the biological weapons are capable of spreading these diseases once again, or even what is worse, in matter of seconds. The boundless diversity of potential biological weapon agents is enormous and insidious. 7There are more than 3,000 types of viruses and 5,000 kinds of diseases causing bacteria fatal to humans.8 

History of usage

In the 20th century, Japan has conducted extensive research and trials of biological weapons from early 1930’s until the Second World War in 1945. At that time, Japan has developed a biological weapon program producing deadly chemical agents and dissemination devices that have been experimented on prisoners resulting in more than 10,000 deaths. Nevertheless, Japan has infected China with bubonic plague by dropping Biological bombs in 1940-1941. Chinese officials stated that this action resulted in more than 200,000 casualties. The United States and the Soviet Union have both intensified their Biological arsenals after the Second World War. At that time, Russia has possessed the largest biological weapon arsenal. 

International conventions and treaties

Originally, bailing and outlawing the use of Biological weapons was first intended in the Geneva Convention in 1925, but this convention did not get into enforcement. Nations did not abide by 7

Pearson, Graham , The Protocol to Strengthen the BWC : An Integrated Regime (abstract),May 1998 Chemical and Biological Weapons: Possession and Programs Past and Present , nonproliferation.org , James Martin Center For Non Proliferation Studies, March 2008 8

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this convention until the United States president, Nixon, in 1969 unilaterally announcied that the United States will destroy its Biological stockpiles; this act initiated a multilateral negotiation to entirely outlaw and terminate biological weapons, leading to the signatory of the convention in 1972. The Biological Weapons Convention proliferates and prohibits biological weapons; however, it does not evaluate nor assure compliance of its 144 signatories. Due to vagueness of compliance measures and lack of verification tools, the Soviet Union secretly expanded their biological program. By several violations, the Biological Weapons Convention was seen as a failed gentlemenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agreement. President George Bush reversed previous compliance and support of the agreement.9

Davenport, Kelsey Biological Weapons Convention Signatories and States-Parties , Arms Control Association , September 2017

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North Korea

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Historical background

In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan, starting 35 years of a long and oppressive military rule. During World War II, the Japanese forced the Koreans to work in Japanese factories and sent them as soldiers in the front while Korean women were sent as sexual slaves for Japanese men. This Japanese aggression caused the formation of resistance groups fighting against the Japanese; one of the groups’ leaders was future leader of the DPRK; “Kim Il Sung”.10 In the final days of the Second World War, after gaining approval from the allies at the Yalta conference, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and marched into Korea. However, the U.S.’ fear of Korea falling completely under Soviet control led it to request from the Soviet forces haltin their advance at the 38th parallel north, leaving the south of the peninsula, including the capital, Seoul, to be occupied by the US.11 Later on, the U.S. announced the anti-Communist and U.S. educated Syngman Rhee as the most prominent leader in Korea while the northern part was held by guerrilla leader communist Kim Il Sung; both of which claimed full sovereignty over Korea. The Communist-aligned Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was created in 1945 after the partition of Korea at the end of World War II. The DPRK was strongly backed by the Soviet Union and was funded with weapons. The Korean War erupted in 1950 during the cold war between the US and the Soviet Union. It was caused by the political fight between the capitalist U.S. and communist USSR in Asia as well as Kim Il Sung’s determination to unite Korea and turn it into one communist country under his rule. Naturally, the Soviet Union sided with the Communist DPRK and so did China. On the other hand, the US sided with the anti-Communist Republic of South Korea. The war left both cities in ruins and the destruction of most of the important buildings in the DPRK created hostility from North Koreans towards the U.S. The U.S. signed a defense treaty with South Korea in 1953 and then stationed nuclear weapons in South Korea in 1958. Soon after, the DPRK signed a 10

History of Korea. Newworldencyclopedia.org 28 November 2017. "North Korea", "Nuclear Threat Initiative - Ten Years of Building a Safer World" , the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. 28 November 2017. 11

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defense treaty with the USSR and China.

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Nuclear program

Following American threats of using nuclear weapons against the DPRK during the Korean War, the East Asian country gained determination to possess a nuclear deterrent. Thus, it established the Atomic Energy research institute in 1952 with the purpose of training personnel to initiate its nuclear program. The real initiative however started with the assistance of the DPRK’s strongest ally, the Soviet Union. In 1956 came its signing of the founding charter of the Soviet Union's Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. From this point, the government started sending scientists and technicians to the Soviet Union for training. Later in 1959, the DPRK and the Soviet Union signed an agreement for the useful usage of nuclear energy, including a provision stating the Soviet Union's help for establishing a nuclear research complex in Yongbyon. In 1962, the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center was opened. The Soviet Union helped give its nuclear program a strong head start and soon after, Pyongyang was able to reach major developments independently. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the DPRK began having many uranium mining operations. It also learnt how to separate plutonium from spent nuclear fuel and expanded on its IRT 2000 research reactor and a 5MWE reactor. In 1985, it also joined the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, barring the country from producing nuclear weapons. In 1990 with the Soviet Union’s fall, the DPRK lost its strongest ally and later with Kim II Sung's death in 1994, it believed that the only way to face the US threat is to develop a nuclear bomb. In 1992, the DPRK signed the Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula which states that both parties are not to participate in testing, manufacturing, producing, receiving, possessing, storing, deploying, or using nuclear weapons. They can use nuclear energy but only for peaceful purposes; and cannot possess facilities for nuclear reprocessing and enrichment of uranium. It also stated that there shall be inspections. It is worth noting that no inspection was held since 1993.12 In 1993, the International Atomic Energy Agency accused the DPRK of violating the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty and demanded inspectors be given access to nuclear waste storage sites on that basis. The DPRK threatened to quit the Treaty in retaliation, though later having bilateral discussions with the U.S. It was then that it backed out on its decision to leave. In October 1994, the two countries signed an agreed framework under which Pyongyang commits to freezing its nuclear program in return for heavy fuel oil and two light-water nuclear reactors. With 1998 came the success of launching its first long range missile rocket which flew over japan and landed in the Pacific ocean, which only indicated where the country was going on with more research, experiments and testing. In 2002, Japan, South Korea and the U.S. stopped their oil shipments to the DPRK after a reported admission from the North Korean part revealed they have been secretly developing uranium based 12

"Joint Declaration of South and North Korea on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula | Treaties & Regimes | NTI." Nuclear Threat Initiative | NTI, 26 Oct. 2011, www.nti.org

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nuclear program. As a result, the DPRK threatened the reactivation of nuclear facilities for energy generation, saying the Americans' decision to halt oil shipments left it with no choice, blaming the U.S. for wrecking the 1994 pact. The DPRK then expelled its UN inspectors and starts operating the Yongbyon nuclear research center. Later in 2003, it declared the completion of the reprocessing of 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods; this would give enough weapons-grade plutonium to develop up to six nuclear bombs in a matter of months. In the same year, six party talks including Russia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China and the U.S. started in hope of resolving the DPRK’s nuclear production but failed since it carried on launching missiles. In 2004, it was discovered that the DPRK was developing High enriched uranium -as suspected in 2002- , admitting to its plan to develop nuclear weapons as part of its self-defense. It claimed that it turned the 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into nuclear weapons. In September of 2005, the DPRK agreed to give the six party talks and negotiations another try and abide by the Non-Proliferation Treaty under the condition of food and energy aid. However, this pact fell through only one month later after the US treasury department placed restrictions on a bank (Macau-based Banco Delta Asia) that was suspected of laundering millions of dollars for North Korea. This provoked The DPRK to have its first underground nuclear explosion in 2006.13 In July 2006, the DPRK test fired seven missiles including a long range Taepodong-2, despite warnings from the international community and condemnation of its acts. In August 2006, the first North Korean underground nuclear weapons’ testing was conducted according to U.S. Intelligence; such actions forced the UN to impose economic and commercial sanctions on the country. In 2007, progress was made as the DPRK agreed to disable the Yongbyon nuclear research center and close all its nuclear programs by the end of the year in return of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil shipments from the U.S. as part of an aid package and the lifting of the block on North Korea’s accounts in the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia. However, the DPRK didn’t stick to its word for long as the world witnessed in 2009 the launch of a long-range rocket, supposedly carrying a communications satellite; with its neighbors accusing it of testing long-range missile technology. The UN Security Council condemned the act, encouraging the DPRK to restart its nuclear facilities. In May of that year, the DPRK also launched the second underground nuclear testing, firing two short range missiles merely hours after the UN Security Council’s condemnation. The UN Security Council voted unanimously to adopt resolution 1874, which increases the sanctions on the country. It puts financial restrictions on the country and its firms and restrictions against any further nuclear testing. Pyongyang responded by saying it will view any U.S.-led attempt to blockade the country as an "act of war", announcing its plans to use its plutonium stocks as weapons and start to enrich uranium. In 2010, the U.S. announced new sanctions on the DPRK, following its alleged attack on a South Korean warship that caused the death of 46 sailors. The sanctions targeted Pyongyang's sale and 13

Bajoria, Jayshree, and Beina Xu. “The Six Party Talks on North Korea's Nuclear Program.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 30 Sept. 2013

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purchase of arms and import of luxury goods. In November 2010, the DPRK showed an important visiting American nuclear scientist a new secretly-built facility for enriching uranium at the Yongbyon center. This triggered alarm, anger and concern in Japan, South Korea and the U.S. In 2012, the DPRK and the U.S. announced reaching an agreement to suspend operations at the Yongbyon center and invite IAEA inspectors from the IAEA to monitor that in exchange of the U.S. providing the DPRK with 240,000 metric tons of food aid. However, the DPRK later announced that it is planning to launch another satellite with the U.S. saying this will violate their agreement.14 In 2012, the DPRK intended to launch a satellite mounted on a rocket to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung but it failed. Later on that year, they succeeded into launching a satellite into space which was condemned by the world for violating the ban of the long range missile testing. In 2013, the DPRK staged its third nuclear testing after the first and second which occurred in 2006 and 2009, respectively. State-run news agency Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) stated that it was held successful in a safe manner and was aimed to cope with "outrageous" U.S. hostility that "violently" undermines its peaceful, sovereign rights to launch satellites. It however suffered sanctions from the UN, the IAEA, and the U.S. regarding its nuclear activity. 15 In March 2014, the DPRK test-fired two medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles for the first time since 2009, in violation of UN resolutions and just hours after South Korea, the U.S. and Japan met in the Netherlands for talks. In December 2014, the U.S. and the DPRK exchanged accusations over cyber-attacks because of a Sony pictures movie mocking Kim Jong Un. In September 2015, the DPRK announced that it is opening the Yongbyon nuclear plant to be operational again after it mothballed it in 2007 and in 2016, later claiming to have made its first hydrogen bomb. In 2017, there were many new sanctions on the DPRK due to its active nuclear tests, including the UN resolution in September that passed sanctions intended to achieve six noteworthy objectives:     

Restricting North Korean oil imports, Boycotting North Korean textiles, Ending additional abroad laborers contracts, Smothering smuggling endeavors, Putting sanctions on countries and entities that have economic relationships with the DPRK or support the country in any way.

In November of the same year, the U.S. passed further sanctions on one individual, 13 companies and 20 vessels who are implicated in cutting deals worth millions with the DPRK. 16

Davenport, Kelsey.,Fact Sheets & Briefs,.Chronology of U.S.-North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy | Arms Control Association, 28 Nov. 2017 15 "A Timeline of North Korea's Nuclear Tests." CBS News - Breaking News, Live News Stream 24x7, 3 Sept. 2017, www.cbsnews.com 16 Borak, Donna. “Trump administration slaps more sanctions on North Korea.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 22 Nov. 2017

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Different U.S. administrations

 Bill Clinton (1993-2001) President Clinton was the one to negotiate the agreed framework of 1994. However, due to the congress delaying the aid, the DPRK backed out of the framework and restarted its nuclear program.17  George Bush (2001-2009) Bush used a different strategy than Clinton by confronting the DPRK of manufacturing nuclear weapons. He called it along with Iraq and Iran in 2002 " the axis of evil". Kim Jong-Il later responded in 2003 that his country does have a nuclear device and also said that his country is forfeiting from the agreed framework. Soon, the U.S. administration realized that it needed to depend again on negotiations and that is when the six party talks started in 2003. Between august and September of 2004, the DPRK described George W Bush as an "imbecile" and a "tyrant that puts Hitler in the shade" to which Bush replied that Kim Jong-Il is the tyrant. The DPRK then said it turned the 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into nuclear weapons. Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su-hon -speaking at the UN General Assembly- said that the weapons were needed for "self-defense" against "US nuclear threat". When in 2006, The DPRK did its first underground nuclear test and the US forced sanctions on North Korea, it claimed that U.S. sanctions are the reason there is deadlock on multilateral talks on its nuclear program since the DPRK had halted by then the six party talks that had failed before 5 times, however the talks resumed in December that year with still no sign of progress.18  Barack Obama (2008-2016) Few months after Obama was sworn in, the DPRK launched several nuclear missiles. The Obama administration followed the strategic patience strategy, which included setting preconditions of denuclearization in return of talks. However, the Obama administration was not firm at all in its demand for talks and its preconditions. This allowed the DPRK to achieve many advances in its nuclear program and increase its nuclear tests. The Obama administration's reaction to that was imposing sanctions (unilateral and multilateral with the UN). Obama besides his attempts to force economic pressure tried shaming the North Korean breach of human rights in one of the UN speeches however none of that stopped the advancement of North Korea. Obama also depended on strengthening the US-South Korean ties in dealing with North Korea. 19

2) Hamblin, Abby. “North Korea: How Obama, Bush, Clinton dealt with the rogue nation.” Sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 Aug. 2017 18 Lohschelder, Sarah. “Three Presidents Facing The DPRK - A Review of U.S. Foreign Policy.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Feb. 2016. 27 November 2017. 19 Cohen, Zachary, and Richard Roth. “UN passes fresh sanctions on North Korea.” CNN.com 12 Sept. 2017. 27 Nov. 2017.

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 Donald Trump (2017-Present) Despite the tweets the world has witnessed from President Trump strongly threatening North Korea, President Trump in fact is using a plan that was initiated in Obama's last six months in office. “It is a coordinated pressure campaign that started in the last year of the Obama Administration and is continuing, and is now bearing more public fruit,” said Scott Snyder, director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. 20 The plan puts in mind that it had not done enough on sanctions and plans to tighten the sanctions on coal exports, bank accounts and banking representatives. It is also working on cutting the diplomatic relations between the DPRK and other countries. Ever since Trump's administration held office 20 countries cut off their diplomatic ties with the DPRK which is bound to cut recourses flow to North Korea. The plan also includes sanctions targeting North Korean business men and restricting the North Korean Diplomats' movements. 

Timeline of Recent Events

On January 1st, Kim Jong-Un declared that his country was in its final stages of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Soon on the 13th of February, the DPRK launched its first ballistic missile under the Trump administration, which ended up in the Sea of Japan.21 This escalated even more when on the 6th of March when it launched 4 other missiles, three of which fell in the Sea of Japan in an economic exclusive zone. Japan strongly protested against such threats to its security and the U.S. condemned the actions of North Korea. The State Department’s acting spokesman, Mark Toner, said: “The United States strongly condemns North Korea’s ballistic missile launches tonight, which violate UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea’s launches using ballistic missile technology,” He continued by saying that the U.S. will use its full capabilities to protect its allies. Japan, South Korea and the U.S. responded to the attack by sending high tech missile defense ships to the areas where the missiles landed, including the first pieces of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. However, the DPRK retaliated by launching a rocket engine and missile later that month.22 Tensions rose high when another ballistic missile was launched the day before a meeting between the U.S. and the Chinese president.23 Donald Trump weighed further military options and said that he would be sending the USS Carl Vinson super carrier, which is an American aircraft carrier. The DPRK responded by saying that it is ready to sink it. 24 In the second week of April, media outlets presumed and announce that the Carl carrier was in the 20

Dias, Elizabeth. “Donald Trump Follows Barack Obama's Strategy on North Korea.” Time, Time.com 27 Oct. 2017 Knigge, Michael. “Why Donald Trump was right about Barack Obama's The DPRK policy. DW.com 24 Aug. 2017. 29 Nov. 2017. 22 Goldman, Russell. “How Trump’s Predecessors Dealt With the North Korean Threat.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Aug. 2017 23 Sang-Hun, Choe. "North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile a Day Before U.S.-China Summit." The New York Times Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 4 Apr. 2017, www.nytimes.com 24 "North Korea Says It is Ready to Strike U.S. Aircraft Carrier." U.S, 24 Apr. 2017, www.reuters.com 21

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Sea of Japan heading to North Korean land. This created fears of an escalation between the U.S. and the DPRK, especially in South Korea where the government rushed to reassure its citizens. However, the carrier was revealed to be engaged in a joint exercise with the royal Australian navy in the Indian sea. 25 After the scare, Trump stated that there is a serious chance that the U.S. will get into a huge conflict with North Korea. In May, the DPRK launched another ballistic missile, resulting in the UN voting in July to enforce more sanctions which including freezing assets of high-level North Korean officials and extending a travel ban.26 On the fourth of July, the DPRK preformed its first successful nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile. Trump immediately asked that the Chinese president do his best to curb the North Korean nuclear program. However, the DPRK did its second test in July with South Korean experts saying that it is more advanced and might be able to reach American soil. In August, a new UN resolution with more sanctions banned all North Korean textile exports and cut off more than 55% of petroleum products such as gasoline and fuel going to the country.27 The DPRK responded by threatening to use nuclear power against the United States. Later in August, the DPRK successfully mounted a miniaturized nuclear warhead28 on a ballistic missile which resulted in the escalation of exchanged threats between the U.S. and North Korea. Donald Trump said: “North Korea will be met by fire and fury like the world has never seen.” This was met by a threat to attack the U.S. territory Guam.29 At the end of the month, the DPRK launched another missile over Japan.30 In September, the DPRK claimed that it has managed to successfully test a hydrogen bomb capable of fitting on an ICBM. Later on the 15th of September, it launched a missile over Japan and raising concerns since it had threatened to bomb japan only days earlier. The latest missile launching was on the 28th of November31. In November, Donald Trump re-listed the DPRK as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, which responded by calling the move a "serious provocation" then conducted another ICBM test. In January 2018, a statement was made by Kim Jong-Un about his country participating in the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea as a chance to showcase national pride. Following this, South Korea agreed and the two countries then marched together in the Olympics opening ceremony. The DPRK had sent an unprecedented high-level delegation with Kim Yo-Jong, the sister of Kim JongUn, and Kim Yong-nam, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea. The delegation also passed on an invitation to President Moon to visit the DPRK. In March 2018, Trump agreed to a high-level meeting with Kim Jong-Un, to be scheduled possibly in May. In the meantime, Sarah Sanders, the Press Secretary, said that all sanctions and maximum 25

Landler, Mark. Schmitt, Eric. "Aircraft Carrier Wasn't Sailing to Deter North Korea, As U.S. Suggested." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 18 Apr. 2017, www.nytimes.com 26 Lauren del Valle. "UN Broadens Sanctions Against North Korea." CNN, 3 June 2017, edition.cnn.com 27 Aleem, Zeeshan. "Why Russia and China Watered Down the UN's New North Korea Sanctions." Vox, 12 Sept. 2017, www.vox.com 28 Miniature warheads: warheads that are small and light enough to be mounted on missiles. 29 Pramuk, Jacob. "Trump Warns North Korea Threats 'will Be Met with Fire and Fury'." CNBC, 27 Mar. 2017, www.cnbc.com 30 Manchester, Julia. Beavers, Olivia. “Trump and North Korea: A timeline on escalating tensions.” TheHill, 3 Sept. 2017 31 McCurry, Justin. “The DPRK fires four missiles into sea near Japan.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Mar. 2017

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pressure must remain. 

Positions concerning current crisis

China Being one of the oldest and strongest allies, China is the primary reason why the DPRK was able to survive sanctions and economy crises throughout the years, largely due to the economic assistance it has provided from food aid and medicine. However, with the intensified nuclear tests that the DPRK has been conducting throughout 2017, and its widespread condemnation by the entire international community, China has finally agreed to support some UN sanctions32. In September of 2017, China has agreed to limit its Oil exports to china to only 2 million barrels a year and to ban the imports of textiles from North Korea.33 This limitation of Oil exports is important as the DPRK has no oil production of its own but still would not completely hinder its economy. China has completely disapproved of a complete ban of oil to the DPRK, fearing that an economic collapse will lead to a massive immigration spree of North Koreans to its lands, and possibly leading to a regime collapse. Thus, it has adopted the double freeze strategy in dealing with the North Korean crisis34. The Double Freeze strategy complies that the U.S. offers concessions in order for the DPRK to give up its nuclear program. China believes that the North Korean nuclear program exists because the DPRK fears the United States’ presence in South Korea and feels personally threatened. The strategy dictates the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Asian peninsula in return of the shutting down of the North Korean nuclear program.35 China has also been trying to return to the six party talks.36

Russia Russia has a double standard position when it comes to the current North Korean crisis. Although Russia doesn’t have the same effect as China on the North Korean crisis, it still plays a major role. In 2017, it has agreed to the tightening of sanctions on the DPRK according to the UN resolutions. 37 However, it has increased its bilateral trade relationship with the DPRK by 20% in 2017, providing it with an internet line, oil and others. Russia refuses completely the U.S. plan to remove the current North Korean regime as it thinks that this will endanger the Russian borders and allow American forces to sneak upon its Asian borders. Russia also supports the Double Freeze strategy and has been trying to reactivate the six party talks38. In December 2017, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, stated that the DPRK is open to negotiations with the U.S. over the nuclear standoff. However, in order for these talks to happen both countries need to come in with concessions and compromise in mind that they might not be willing to take yet such as the withdrawal of the U.S. 32

“China to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Sept. 2017 "How North Korea Keeps Its Economy Humming Despite the Sanctions." South China Morning Post, 7 Mar. 2018, www.scmp.com 34 China limits oil trade to The DPRK and bans textile trade.” BBC News, BBC, 23 Sept. 2017 35 "China Says 'dual Suspension' Proposal Still Best for North Korea." U.S, 16 Nov. 2017, www.reuters.com 36 Calamur, Krishnadev. “How the U.S. and China Differ on North Korea.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 Nov. 2017 37 Clarke, David. “Russia throws The DPRK lifeline to stymie regime change.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 4 Oct. 2017 38 Legucka, Agnieszka. “Russia’s Position on the The DPRK Crisis.” The Polish Institute of International Affairs, 3 Oct. 2017 33

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from South Korea. Russia also is calling along with China for the complete removal of the THAAD program from South Korea, calling for a complete nuclear free Korea. 39 South Korea & Japan Both countries oppose strongly the North Korean nuclear program that directly threatens their sovereignty. They strongly approve of the U.S. and UN sanctions to halt the program. The Trump administration has also made a statement that he shall approve the salse weapons to these two countries as part of its pledge to protect its allies.40 Throughout 2017, the U.S. participated in military exercises with both Japan and South Korea despite North Korean objection. 41 The State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it would approve of the Japanese government's request for up to 56 AIM 120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs). The sale, which is estimated at $113 million and requires congressional approval, would also reportedly include various logistical, technical, engineering and weapons support services. It comes as Japan reconsiders its traditionally pacifist post-World War II stance on defense in the face of threats of North Korea, which has shot two missiles over Japanese territory in the past two months. 42 South Korea’s relations with the DPRK have however seemed to undergo a major change as it agreed to have the latter participate

in the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. The two countries had also restored the Seoul-Pyongyang hotline in preparation for their talks.

Borger, Julian. “The DPRK ready to open direct talks with US, says Russia's Sergei Lavrov.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Dec. 2017 40 Mehta, Aaron. "Trump Pledges New Weapon Sales for Japan, South Korea." Defense News, 5 Sept. 2017, www.defensenews.com 41 "Trump Agrees to Revise Treaty Capping South Korea's Development of Ballistic Missiles." The Independent, 2 Sept. 2017, www.independent.co.uk 42 O'Connor, Tom. “U.S. greenlights new missiles for Japan amid nuclear threats from North Korea.” Newsweek, 5 Oct. 2017

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Iran

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Historical background

The Iranian Revolution started at 1978-79, it was called the Islamic Revolution though it was not actually taken into consideration that this will form an Islamic state. 43 It started as an uprising by the Iranians to overthrow the government. They saw at the time that this government was corrupt and unresponsive to their needs as the people were dissatisfied with the economic inequality. The demonstrations started out very small but when the army forces and the government police intervened, it became more heated as they killed hundreds. The Iranian revolution was led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from an exile in Paris. Many believed that these could be as a simulation when the Prophet Muhammad (PUH) destroyed his predecessors. The protests started out rather peaceful and ended by the government crackdown, some argue that the main reason of these demonstrations in history is not because of religion it’s rather due to the pay cuts or the discontent over living conditions 44. Furthermore, Khomeini’s principles which the government was based upon were basically giving the ultimate power to the sharia scholar for he is knowledgeable and most trusted. The authority that was written in the constitution was not given to a particular person but it was given to god as He represented by the religious ruler of the Supreme Court. Moreover Khomeini left prominent traces behind as creating Islamic Revolution Guards and Hezbollah to defend the revolution against coup attempts. 

Nuclear Program

Iran’s interest in nuclear technology started with Atoms for Peace which was a program announced on December 8th 1953 by U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower at the United Nations. It was made for the sharing of nuclear materials and technology for peaceful purposes, requiring countries that possessed nuclear materials to agree to inspections to ensure that it is not used for military purposes. Iran also received technical assistance under this program for 24 years.45 In 1967, the U.S. gave Iran a nuclear reactor, the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), fueled by highly 43

THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION: The Role and Contribution of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Afghan Journalists Committee in 2012 44 Axworthy , p.114 45 "Iran's Nuclear Program Timeline and History | NTI." Nuclear Threat Initiative | NTI, www.nti.org

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enriched uranium (HEU)46. At the time, the west had a good relationship with Iran’s Shah47, Mohamed Reza, the last president before the formation of the Islamic Republic. Iran had promised that it only wanted nuclear energy, but then Iran’s enemy, Israel acquired a nuclear weapon and it was then that Iran started rethinking its nuclear energy policy. In 1973, the Shah revealed his plans to install 23,000MWe of nuclear power by the end of the century, specifically establishing the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to oversee this.48 By the revolution, Iran had a massive capacity of nuclear power and technologies. However, it changed as many nuclear scientists had fled during the revolution and the construction of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was suspended. Countries like Sweden, France and the U.S., who were working with Iran, halted their nuclear cooperation. In 1984, Khomeini renewed his interest by looking for the assistance of international partners to go with the Plant49. During these times the Iran-Iraq war had erupted; the main core of the war was Saddam Hussein’s objective of seizing the oil riches territories as well as reasserting his state’s sovereignty. When Iran was freed from the burdens of the war, it signed long-term cooperation agreements with Pakistan and China in 1987 and 1990s50 agreeing on training the personnel, with China providing it with 27KW miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) and two 300MW Qinshan power reactors 51. In January, Russia declared that it would continue the Bushehr Nuclear Power plant and build 3 reactors52. The U.S. had long suspected Iran of using its civilian nuclear program so it put some limits into their cooperation with Iran, so as a result China, the U.S. ally, did not complete its supplying to Iran with the research reactor. The U.S. had also stopped Iran’s agreements with Argentina. However, in August 1995, a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement was signed by Russia who agreed to proceed with the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant and to provide it with the research reactor, which china refused to give it to Iran in fear of the U.S. Upon hearing these negotiations, the U.S. and Russian presidents agreed to scale back these agreements. On August 14th 2002, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an opposition group, announced the existence of undeclared nuclear facilities53. In November, A resolution was made by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had to sign the Additional Protocol (a protocol used in the IAEA aiming at increasing tools of verification of the agreement) and to suspend the enrichment54. Iran feared the direct referral to the UN, therefore entering negotiations with the EU-3 (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom). This resulted into Iran agreeing to cooperation with the IAEA and to suspend enriching its nuclear activities. However, Iran played on the word ‘suspension’ as it 46

Nuclear Threat Initiative,ntii.org by James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey July 2017 47 Shah: a word in old Persian used for Iran’s kings, emperors & princes 48 Joseph Cirincione, Jon Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar, "Iran," in Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats (Washington, DC, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005), p. 298. 49 Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment (London: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2005), p. 12. 50 Joseph Cirincione, Jon Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar, "Iran," in Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Threats (Washington, DC, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005), p. 303. 51 Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment (London: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2005), p. 13. 52 R. Jeffrey Smith and Michael Dobbs, "Russia Promised to Sell Centrifuge Plant to Iran; Bomb Grade Uranium Could be Made There," The Washington Post, 29 April 1995; Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment (London: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2005), p. 13. 53 Iran's Strategic Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment (London: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2005), p. 16. 54 "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Board of Governors Resolution, The International Atomic Energy Agency, 10 November 2003

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carried on doing small scale nuclear activities as a result Iran was forced to get into the Paris Agreement with the EU-3 on 15 November 200455agreeing on suspending its activities temporarily. In early November 2004, The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) got hundreds of pages indicating that Iran is modifying Shahab-3 missile to carry out a nuclear warhead. On 1st August 2005 , Iran rejected the EU-3 ‘s agreement because it felt that it was ‘heavy on demands, light on incentives’56 In February 2006, the IAEA Board of Governors voted to report Iran's case to the UN Security Council (UNSC). On March 15th, the UNSC called upon Iran to cooperate with the IAEA.57 However, President Ahmadinejad did not give attention to the UNSC resolutions and continued enriching his nuclear activities. In November 2007, Iran divulged purchasing a set of P-2 centrifuge58 blueprints in 1996 from the Khan network59, as they used it to begin constructing and testing P-2 centrifuges in 2002. Although Iran refused to answer the agency’s questions about the green salt project at first, Iran later on revealed to the IAEA that it was in the process of building an enrichment facility. According to IAEA Spokesperson, Marc Vidricaire, Iran's letter stated that “the enrichment level would be up to 5%,". However, Iran contradicted this agreement again by increasing their activities up to 19.75%60. In June 2010, The UN Security Council put another set of sanctions on Iran. In 2011 the U.S. increased the sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) which is a state owned shipping company, and any company aiding it. On February 19th 2010, a letter was sent by Iran to the IAEA requesting to purchase low enriched uranium (LEU) fuels for fuel assemblies asking the IAEA to issue this letter with the p5+1. However, due to the circumstances neither side was able to restart the negotiations.61 On May 17th 2010, a joint statement was issued by Brazil, Turkey and Iran who announced that it will export half of its LEU to Turkey in change of 20% enriched uranium to use it in its medical research reactor62. However, this deal was not approved by the west; they saw that removing the LEU is a little too late. In 2011, the IAEA consolidated its entire questions in its research called the “possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program.”63 This report, which included Iran’s efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, found that:  Iran is using explosive tests to simulate a nuclear explosion by not using nuclear material weapons to test how it would work without being discovered of using nuclear power  the construction of containment vessel at a military site to make explosive tests trials 55

"Iran's Nuclear Program: Expanding the Nuclear Fuel Cycle; Illicit Procurement," Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), www.isisnucleariran.org. 56 "Response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Framework Agreement Proposed by the EU3/EU," The Islamic Republic of Iran, downloaded from the British American Security Information Council, www.basicint.org - IranEU.htm; "Communication dated 1 August 2005 received from the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Agency," The International Atomic Energy Agency, 1 August 2005. 57 Nasser Karimi, "President: Secret Centrifuge Is Operational - Iran's New Nuke Tests," The Daily Telegraph, 19 April 2006. 58 Centrifuge: a machine used to enrich uranium to be used in nuclear power reactors or weapons. 59 Khan Network: the Pakistan's uranium-enrichment facility at Kahuta which sold equipment used in enriching the nuclear explosives. 60 David Albright, Paul Brannan and Andrea Stricker, “Moving 20 Percent Enrichment to Fordow: Slow Motion Breakout Continues?” ISIS, 8 June 2011, http://isis-online.org. 61 "Iranian Response to LEU Fuel Deal Unclear | Arms Control Association." Arms Control Association | The Authoritative Source on Arms Control Since 1971, www.armscontrol.org 62 Resolution 1929 (2010) Adopted by the Security Council at its 6335th meeting, on 9 June 2010," U.N. Security Council, (S/RES/1929(2010), 9 June 2010 63 Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): GOV/2011/65, Annex, November 8, 2011, https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov2011-65.pdf

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The usage of exploding bridge wire detonators (EBWs) which is mainly used to initiate an implosive shock wave in fission bombs64.

The period between 2011 and 2015, the IAEA issued its final report upon Iran’s efforts of possessing nuclear weapons claiming Iran did not give any meaningful information in all the IAEA investigations, nonetheless on December 2015 it was voted unanimously to close the investing due to Iran’s slacking of answering all the questions65 

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

Iran almost had 20,000 centrifuges by July 2015 so as a result Iran and the p5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) + the EU had reached to final negotiations by the JCPOA:  To limit the centrifuges to be 5,060  To ensure the peacefulness of Iran’s program by January 2016  No enrichment shall take place at Fordo for 15 years  Natanz will be the only place in Iran for nuclear research  The 1,044 centrifuges that are already will be used in medicine Later on, the IAEA verified that Iran is not testing or enriching its nuclear activities. The United States and the EU therefore lifted nuclear-related sanctions as described in the JCPOA.66  Iranian Presidents  Abolhassan Banisadr (1980-1981) He believed that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a biased agreement for the reason that the p5+1 and the EU have only agreed to ‘suspend’ the sanctions and not to end those sanctions. Bani Sadr would rather shut down the nuclear enrichment and facilities instead of continuing dragging the danger of nuclear power for years. When asked in his Paris exile about the reason that Khamenei did not take the decision to stop the nuclear activities, he said that Khamenei lacked courage and charisma. Bani Sadr thought that the best way to end these activities was to talk to people explaining why there were nuclear activities in the first place and how its existence was only bringing burdens and sanctions to Iran67.  Mohammad-Ali Rajai: (August 2nd 1981-August 30th 1981): He considered that the production of the nuclear power wouldn’t do any good for Iran and wouldn’t be economical. He long hoped to restrict the nuclear research.68

Thomas Erdbrink and David E. Sanger, “Atomic Agency Defends How Iran Collected Evidence at Secret Base,” New York Times, September 21, 2015, 65 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action implementation and verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): GOV/2015/72, December 15, 2015, http://www.iranwatch.org/sites/default/files/iaea-pmdresolution-121515.pdf 66 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), July 14, 2015, (via Iran Watch) http://www.iranwatch.org/sites/default/files/iran_joint_comprehensive_plan_of_action.pdf 67 Huffingtonpost 04/03/2015 05:49 pm by berggruen institute 68 The Trajectory of Iran's Nuclear Program by Michele Gaietta September 2, 2015

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 Ali Khamenei (1981-1989)

Khamenei was pro nuclear activity. He believed that neither the EU nor the U.S. should intervene in Iran internal affairs and that Iran shall continue its disputed missile program regardless of the pressure they face. However, during Khamenei’s presidency, he did not put the nuclear energy programs as a priority saying that “Iran is not seeking to have the atomic bomb, possession of which is pointless, dangerous and is a great sin from an intellectual and a religious point of view”. Khamenei only wanted to sustain the Iranians against the deals so he stopped the nuclear research activity that Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi had originally started. Khamenei was against mending the relations between the U.S. saying that “Perhaps if we treated the U.S. like Europe, we would have had fewer problems”.  Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005)

On February 27, 2005 a nuclear fuel agreement for the Bushehr plant was signed by Tehran and Moscow and Russia built a nuclear reactor for Iran despite the strong U.S. opposition.  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) He ignored the Security Council calls to cooperate with the IAEA. Ahmadinejad believed that if the country reached the peak in technologies and sciences then it will be a role model, this being Iran. He also made some consolations with the Russian premier Dmitry Medvedev. On September 19 th 2010, in a meeting in Baghdad, Iran offered to reduce uranium enrichment at 20% if the west approved on lifting the sanctions. However, Iranian diplomats who had negotiated the Paris Agreement were accused of treason by Ahmadinejad as soon as he took office in 2005. He was also the one to take the initiative of restarting the nuclear activities of Iran, announcing that it has resumed uranium enrichment activates at Natanz.69  Hassan Rouhani (2013-Present) Rouhani warned that Iran could abandon its 2015 nuclear deal if the U.S. kept imposing sanctions. He said that it will be “a great pity” if the deal was cancelled by the United States while criticizing Donald Trump. He has also stated that Iran is committed to all its international accords and denied that his country will violate the agreement. 

Different U.S. administrations

 Jimmy Carter (1979-81) In the fall of 1979, protesters broke in the American embassy in Iran and took dozens of people hostages. This hostage crisis changed the course of the American history. It was the culmination of several decades of tension between the U.S. and Iran. In 1953, The United States had helped topple Iran’s elected prime minster, replacing him with Mohamed Reza Pahlavi. The Shah was friendly to American interests, particularly the oil. However, the opposition to the Shah grew and in January 1979 he left Iran with no return. After Khomeini took his place, young masses began to grow to hate the U.S. They staged demonstrations outside the American embassy in Tehran. After the Shah’s exile, he began moving 69

Iran Primer: The George W. Bush Administration by STEPHEN J. HADLEY 03 Nov 2010 13:05 pbs.org

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from country to country. After getting diagnosed with cancer, he wanted to get his treatment at the U.S. which President Jimmy Carter did not want to accept. He however relented under the pressure of a group led by Henry Kissinger and David Rockefeller. The Shah arrived at New York on October 22nd 1979 which angered the revolutionists in Iran. A huge mob of protesters attacked the American embassy in Tehran at November 4th 1979. They took 63 people as hostages, and 3 people were taken at the Iranian foreign ministry, bringing the total to 66. 13 days later, Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 hostages, leaving 53. Another hostage was subsequently released on medical grounds. Thus 52 remained at the same complex embassy. No hostages were killed but some were beaten with rubber hoses or hung over elevator shafts. The American government demanded the hostage release but was rebuffed. The Iranians wanted the Shah sent back to them. Correspondingly, the U.S. froze Iranian assets held in American banks. In April of 1980, the president Carter decided to authorize a military rescue mission known as Operation Eagle Row, but poor weather and mechanical failures doomed the mission. By the start of 1981, the Iranian government began to feel the pressure from the international community to release the hostages. The Iranians and Americans went back to the bargaining table and in exchange for lifting the embargo, Iran agreed to release the hostages. The hostage crisis had lasted 444 days. It left a mark in the relations between the two countries which lingers to this day as Donald Trump had only recently referred to the incident.  Ronald Regan (1981- 1989) Since 1980, Regan supported right-wing Nicaraguan rebels called contras who had kidnapped, tortured, executed civilians including children. Later, the U.S. government banned all aid to the contras as well as upholding an arms embargo against Iran. Regan refused to negotiate with Hezbollah members who were holding 7 American hostages. They unexpectedly released five of them. A Lebanese magazine, Ash-Shiraa, revealed a deal in which America sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the hostages. Regan has denied the deal. However, the Iranian government confirmed its existence forcing Regan to admit he broke the arms embargo. Investigators discover that Iran paid $30 million for the arms but only $12 million reached the government. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North was caught destroying the evidence, revealing that missing money was redirected to fund the Contras. The reports absolved him but 14 others were indicted. The Defense secretary, Caspar Weinberger, and others were granted immunity for their testimonies. Weinberger and 5 others were later pardoned by the president George W. Bush.  Bill Clinton (1993-2001) Clinton’s administration aimed at isolating Iran and Iraq altogether, defining it as the ‘dual containment'’ or the ‘active containment’ which is also ascribed to convincing the elite of Iran to approach the west in order to boost them with new ideologies and beliefs. Clinton’s administration referred to Iran as a ‘rogue state’, a term that is used by theorists to refer to the countries that are threatening the peace of the world or the ‘sponsor of terrorism’ which marked the first time that the U.S. used these terms. Moreover, in 1995 Clinton announced a presidential executive order to ban all kinds of investments and trades in Iran and to tighten the sanctions. In 1996, Clinton agreed to indemnify Iran for the 1988 incident in which the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes mistaken the Iran Air Flight 655, which was supposed to leave Tehran and land in Dubai, for F-14A Tomcat fighter .They came to an agreement in the International Court of Justice and the U.S. expressed its deep sorrow for the lost lives, who were approximately 37

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259 Iranians. Although the U.S. did not explicitly admit legal accountability, it paid $61.8 million as compensation to the families. In June 1996, the U.S. accused Iran for the Khobar Towers incident; it was the residence of 5,000member U.S. military force in Saudi Arabia, Dhahran. On June 25th, a bombing truck exploded in front of the Khobar Towers leaving behind 19 deaths and 500 injuries. After the elections of the reformist Mohammad Khatami and Clinton’s second term, the relations started to take a more lenient approach. In 1997, Clinton referred to Khatami’s elections as a ‘hopeful sign’. Clinton was open for discussions for the first time after 20 years of tension. Clinton left the office leaving behind him pacifist relations with Iran except for the fact that Khatami, under the influence of Khamenei, refused official diplomatic dialogues with the U.S.  George W. Bush (2001-2009) Bush used the two clocks strategy, Firstly, the fact that Iran could be safe and stable would make the path clearer towards nuclear weapons so in correspondence, he engaged with Iraq and Afghanistan against Iran. Secondly, he used the public as a weapon because it is long known that the public may pressure the administration and force it to change its nuclear strategies. The U.S and Iranian envoys then worked together at the Bonn conference in December 2002 to create the first post-Taliban government in Afghanistan. Many incentives towards a clear path of nuclear weapons were left back by this administration. Some criticized this regime’s foreign policy as being more economical than political.70  Barack Obama (2008-2016)

In the time of his presidency came the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The deal was said to be historic by some, while unfair to the U.S. by others.  Donald Trump (2017-Present) Trump refused to certify the Iran’s nuclear deal as he demanded tough restrictions on Iran. However, Theresa May, Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Emmanuel Macron issued a joint agreement with Iran claiming that they share common interests on their lands. Trump called the Iranian deal “the worst deal ever”71. He also summoned the Congress to strengthen the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA). The Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson stated: “If Iran crosses any of these trigger points, the sanctions automatically go back in place.” The trigger points being the limiting of nuclear fuel production and the ballistic missile launch.” 72 Another part of his opposition to the deal is due to Iran’s policies, saying that it is “sponsoring terrorism” and “continuing aggression in the Middle East and all around the world.” 

Current state of affairs

Since 2016, the IAEA has released quarterly verification and monitoring reports on Iran's implementation of the JCPOA in accordance with UNSCR and these reports have been consistent with the Iranian deal. In November 2017, the IAEA released its 4th quarterly report of that year on 70

Iran Primer: The George W. Bush Administration by STEPHEN J. HADLEY 03 Nov 2010 13:05 pbs.org Ben Riley-Smith,13 OCTOBER 2017 at 9:06PM telegraph.com 72 BY DAN DE LUCE, ROBBIE GRAMER, EMILY TAMKIN | OCTOBER 13, 2017, 1:47 PMforeignpoli.com 71

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Iran’s implementation of the deal, confirming that the deal is indeed kept from Iran’s side and that its inspectors have had access to whichever location they were in need of visiting. Despite the IAEA as well as other countries in the P5+1 saying that Iran is complying with its part of the nuclear deal, Donald Trump is still opposed to it and believes it is fundamentally flawed. As every 90 days, the sitting U.S. president has to certify the deal, Trump has stated in January of 2018 that this will be the last time he does so. He also put a deadline in May for the European countries refusing to let go of the deal for them to reach an agreement, which is why they have went back to negotiations amongst themselves. Recent statements made by Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, warned the west of the collapse of the deal. Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister also stated that “nobody else would trust” negotiations with a U.S. administration if the duration of any commitment would be “the remainder of the term of that president”.

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Second Topic: Violence in the Americas Mexico ........................................................................................................................................... Historical Background ....................................................................................................... War on Drugs ..................................................................................................................... Major Cartels ..................................................................................................................... Guerrilla Groups ................................................................................................................ Strategies............................................................................................................................ Current situation ................................................................................................................ Venezuela ...................................................................................................................................... Historical background ........................................................................................................ Hugo Chรกvez ..................................................................................................................... Nicolรกs Maduro.................................................................................................................. Economic & political crisis................................................................................................ U.S.-Venezuelan relations ................................................................................................. Current situation ................................................................................................................

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Mexico Having emerged around 3000 B.C. in North America, Mexico is one of the six cradles of civilization in the world, holding archaeological artifacts as well as having a deeply rich culture. However, it has been embroiled in an endless cycle of violence for more than a decade with drug trafficking and criminal organizations.

Since 2006, violence escalated between those criminal organizations and government forces, taking the lives of around 80,000 people; the victims being between Mexican civilians, soldiers, police officers and politicians.

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Historical Background

On the 2nd of December 1993, Pablo Escobar, the pioneer of Colombia’s illegal drug trade, was killed by law enforcement on the roof of his house after a 16-month hunt following his escape from prison. Escobar had once controlled the Medellin Cartel and more than 80% of the cocaine smuggled into the U.S.; his death accelerated the demise of the cartel and signaled the slow decline of Colombia’s central role in the cocaine trade. However, there were already partnerships between Colombian drug organizations and Mexico-based drug traffickers to transfer cocaine from South America to the United States through Mexico. Those partnerships were strengthened after the main transport point, Florida, was faced with drug interdiction efforts.73 After the fragmentation of Colombian drug cartels such as the Medellin and, later on, the Cali cartel, this caused a notable absence of their supply. Mexican drug cartels rose to prominence then, expanding from their role as couriers for Colombian cartels as Mexico was no longer a mere transshipment point. The U.S.-Mexican border became the main transport route for cocaine and marijuana and other drugs like heroin and oxycodone. Félix Gallardo, or “The Godfather”, was the leader of the Guadalajara cartel and Mexico’s liaison with Escobar in the 1980s. The cartel transported Cocaine and took a 50% cut out of it instead of cash payments, which was more profitable. In 1985, Guadalajara’s co-founder Rafael Quintaro was arrested for the brutal torture and murder of Enrique Camarena who was an undercover U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. The incident caused Gallardo to go underground, later holding a meeting with other Mexican drug traffickers to divide Mexico into ‘plazas’ or regions between DTOs - drug-trafficking organizations. Specific routes were distributed between them, and some of those DTOs later became the now known Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels. Several ones also joined together to form “The Federation”, which was composed of the Sinaloa, Juárez and Valencia cartels, who worked together but remained independent. Mexican cartels became the main producer and supplier of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine in the United States; morphing into major wholesalers and increasingly gaining control of its retail distribution through alliances with American gangs. Drugs were smuggled through the heavily guarded US-Mexico borders using traditional methods such as cars. Other methods included constructing short passages across tunnels, non-commercial aircrafts, small private airplanes, container ships and semi-submersibles.74 

War on Drugs

After he took office in 2006, the Mexican president Felipe Calderón declared a war on drugs. He initiated an aggressive campaign and making DTOs his priority. He launched operations to remove drug trafficking organizations’ leaders, leading to instability among them and their response of creating more violence to counter his efforts. Calderón increased spending on security and sent troops and federal police to combat drug traffickers in Mexican states, starting with his home-state Michoacán where cartels were violently fighting over territories. Troops were deployed because of the local police’s corruption, as cartels would use their vast financial resources to bribe them into silence or even conspire with them. 73

Woody, Christopher. "Here's Where Mexican Drug Cartels Operate in the US, According to the DEA." Business Insider, 25 Oct. 2017, www.businessinsider.com 74 Woody, Christopher. “Fake Vegetables, Frozen Sharks, and an Xbox ? Here Are Some of Drugs Smugglers' Most Bizarre Methods." Business Insider, 2 Apr. 2017, www.businessinsider.com

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Just a few weeks into the government’s crackdown on drug trafficking, 62 people were killed and within months 20,000 troops were spread out across Mexico and involved in nation-wide operations. In the following year, 284 federal police commanders were fired by Calderón over corruption charges and by the end of 2007; about 2,837 people were killed according to the Mexican government. 75 The next year brought the arrests of many drug cartel members such as Alfredo Beltran Leyva of the Beltran Leyva cartel as well as the killings of many officials such as Edgar Millan, Mexico’s federal police chief and Roberto Bravo, Mexico’s director of investigation for organized crime, just a few days apart. The war on drugs was promoted as the solution to all the violence created by drugs and cartels, so naturally the initiative was supported by Mexicans. They thought it would rid them of the rampant violence that took so many of their lives. There was also misconduct from the part of government forces and misuse of power that Mexicans suffered from, such as extrajudicial executions. Corruption was spread through all agencies and forces; adding more fire to the situation. Police forces were implicated in scandals with cartels for their reported involvement in incidents like being the ones to deliver students to cartels, that later supposedly murdered them. 

Major Cartels

 Sinaloa Cartel Founded in the 1980’s, the Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest and most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico and the western hemisphere, singlehandedly controlling 30 to 40 % of the drug trade and once controlling 40 to 60% of Mexico’s drug trade. It began with a small group of farming families living in rural parts of the state, later moving to drugs and specifically marijuana. Pedro Aviles, one of its founders, was one of the first to traffic marijuana in bulk, bringing Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, into the business. El Chapo became one of the most wanted men in the world, 75

Library, CNN. "Mexico Drug War Fast Facts." CNN, 20 Feb. 2018, edition.cnn.com

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escaping prison in Mexico twice before he was extradited to the United States where he remains. 76 The cartel however is still one of the most active cartels in 2017, continuing to be one of the main smugglers of cocaine, adding along methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana. It dominates much of north-west Mexico, operating in 17 Mexican states out of 31 and trafficking illicit narcotics to the United States, Europe and Asia. It has been called the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel as well as the Federation and the Blood Alliance.77  Los Zetas Cartel It started with some ex-members of the Mexican Army’s elite Airborne Special Forces Group (GAFES) who began working as hired assassins, bodyguards and drug runners for the Gulf Cartel, later moving onto their own. Military training helped catapult the Zetas to power, becoming known for their communications technology, and military-like discipline. 78 Brutal violence was one of their trademarks, torture and unapologetic slaughtering as they have been responsible for the abduction, torture and murder of 193 people in the 2011 San Fernando Massacre. They had also killed 72 migrants and dumped their bodies in the 2010 San Fernando Massacre as well as set a casino on fire for ‘mere intimidation’, killing 52 in the process.  Juárez Cartel The Juárez cartel is notoriously one of the most violent cartels, working with two gangs to ensure its safety, the La Linea and the Barrio Azteca. One reason that made the cartel so feared among rivals is what it does with the help of those gangs as they decapitate and mutilate their rivals, later publically discarding the corpses and even getting involved in human trafficking.79 The cartel used to dominate the center of Mexico, having once controlled 70% of the cocaine traffic into the U.S, with thousands of tons coming from Colombia by air then into the U.S. by land. It began its decline after the death of its leader Amado Carrillo Fuentes but it is believed to currently operate within 21 Mexican states and still remains one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico and the region.  The Gulf Cartel The Gulf cartel is one of the oldest and most violent organized crime organizations in Mexico, having been associated with assassinations and kidnappings as well as the recruitment of Mexican Special Forces to act as security enforcers. 80 It first started with alcohol smuggling as its founder Juan Nepomuceno was smuggling alcohol into the United States during the prohibition era, later moving onto drug trafficking. Its most prominent era was during the 1990s, when the cartel had its own private forces. The Cartel is present in Europe, the U.S. and Africa, smuggling methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine. One of the main reasons why it become so successful is the corruption of police officers in the Tamaulipas area as their very low salaries made it easy to bribe them. The Gulf cartel almost rivaled the Colombian Cali cartel in political corruption by managing to bribe even government aides 76

Tucker, Duncan. "Mexico's Most-wanted: A Guide to the Drug Cartels." BBC News, 8 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com Harp, Seth. "Behind the Scenes of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel." Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2017, www.rollingstone.com 78 "Los Zetas Called Mexico's Most Dangerous Drug Cartel - CNN.com." CNN International - Breaking News, US News, World News and Video, edition.cnn.com 79 "Juarez Cartel." InSight Crime, www.insightcrime.org 80 "Gulf Cartel." InSight Crime, www.insightcrime.org 77

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and ministers.  The Jalisco New Generation Cartel The Jalisco New Generation cartel was the former military wing of the Sinaloa cartel. It was formed in 2010, rising rapidly and violently to the point of challenging the Sinaloa in some of its territories. It was declared by Mexico's Attorney General, Raul Cervantes as the nation's largest criminal organization. It was allegedly responsible for a series of attacks on security forces and public officials and destroying an army helicopter in 2015 as well as the killing of 15 police officers in Jalisco.81  Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO) It was originally founded by four brothers allied with the Sinaloa Cartel but they split ways in 2008 after a belief was spread the El Chapo had sold out one of the brothers -Alfredo Beltran Leyva- to authorities. The two cartels clashed following the split leaving hundreds of dead bodies in their wake as both parts targeted each other’s families and anyone in the way.82 The cartel was also accused of many other incidents such as an ambush that killed 5 Mexican soldiers and injured 10. It implicated high-ranking army officers in a bribing scandal.83 The BLO maintains a presence in the U.S., having fragmented into factions often conflicting with each other yet still remaining part of the same organization.84 

Guerrilla Groups

Guerrilla groups are small batches of armed civilians, combatants and paramilitary personnel that use military strategies, hit and run tactics and mobility to fight a larger and less mobile traditional military. The term “Guerrilla” started to be more traded and used by media and politicians after the Spanish people and civilians rose against the superior French troops led by Napoleon, fighting them using tactics now known as guerilla tactics. According to perspective, guerrilla groups might be considered terrorists or partisans, depending on their motives, level of evading collateral damage and relation with innocent civilians. Guerrilla groups’ tactics and strategies in warfare center on using diminutively mobile unit forces against large unwieldy army. For their small size and numbers, guerrilla units would elude direct confrontation of forces with armies or large troops of enemy military force. However, they target and eliminate small units of enemy soldiers to exhaust opposing forces and avoid losses. Not only targeting personnel represented in enemy soldiers, guerrilla tactics also target enemy resources, which are considered the most preferable, as there is no direct confrontation of forces yet it is still rewarding by critically affecting the enemy’s power and strength. These tactics and strategies’ main purpose is to weaken the enemy forces, exhaust them, and force them to withdraw. It is frequently misapprehended by the public that guerrilla groups’ combatants must disguise as civilians to cause enemies confusion in not telling the foe from the friend. However, this strategy 81

"Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG)." InSight Crime, 13 Feb. 2018, www.insightcrime.org Woody, Christopher. “Mexico caught the cartel boss who repeatedly almost took out ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s mother and sons.” Businessinsider.com 82

Levin, Matt. “The rise, fall of the once powerful Beltran-Leyva drug cartel” Chron.com Hearst Newspapers, 6 July 2015. 84 "BLO" InSight Crime, 30 Oct. 2017, www.insightcrime.org

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guerrilla groups use, it is not an essential or primary feature of their warfare strategies. Due to absence of state total control, guerrilla groups and drug cartels have spread widely in Mexico, growing further in control. These groups are present in huge numbers in Mexico, but some are the main and most influential.  Zapatistas - Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN): In Spanish, Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN), The Zapatista Army of National Liberation, known public and for the media as Zapatistas, is a left wing guerrilla group in based in the southern state Chiapas, Mexico. Zapatistas are revolutionary armed militants with anarchic political ideology. They have declared war against the Mexican government and state in 1994, turning in recent years to be primarily defensive from the Zapatistas side. The guerrilla group opposes the paramilitary and military attacks on Chiapas. Despite having supporters internationally and from urban areas, the Zapatistas are mostly rural civilians. Known as “Marcos”, Insurgente Galeano is the Zapatistas’ main spokesman. The guerrilla group was named after the agrarian reformer Emiliano Zapata. He was the commander of the Zapatistas during the Mexican revolution. All Zapatistas villages have murals with images of Marcos, Zapata, and Che Guevara. However, their ideology was anarchistic and libertarian Marxist, supporting socialism, the Zapatistas have always denied and refused political classification. The EZLN seeks total control over local resources. They align themselves with alter globalization and anti-neoliberal social movement.  Party of the Poor It emerged in 1967 as a left wing political guerrilla movement in Mexico. The peasants’ Justice Brigade, under the leadership of the school teacher Lucio Cabanas, executed warfare against the Mexican state in the Guerrero Mountains. On December 2, 1974, the guerrilla group was dissolved after the death of Lucio Cabanas and other leaders of the group by the government. Though the Party of the Poor group was a left wing Guerrilla group, they did not follow the Marxists ideology; they followed the revolutionary and socialist ideology. Cabanas was called and referred to as the Mexican version of Che Guevara. However, the Cuban revolution and experience did not determine the Party of the Poor’s ideology. Even the two major competing communist ideologies at the time, the Soviet Marxism-Leninism and the Chinese Moaism, did not prove or form determinative ideology of the Guerrilla movement.  Popular Revolutionary Army (ERP) Ejército Popular Revolucionario (ERP) in Spanish or the Popular Revolutionary Army is one of the most extreme guerrilla groups in Mexico. The movement operates mainly in the state of Guerrero, yet it has executed multiple operations in the Mexican southern states, targeting Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Tlaxcala and Veracruz. They emerged on June 28th 1996 at the commemoration of the Aguas Blancas massacre, a year earlier. Carrying AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, batches of rebels and militants waged war against the Mexican state. Paying respect to the 17 who died in the massacre, the group fired 17 shots in the air and read the Aguas Blancas Manifesto. The EPR still asserts support to the Zapatistas, advocating socialist peasant revolution. 46

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Strategies

Tremendous efforts have been paid by the United States and Mexico’s officials to hinder and curb the criminal violence in Mexico. Though according to congressional research service, more than 200 drug trafficking cells functioning and operating in Mexico in addition to 80,000-100,000 Mexican soldiers, police officers, politicians and civilians were killed since 2006 due to organized criminal violence. The terror and insidious atmosphere created by drug related violence in Mexico caused unprecedented numbers of people, many of whom are unaccompanied minors, to flee to attempt reaching the U.S. This resulted in the apprehension of 60,000 children at the Mexican-U.S. borders.  Felipe Calderón

Drug cartels, guerrilla movements and criminal groups are seen by some to possess more substantial coercive force, reigning and ruling potential than the weak and corrupt local government. The former Mexican President, Felipe Calderón, attempted to change this by launching an initiative in 2006 involving cooperation with the United States, to combat the cartels with military force. This war significantly escalated violence, causing thousands of casualties, including lives of civilians. Enrique Peña Nieto

Despite grueling efforts, Mexican law enforcement has repeatedly faced the escape of prisoners such as “El Chapo”, one of Mexico’s most powerful drug lords, in July 2015. In late 2014 also came the Guerrero incident with the 43 students. Therefore, in September 2015, the Mexican 47

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government extradited the major drug kingpins to the U.S. prisons from their prisons, as it is much harder to escape and break through. Later in years, after the election of Enrique Peña Nieto, the Mexican government revisited its counter-drug trafficking organizations strategy in 2012, focusing on law enforcement improvements and public safety rather than combating the cartels with military force. This shift in approach was still faced with an overall increase in kidnappings and extortion cases. Moreover, the strategy led to a 21% increase in violent homicide rates in Mexico City, which had previously experienced lower levels and rates of violence. These many solutions and strategies played by the United States, former and present Mexican authorities have raised many questions and concerns about the suitable strategies and actions needed to be taken in the near future, in order to find an end to the up growing militia and drug cartels ideology in Mexico that is also threatening the United States’ national security.  United States’ efforts

Since 2008, the U.S. provided $2.5 billion, according to the U.S. Department of State, to assist the Mexican authorities’ combat criminal groups. This initiative of curbing drugs was called the Merida initiative. It is a mutual agreement between the United States and Mexico to fight drug cartels and drug industry by strengthening the shared database between both countries. It included efforts such as:  Accrediting the Mexican prisons in Mexico by the American correction association by raising their standards;  Enhancing Mexico’s police departments’ performance in combating guerrilla groups and drug cartels;  Increasing the efforts to make reforms in the judicial branch in Mexico, initiated from the police department until the highest court;  Establishing drug treatment courts in Mexico that deal with addiction as health issues;  Increasing civilians’ knowledge and awareness. 

Current situation

In 2014, 43 students were kidnapped from the city of Iguala in Guerrero causing national outcry. While parents marched in the streets demanding to know the fate of their sons, the government was helpless. Investigations uncovered the involvement of law enforcement in the incident, revealing that they were the ones to deliver them to their killers but 3 years later, only two victims’ remains were found. 48

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In 2017, 206 murder investigations were opened in Mexico City between May and June, making it the bloodiest two month-period in the capital. In less than 24 hours, 32 people were killed due to cartel clashes in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. In just May of 2017, over 2,450 murders were investigated, making it the highest recorded murder rate for any month since 1997, the year in which the Mexican government started tracking. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Mexico is now the second-deadliest conflict zone in the world after Syria, with 22,967 homicide victims in 2016. 85 With over 10,000 homicide victims recorded in the first half of 2017, the year ended as one of Mexico’s most violent years with 25,339 homicide cases — more homicides than during the peak year of cartel violence in 2011. 86 Since his presidential campaign, Donald Trump had promised to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border, assuring that the expense of the wall will be handled by Mexico. While this was not agreed upon by Enrique Peñe Nieto, Trump stated after a meeting with him that this wall will ‘stop much of the drugs pouring into the country'87. In March of 2018, Trump proposed to use the death penalty on drug-traffickers in an effort to solve the issue. He also praised the Philippian President, Rodrigo Duterte, for his “unbelievable work on the drug problem”. It is worth noting that Duterte declared a war on drugs, as Felipe Calderón did, resulting in many deaths from extra-judicial police executions. 88

85 86

Elizabeth Roberts, CNN. "Report: Mexico Was Second Deadliest Country in 2016." CNN, 11 May 2017, edition.cnn.com Romero, Luis Gomez. Mexico's murder rate is one of the worst in the world: why and what can be done? Newsweek.com

Lewis, Nicole. "Analysis | President Trump's Claim That a Wall Will ‘stop Much of the Drugs from Pouring into This Country’." Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2017, 88 Zezima, Katie. Dawsey, Josh."Trump Administration Studies Seeking the Death Penalty for Drug Dealers." Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com

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Venezuela

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Historical background

Venezuela was one of the richest economies in South America, largely due to oil as it has one of the largest oil reserves in the world and with over 90% of its economy relying solely on oil. After Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, largely supported by the poor class and staying in power for 14 years through them. He relied on their vote as he had put in place socialist policies directed towards them. These policies, while supposedly benefitting them at the time, were damaging in the long term to Venezuela’s economy. He reduced the poverty rate, spending massive amounts of money on social programs and subsidies. While he remained popular with the lower class, his policies were not beneficial to everyone and he gained steadily growing opposition. After his death in 2013, he was replaced by Nicolàs Maduro. The damage that Chávez‘s policies had in the long term began to make way as oil prices dropped to 40$ a barrel. Social programs now could not have the funding needed to sustain the people and an economic crisis began looming. Food and medication started to dwindle with the poverty rate rising to be over 80%. Venezuelans then took to the streets to voice their opposition to the situation with protests being met with violence.

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Hugo Chávez

Born in 1954, Chávez was from a low-income family with two school-teacher parents who could not afford to raise him and all 5 of his siblings, which was why he went to live with his grandmother who sparked his love for politics. Chávez was also heavily influenced by the likes of Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan Independence hero, Karl Marx, the German philosopher and Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader. In 1971, he entered the Venezuelan Military Academy and started his military career as a second lieutenant where he was given a mission of going after the leftist guerrilla groups but he began to empathize with them. It was in 1982 that he and some military officers had secretly formed a movement to spread the revolutionary ideology in the military. Their goal was to take power in a civilian-military coup d’état, which happened in 1992 when they attempted to overthrow the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez and failed. After Chávez was unable to capture President Pérez and agreeing to surrender, he gave a speech that marked the beginning of his political career. Chávez was held for two years from 1992, until the-then President Rafael Caldera Rodríguez dropped the charges against him. Chávez then decided to found the political party Movement of the Fifth Republic (Movimiento de la Quinta República), enlisting former socialist activists and military officers. After winning the 1998 presidential elections, Chávez came to be quite popular with Venezuelans. He had reached an approval rate of 80% in his first term due to his ideas of redistributing the country’s oil wealth and increasing spending on social programs which resonated with the Venezuelan poor class. He had also overseen a new constitution being drafted, which then gave him unprecedented control over the three branches of government. To maintain political support, Chávez expanded his social programs using the income from high oil prices, increasing minimum wages and lifting many Venezuelans out of poverty as well as improving illiteracy. His political movement had little difficulty in overpowering the opposition that was deeply divided with so much support from the people. The division showed in 2012 when he won the presidential elections again despite having a strong challenge from the opposition. Chávez would often sell his country’s oil at a discount to many Latin American countries to buy good will, as he did with Cuba. At the time, an oil barrel was worth 100$. It is worth noting that one of the reasons for the current economic crisis was the downfall of oil prices to 40$. 51

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In 2013, Hugo Chávez died and was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro, his vice-president. 

Nicolás Maduro

Born in 1962 into a working class family, Maduro did not have the chance to graduate high school and became a bus driver in Caracas, later on organizing a local union. He became interested in politics in this phase of his life in 1998 as he became active in the MBR-200, the civilian wing of Hugo Chávez’s military movement. He campaigned for Chávez’s release from prison, working along with his wife to set him free. Chávez had been at the time imprisoned because of the failed coup attempt of 1992. By 1999, Maduro had won a seat in the National Constituent Assembly and in 2002, a seat in the National Assembly where he was elected as a speaker from 2005 until 2006. The moment Chávez was released from prison; Maduro joined Chávez in the political operation as he helped in rewriting the constitution of 1999 in the National Constituent Assembly, which was ascent to Chávez presidency as well as serving in the Chamber of Deputies. Upon becoming a president, he appointed Maduro as his Foreign Minister. Maduro made good relations with Muammar al-Qaddafi, Robert Mugabe and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Maduro had long been in groups that encouraged Latin America’s integration to remove the U.S. from the scene. Later on, as Chávez’s health began to deteriorate, Maduro’s credit to increase. When hit by cancer, Chávez had urged Venezuelans to elect Maduro who had become his vice president. He was so loyal to Chávez to the extent that he called himself the son of Chávez, because they both shared the hard-left political ideology. Following Chávez’s death in March 2013, Maduro consolidated the powers and responsibilities of the president; appointing a replacement for his position as the vice-president. However, opposition leaders had argued that he violated 3 articles of the constitution by assuming powers over the President of the National Assembly. In April 2013, a special election was held and Maduro ran against Henrique Capriles Radonski which he won against through 51% of the votes. Thus by April 19, Maduro had become the official president 52

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of Venezuela. Maduro had previously promised to extend the Chávez’s “21st century socialism” and wanted to maintain Venezuela’s ties with the anti-imperialist allies such as China and Cuba.89  Maduro’s Ruling Currently, 82% of Venezuelan households live in poverty and 85% of the medicine is lost. The government imports its food primarily from Brazil and having unpaid debt to China which resulted in the death and the starving of may Venezuelans. The country murder rate has transcendent that of zones of conflict in the world90. These conditions have erupted months of protests against the president. One poll showed that about 80% of Venezuelans want Maduro to be removed out of office. Two years after he became a president, the MUD won a two thirds majority in the National Assembly and put Madero’s rule at risk. Correspondingly, Maduro forced out several supreme justices and filled the positions with cronies loyal to him. On March 2016, the court ruled to strip the oppositionled National assembly of its powers, a move that naturally sparked massive protests across the country. The ruling was reserved a few days later but the damage was done. Protests continued to grow and were met by violence from law enforcement, leaving thousands injured. Despite the violence and the public opposition, Maduro held a vote in July to the National Constituent Assembly, a new governing body that would give the power to the President to replace the National Assembly. He could then rewrite the constitution, leaving virtually no opposition to his rule. The vote was also not on the existence of this governing body but on the members themselves. In 1999, when Chávez proposed a constitutional rewrite, he had called first for a referendum to propose the election of the assembly. The opposition refused to take part in the vote but Maduro still held the vote for the new constitutional assembly and won the majority. The government claimed about 8 million people or 40% voted, but experts put the number much lower at just 3 million. The international community including Peru, Canada, Spain, Mexico and Argentina condemned the elections. Interestingly, it was in these elections that the opposition, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) won for the first time. The U.S. imposed financial sanctions on Maduro and members of his government, but Maduro’s assembly filled with loyalists convened anyway and it swiftly removed attorney general Luis Ortega, the leader of the opposition.

Cawthrone, Andrew. “The political life of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro” reuterus.com Rawlinson, Kevin. "Global Homicide Rate Rises for First Time in More Than a Decade." The Guardian, 7 Dec. 2017, www.theguardian.com 90

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Economic & political crisis

 Economic Crisis Over the last 4 years, Venezuela’s GDP has fallen by 35%, a sharper drop than the drop seen during the Great Depression in the US91. The hyperinflation made what was once subsidized, now unaffordable for the poor people of Venezuela who are about 82% of the population of Venezuela. The official exchange rate is set by Maduro at 10 Bolivars per U.S. dollar but only close allies were able to have an access to this rate. In other words, the Venezuelan currency is said to be worthless. Most Venezuelans get their dollars on the black market, where the rate is about 12,000 Bolivar per dollar. The economy was also reported to tank 13.6% in 2017.92 Despite Venezuela having the largest oil reserves, it is in an economic crisis with its people struggling with food and medical accessibilities.  Political crisis The protests began after the new legislative assembly was formed following the elections. The opposition parties said it was a “power grab” as when the Supreme Court dissolved the parliament, transferring all the legislative powers to itself. About 9 people were killed in these demonstrations with many others injured. On April 7th, their call had become much stronger to the extent that the government banned Henrique Capriles, the main opposition leader, for any political work for 15 years. In a particular demonstration, protesters did not want to leave despite using force. The National Guard began firing tear gas and a 17 year old boy was shot in the head. Later on, a national guard was killed and this marked the first time an official to be killed. By evening, the Panel Forum stated that 52 were arrested with Maduro calling them ‘vandals and terrorists’. The central university made an estimation of at least 1.5 million people having protested93. On May 1st 2017, thousands of Venezuelans protested in order to cancel the constitutional assembly proposal. Later on May 3rd, there had been clashes between the authorities and the demonstrators leaving 300 injured and 1 dead94. On May 5th, protestors tore down and burned the banner of Hugo Chávez as a comparison to Saddam Hussein in Iraq95 On May 13th, Maduro declared a "State of Emergency and Economic Emergency yet on May 21st, many Venezuelans protested in the street calling this the ‘We are millions’ march; these protests resulted in the injury of 212. Most demonstrators’ main question is: “where did the money go?” According to the central bank of 91

Tradingeconomics.comThe Big 5 Exhibition 26-29 Nov, 11am - 7pm at DWTC register.thebig5.ae "Venezuelan Economy Tanked 13.2 Percent in 2017: Opposition." U.S, 5 Mar. 2018, www.reuters.com 93 "Venezuelans March as Maduro Comes Under Increasing Scrutiny". Bloomberg L.P. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017. 94 Dreier, Hannah (4 May 2017). "AP Explains: Venezuela's 'anti-capitalist' constitution". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved 4 May 2017. 95 "Manifestantes derriban estatua de Hugo Chávez". Yahoo News (in Spanish). 5 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017. 92

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Venezuela, the country only has $10.5 billion in foreign reserves left. This all goes back to the massive government overspending in addition to the crashing currency and the low price of oil.



U.S.-Venezuelan relations

The core of the U.S. interests in Venezuela is the petroleum as Venezuela supplies it with oil. The tension between the two countries had started in September 2008 when the American ambassador in Venezuela was accused of supporting and cooperating with anti-government groups in the coup attempt against Chávez. Chávez accused the Bush administration of ‘fighting terror with terror’ as a referral to the Afghanistan’s invasion.96 Things started to calm during Barack Obama’s administration. However, the Venezuelan government ordered the departure of the 3 American ambassadors due to their “cooperation in the violent affairs”, referring to protests where 18 people were killed. After the 2016 elections, Donald Trump demanded Venezuela to release political prisoners. The U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, told reporters the United States was "concerned that the government of Maduro is violating its own constitution and not allowing the opposition to have their voices heard, nor allowing them to organize in a way that expresses the views of the Venezuelan people."97 In August 2017, Trump imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela, which resulted in Maduro calling him “the new Hitler of the international communities”. Trump stated that the U.S. is willing to take further action if Venezuela continued what it is doing, saying that he would not mind going for the military resolution if Venezuela did not “submit”. After this threat, Maduro called upon the military’s authorities to undergo military tests in order to be ready. It is worth noting that in 2016, over 18,000 Venezuelans requested asylum to the United States, a number that had increased by 160% more than 201598



Current situation

Tensions have been high between the opposition and Maduro due to actions such as putting in place the National Constituent Assembly without a referendum. His administration also spread information disputed by experts, which has affected the people’s trust in the administration. In November 2017, following the opposition’s stated boycott of the elections, Maduro banned all the opposition parties from participating in the elections. The opposition started calling for protests in March against the “fraudulent” scheduled to be held in May.99 The U.S. and Canada have also imposed sanctions on some Venezuelan officials that were accused of corruption, abuses of democracy and violations of human rights.100 The sanctions included 96

“WikiLeaks Cable Reveals US Oil Interests in Venezuela” wikileakes.com 97 By Romo, Rafael. Brocchetto, Marilia. “Venezuela protests: What you need to know” CNNUpdated.com April 20, 2017 98 "Spike in Venezuelans Seeking Asylum in U.S. Could Hit Another Record." USA TODAY, 17 July 2017, www.usatoday.com 99 "Venezuela Opposition Calls for Protest Against Presidential Vote." U.S, 9 Mar. 2018, www.reuters.com 100 "High-profile Activists Slam U.S., Canadian Sanctions on Venezuela." U.S, 9 Mar. 2018, www.reuters.com

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freezing assets and preventing American and Canadian citizens from dealing with them, oil sanctions are also being considered. Recently, Maduro has called the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, a puppet of the United States and a “tumor”101. Al Hussein had stated days before that Venezuelan State forces may have committed crimes against humanity and that democratic institutions in the country “are being erased”. Protests are also still ongoing in 2018, with the most recent one in March leading to burnt trucks and barricades blocking the main motorway in Caracas.102

101

"Venezuela's Maduro Calls U.N. Rights Chief a U.S.-backed 'tumor'." U.S, 10 Mar. 2018, www.reuters.com "Venezuela Crisis: Protesters Burn Trucks, Erect Barricades on Main Motorway." Firstpost, 28 May 2017, www.firstpost.com 102

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Committee on Finance

Prepared by: Chair-man Omar Kahil

Vice Chairlady Aya El-Nozahy

Ranking member Omar Hesham

Party consultant Waad Mhmd

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In dedication to the Honorable Delegates of the Committee on Finance We enjoyed every moment of each session together. You are the reason all this became true. This is our legacy; we hand it to you.” Finance’18 Secretariats Team

Jurisdiction The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance is one of the original committees in the Senate, and was first established on December 11, 1815. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures and those relating to the insular possessions; bonded debt of the United States; customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery; health programs under the Social Security Act and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund; national social security; reciprocal trade agreements; tariff and import quotas; and the transportation of dutiable goods. In addition the Committee has extensive oversight powers. It has authority to investigate, review and evaluate existing laws, and the agencies that implement them. Due to its wide authority, it is considered to be one of the most powerful committees in Congress.

Subcommittees: 1- Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure. 2- Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. 3- Subcommittee on Health Care. 4- Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness. 5- Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy. 6- Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight.

Chairmanship: Chairman

Ranking member

Sen. Orin Hatch (Rep. –Utah)

Sen. Ron Wyden (Dem. - Oregon)

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First Topic: Healthcare Reform I.

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... A. Overview B. What is healthcare? II. Types of Healthcare Systems ............................................................................................. A. Single payer system B. Multi payer system C. Comparison chart D. National/Private healthcare III. Healthcare Around the World ........................................................................................... A. Canada B. France C. Germany IV. Obamacare: Affordable Care Act ..................................................................................... A. Introduction B. Characteristics of ACA C. Factors that affect citizen eligibility D. Benefits vs Flaws E. Effects of repealing ACA V. CHIP: Children’s Health Insurance Program ................................................................. A. Introduction B. Difference between CHIP and Obamacare C. Children’s eligibility D. Factors that affect waiting period VI. CHIPRA: Reauthorization Act .......................................................................................... A. Introduction B. Fetal surgery C. Coverage status of pregnant women D. Parental Care for pregnant women E. Children of immigrants: Coverage status VII. Immigrants Healthcare ...................................................................................................... A. Introduction B. Healthcare for:  Documented immigrants  Undocumented immigrants C. Impact of Undocumented Immigrants on the Healthcare System VIII. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 59

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Introduction

A. Overview An essential indicator to a country’s development is the health of its citizens. Since the United States of America regularly takes the lead among other developed countries, its healthcare system is considered one of its top priorities. When compared to other developed countries, many US citizens find themselves incapable of affording prescribed drugs or medical services due to the extremely high prices. Therefore, this sparks a very heated debate. With high pricings from the private insurance companies, the matter became even worse. “After a century of striving, after a year of debate, after a historic vote, health care reform is no longer an unmet promise. It is the law of the land,” said Barack Obama, the former US President. The main issue is financials. In other words, how can the government sustainably fund it without increasing the federal deficit? Health insurance policies are too expensive for families, which can be recognized when their incomes are compared with the plans' costs. The average premium plan is almost $14 Thousand annually. It has been doubling over the past 9 years with a higher percentage than the rate of inflation. Even when the costs were rising, in 2010, some citizens were turned down and unable to buy their own insurance, for having pre-existing health conditions like diabetes and asthma. That was through the first phase (2010-2014)103

With such rising concerns, this topic is highly present and heated. Thus, the congress meets to determine the fate of the US healthcare system.

103

“NHE-Fact-Sheet” CMS.gov. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 14 June 2017. Web. 5 November 2017

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B. What is Healthcare? Healthcare is the maintenance of one’s health through either prevention, or diagnosis of diseases and injuries. Further health complications include other physical and mental impairments in human beings. Regarding delivery, healthcare is delivered by professional health providers or practitioners in numerous health professions, which includes physicians, psychology, dentistry, audiology, pharmacy, and many other specialized health professions. The term healthcare shows all the efforts done in providing primary sector care, secondary sector care, and tertiary care. Access to healthcare varies significantly across countries, influenced greatly by local economic and social conditions, together with health policies set by each country.

II. Types of Healthcare Systems Healthcare systems vary greatly all over the world, in terms of how the system is funded and who specifically offers coverage. A. Single payer system A single payer system is a system in which a single public or multiple public agency organizes healthcare financing, while the delivery of care services is to remain mostly in private hands. Such system is progressively funded through tax revenue.104 B. Multi payer system Multi payer systems disregard the control offered by single payer systems, in order to seek meeting the diverse preferences of healthcare beneficiaries.105 This happens through the presence of private insurance companies, alongside public health insurance as demonstrated in the US. This system can be funded through tax revenue and premiums paid for private coverage schemes.

“What is Single Payer?” pnhp.org. Physicians for a National Health Program, Web. 4 December 2017. “Comparison of single and multi-payer health insurance systems” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Center for Biotechnology Information, December 2003. Web. 4 December 2017.

104 105

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C. Comparison table:

D. Public/Private healthcare In public healthcare systems, health services are offered by the government. For example, Medicare and Medicaid in the US. While in private healthcare systems, health services are offered by the private sector. For example, private insurance companies. Contrary to mainstream beliefs, a systematic review of numerous researches comparing public and private healthcare has shown that there’s no support to the claim that the private sector is usually more efficient, accountable, or medically effective than the public sector; however, patients are found frequently to be seeking unfulfilled improvements regarding timelessness and hospitality in the public sector.106

106

“Comparative Performance of Private and Public Healthcare Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Center for Biotechnology Information, June 2012. Web. 4 December 2017.

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III. Healthcare Around the World A. Canada 

Overview

Canada is one of the countries that has a publicly funded healthcare system (single payer system), informally called Medicare. The system is dynamic since many reforms have been done to it through the past four decades due to the changes in society and medicine. However, the basics of the healthcare system remains constant which is the delivery of medically necessary healthcare services on the basis of need rather than the ability to pay. Yet, there’s a possibility of modifying the system as the circumstances and the population of the country change. 

How the system processes?

Under the Medicare system, all the Canadian residents have legitimate access to medically needed services -as hospitals and physicians- without paying out-of-pocket. So the government covers most of the needed healthcare for each family except a minor part that includes private spending which is for the purchase of drugs, dentists and optometry that are not covered by the government program. The organization of Canada’s healthcare system is defined mainly by the Canadian constitution in which roles and responsibilities are divided between the federal, and provincial and territorial governments, where the larger section in the responsibility of delivering health and other social services is given to the provincial and territorial governments while the federal government is accountable for delivering services for specific groups of people. Canada’s publicly funded healthcare is generally financed with the revenue of taxation of the federal, and provincial and territorial governments. Criteria and conditions were established by the Canada Health Act for health insurance plans that must be met by provinces and territories in order to receive full transfers of federal cash to support health. These federal cash and tax transfers are provided through the Canada health transfer.107 Certain direct health care facilities are provided to some population groups, including: i. ii. iii. iv. v.

107

People relying on funds of the first nation Serving members of the Canadian Forces Eligible veterans Inmates in federal penitentiaries groups of refugee applicants

Canada.ca - Canada's Health Care System, October 2009

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B. France 

Overview

France provides universal coverage with a public–private mix of hospital and ambulatory care with a higher capacity of service than in the United States, such coverage is combined in the French healthcare system. Many modifications are being done on it over time to keep its efficiency. France was one of the countries that were roughly damaged near the end of world war two, the private sector was in its weakest shapes and wasn’t able to take care of anyone that will need healthcare in the upcoming few years. Therefore, a system of national health insurance was established by France in 1945, which is known as social security system in the United States. 

How the system processes?

The total expenditures that goes to the health coverage program constitutes about twelve percent of the GDP. Everyone in France must pay for mandatory health insurance that is from nonprofit funds. There are five known types of funds: general, independent, agricultural, student and public service. One fund alone covers almost 85% of all people in France which is the general. Those who have never worked or aren’t covered by any other sources are the only people who are not included in one of these five funds, the government has a specific strategy where they’re financed by taxes that recompenses better than the other funds. These funds are financed largely by the public, more than 40% of the healthcare spending is financed by payroll taxes and approximately a third is from income taxes while the rest is derived from tobacco and alcohol taxes, some transfers from other branches of social security and small amount of state subsides. All together this covers more than three quarters of all healthcare spending. 108 The healthcare coverage is universal and mandatory and is provided to all residents, as SHI (Statutory health insurance system) eligibility which is universally granted under PUMA (Protection Universelle Maladie Act, or universal health care coverage) law. In case of undocumented immigrants who have applied for residence the state finance their health services. For private health insurance most of the coverage is mainly provided by non-profit and employment based mutual associations.

108

The French Health Care System, International Health Care System Profiles – The Commonwealth Fund http://international.commonwealthfund.org

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C. Germany ď&#x201A;ˇ

Overview

Germany has a universal multi-payer healthcare system which is based on the principles of Bismarck which says that the state should provide only for those unable to provide for themselves. Health insurance is mandatory in Germany for all citizens and permanent residents, it is provided by two systems: a. The statutory health insurance (SHI). b. Private health insurance (PHI). Some benefits are covered by PHI rather than SHI, but most of them are minor. PHI coverage also gets access to some better facilities and covers some co-pays for other services. However, most of the Germans are covered by SHI. The insurance is very comprehensive compared with other universal systems, coverage includes patient visits, eye care, prescription drugs, mental health, dental care, hospitalization, rehab, physical therapy, sick leave and many other things. ď&#x201A;ˇ

How the system processes?

There are three obligatory health benefits that are offered to the German citizens. The three health benefits are financed by both the employer and the employee and they are: long-term care insurance, health insurance and accident insurance. The long term care is covered by a different insurance system and is provided only for specific cases in which a person is not able to accomplish his or her daily routine. Despite the aforementioned cases, some people buy private long term healthcare insurance as an upgrade to their current plans. Employed citizens and pensioners who make less than 56,250 euros a year, and their dependents, are covered by SHI. Anyone who makes more than that, or who is self-employed, can choose to get the SHI or to buy PHI, most of the people choose to get the SHI. Refugees and undocumented immigrants are covered by social security in case of acute illness and pain, as well as pregnancy and childbirth. 109

109

Germany: International Health Care System, International Health Care System Profiles http://international.commonwealthfund.org

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Health Spending Among Countries110

110

OECD (2017), Health spending (indicator). doi: 10.1787/8643de7e-en. Web. November 2017

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ACA Repeal I.

Overview

Many US citizens find hardship in maintaining a health coverage plan alongside paying their bills, and supporting their families. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, usually referred to ‘Affordable Care Act’ (ACA), and widely nicknamed ‘Obamacare’ was presumably initiated in efforts to cover a bigger social American class that can’t afford the usual healthcare plans. Obamacare is a United States federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010.

II. Eligibility There are a few regulations for a person's eligibility to ACA.111     

A resident of United States. A U.S. citizen or national. Not currently imprisoned. If a person has Medicare coverage, he/she will not be eligible to use the Marketplace to buy a health or dental plan. Citizens earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line whose ages do not exceed 65 years.

So before ACA, any citizen who is a little bit above the poverty line and considered from the lower middle class Americans were qualified to neither Medicare nor Medicaid. However, after the enactment of ACA, now they are. So, currently the US healthcare system consists of the either Medicare, Medicaid or the ACA. Medicare:  On July 30, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson made Medicare law by signing H.R. 6675 in Independence, Missouri.  Medicare insures the elderly; who are above 65 years, beside many disabled & terminally ill citizens.  The Medicare is a Federal Health Insurance Program which is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

111

“Eligibility.” medicaid.gov. Web. 20 December 2017.

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Medicaid:    

Medicaid was introduced in the 1960's to serve basic Health Insurance for low income families with 133% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) who cannot afford Medical Insurance. Both healthcare services are overseen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Same as Medicare, Medicaid was also introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 30, 1965. Millions of Americans are covered by Medicaid, in which eligible low-income adults, children and pregnant women are included. According to federal requirements, Medicaid is administered by the states.

III. Characteristics A. Industry Standards:  Younger people up to the age of 25 stay on their parents insurance.112  Insurance Companies are no longer able to drop people who get sick.  Insurance companies can't deny people with pre-existing conditions to have insurance. B. Patient Guarantees:  Obamacare worked on removing the caps and restrictions Insurance Companies used to put on the individuals with serious illness or injuries. C. Individual Mandate:  Is forcing people even if they are healthy to buy insurance or pay penalties/taxes.  If someone can't afford it, there are subsidies offered.  It's constitutional in the Supreme Court.113 D. Online HealthCare Exchanges:  Most states run the websites.  This will drive competition.  Provides the availability of all packages. E. Subsidies:  They are financial aids for people who find hardship in affording Insurance. F. Payments:  ACA runs on cost saving as if there are 18 tests for a certain diagnosis it will offer the most needed tests for cure. While the Medicare affords the 18 tests. 112 113

“How to get or stay on a parent’s plan.” healthcare.gov. Web. 20 December 2017. “The fee for not having health insurance.” healthcare.gov. Web. 20 December 2017.

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G. Employer Mandate: 

If an employer has 50+ employees & they can't afford insurance; they receive subsidies which are funded through the government by the people's tax payments. Which makes a burden on the governmental budget, therefore this mandate makes the employer pays a fine.

IV. Benefits VS Flaws The major benefits an American citizen gets out of the Affordable Care Act that weren't included before the 21st century are:  Accepting citizens with pre-existing conditions.  Insurance companies can't deny anyone from continuing with their packages unless they don't qualify with the law.  Subsidies that help low income people to obtain healthcare. Other draw backs include:  Everyone is obliged to buy healthcare even if a person is healthy. If set person doesn't enroll they will be obliged to pay a fine/penalty/tax.

V. Effects of repealing ACA Without offering an alternative, repealing the ACA would cause huge waves of citizens stripped off their health coverage, as a result of them finding hardship in affording premium health insurance. On the other hand, it will decrease the burden on the government as it will lower the amount of expenditures and debt. .

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Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) I.

Overview:

After the failure of Comprehensive Health Care Reform proposed in 1993 by former President, Bill Clinton, Senate Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which is shortened to Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), was sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator Orrin Hatch under the Administration of –back then- First Lady, Hillary Clinton. CHIP was created with the aim of providing the children with free or affordable care assistance program. Coverage usually includes routine check-ups, immunization, mental health services, prescriptions, inpatients and outpatient hospital care, x-rays, and lab services. It is a program that has to be reauthorized every 2 years depending on how long the congress approves it for. It was last reauthorized in 2015, and the question of reauthorization paces back and forth in all congressmen’s heads in 2017. Not only do the congressmen think of this heated subject, but the media and the citizens are worried as well. One of those lingering questions is: “Should the congress reauthorize it?” Although its benefits overweigh its flaws, a matter of enhancement has been raised. This leaves us with another question, “How can it be improved?” Nevertheless, the deadline for a decision to be made has passed with no action taken.

II.

Eligibility:

Although CHIP is a program funded by the government, its administration is done within state level which means that eligibility rules vary by state. Nevertheless, some rules are constant no matter the state so that every child can find a similar version of this particular coverage. These rules are:      

If the US citizen is 18 or less, he/she is eligible for CHIP If the US citizen is 19 or more, he/she goes under the coverage plan of their parents. Must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national or a qualified alien Eligible children are accepted regardless of pre-existing conditions Must not be eligible or covered by Medical Assistance or Medicare Must not be covered by any other health insurance plan, self-insured plan, or selffunded plan

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Families with income percent ranging from 100-133% of the federal poverty line FPL; however, the exact percentage varies according to each states’ policy114

However, there are still differences between states in the rules and here is a table showing the difference between Texas, West Virginia & Nebraska: State

Texas115

West Virginia116

Nebraska117

CHIPRA

Offers CHIPRA

No CHIPRA

No waiting period

Up to 90 days

Household 1:

$29,700 / year

$25,304

Waiting Period FPL

III.

90 days with exemptions Household 1: $24,473 / year

Waiting Period:

There are 3 general aspects for waiting period, as:  Turnaround time: It is the amount of time to implement a specific process.  Waiting time: It is the amount of time a procedure has been waiting in the queue.  Response time: It is the amount of time from when a request was submitted until the first response is produced. But when it comes to health insurance policy, if the candidate buys a health coverage plan it doesn't mean that the candidate starts getting cover from day one of the policy. An interval of time is given for the candidates to transfer from one type of policy to another, to check for their eligibility and reasons of transfer.

Types of waiting period: There are three main waiting periods. In each kind of waiting period, some treatments and procedures are excluded. As the candidate crosses the waiting period, these treatments start getting covered. Waiting period handles a smooth transition to other insurance affordability programs to which children may be eligible during this period. 1. Cooling off period/Employer waiting period: This is applicable to anyone buying a policy for the very first time. During this time, the candidate can make a claim only for accident related hospitalization. Most insurance companies offer a cooling off period of 30 days. It is also called the employer waiting period employers are provided with the group coverage plan in some corporations. In order to avoid any “hit and run” accidents where the employer applies for the job, gets the insurance and runs away, there had to be a 114

“Eligibility” Medicaid.gov. December 05, 2017. “Do I Qualify? Texas Children's Health Plan Do I Qualify?” December 05, 2017 116 “Center for Children and Families West Virginia Medicaid & CHIP Programs” November 21, 2016 Accessed: December 05, 2017 117 “Your Path to Government Benefits Nebraska Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)” Benefits.gov December 05, 2017 115

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waiting period for employers. This waiting period is not less than 3 months.

2. Specified illness This is specified for a list of specific illnesses or conditions such as having kidney stones, slipped disc, hernia, cataract…etc. These illnesses are specifically mentioned in the policy and they are excluded usually for 2 years from the time of buying a new policy. However, with the new policy, it cannot last for more than 3 months. 3. Pre-existing conditions This is for diseases that had been acquired at the time of buying the policy where most insurance companies start covering these illnesses from the 5th year onwards. In September 2010, children less than 19 years old cannot be denied the access to their parents’ coverage. Health insurance companies are no longer allowed to exclude children with pre-existing conditions. By January 2014, no citizen can be denied the right of having insurance even if he has some chronic pre-existing conditions.



 From the enactment of CHIP until now, the waiting period was not constant. Similarly, it is not the same according to state. To make sure that CHIP is not a substitution for any group coverage or family health plan, the waiting period used to be from 1 month to 12 months and varies according to each state’s policy as well as the child’s health condition. By January 2014, the waiting period became 90 days only adding the law that states that any child with pre-existing conditions will not be excluded from the program. Additionally, he/she can be exempted from the waiting period.

In November 2016, 21 states have eliminated the waiting period using other procedures to monitor the transition or substitution such as survey or private insurance database check. Meanwhile, 15 states are still using the waiting period as a transition from a program to another. Some states’ waiting period is from 12 to 90 days, other states’ waiting period is from 1 to 2 months.

IV.

Children of public employees: Before the enactment of ACA, CHIP didn’t include public employees' children, regardless of their eligibility. At the current period this altered, by giving the eligibility to them according to the state in which they live. 72

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Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA)

Overview:

CHIPRA main purpose was to extend more coverage to females that would give them more assistance through the periods of pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period where a lot of medical risks might occur. For instance, a fetus requires even more care; some states offer CHIPRA for pregnant women to help support a safe growth of their embryo. The CHIPRA was signed by president Obama on February 4, 2009.

II.

Fetal Surgery:

Medicine is constantly improving and changing. One of the most eminent changes is in the field of surgery where surgeons nowadays can operate on a fetus in the womb of a pregnant woman without delivering the baby. It has become so viral that there is a specialty called fetal surgery with a well-trained fetal surgeon. The open fetal surgery starts with a normal C-section opening up in the pelvis third of the stomach with a scalp, and then getting a smaller scalp in order to carefully open the uterus. As the surgeon holds the unborn child, he can remove a tumor or fix any fixable deformation in this fetus while it is still tied up with the umbilical cord. This is only used in life-threatening situations. Furthermore, the minimally invasive type is called fetoscopic surgery where there is bladder and chest shunt placement as well as Fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) for severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).

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Immigrant’s Healthcare I.

Overview

Immigration is a controversial topic due to the status quo resembled in the current instability in many countries around the world. Due to the political presence of United States among the countries of the world, and the fact that a huge number of immigrants exists there, it is important to tackle the status of the immigrant’s healthcare. There are two types of immigrants which are lawfully present and undocumented immigrants.

A. Lawfully present immigrants The term lawfully present includes immigrants who:118

a. Qualified non-citizen       

Legitimate Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders). Entrants of Cuba or Haiti. Paroled into the U.S. for at least one year. Non-citizens, children, or parents who are battered. Victims of trafficking and his or her spouse, child, sibling, or parent or individuals with a pending application for a victim of trafficking visa. Given a prohibition of deportation. American Indian born in Canada or a federal member of a recognized Indian tribe.

b. Humanitarian statuses or circumstances    

Short term safeguarded Status Distinct Juvenile Status Refuge applicants Resolution against Torture

c. Valid non-immigrant visas d. Legal status conferred by other laws B. Undocumented immigrants They are foreign-born persons who don’t have the legal right to remain or be in the United States. Undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible to buy marketplace health coverage or for any savings on marketplace plans. But they are allowed to apply for coverage on behalf of documented individuals. Sanctuary cities It is a city that limits its cooperation with the national government effort to enforce immigration 118

“Health coverage for lawfully present immigrants.” HealthCare.gov. Web. December 04, 2017.

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laws. They are cities and counties in the united states that limit their cooperation with immigration enforcement which falls under federal jurisdiction, these policies differ from a state to another.

II.

Status quo

Legitimate immigrants are eligible for the coverage of the marketplace health insurance under the affordable care act. Even if immigration status inside the households were mixed they can still apply for a tax credit or lower out-of-pocket costs to be able to apply for private insurance in the marketplace, where a mixed status family is a family with any blend of immigration statuses. For example, one person can be an undocumented immigrant and the other a documented immigrant. Undocumented immigrants add to their family’s household income even if undocumented family members cannot use the marketplace but they don’t increase the household size. For those immigrants who are qualified non-citizens are generally eligible for coverage through Medicaid and CHIP, if they meet their state’s income and residency rules. But in order to get them, many qualified non-citizens such as green card holders have a five year waiting period, which means that they should wait five years after being qualified to get to have Medicaid and CHIP. Yet there are exclusions, as States have the possibility to eliminate the five year waiting period and cover lawfully residing children or pregnant women in Medicaid or CHIP. Medicaid coverage was chosen to be provided to lawfully residing children or pregnant women without a five year waiting period in twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia and the political unit of the Northern Mariana Islands, twenty-one of these states also to cover lawfully residing children or pregnant women in CHIP. 119

III.

Impact of Undocumented Immigrants on the Healthcare System

Are undocumented immigrants a burden on the healthcare system? It became debatable whether undocumented immigrants are a burden on the healthcare system or not. As some states that they are actually affect the healthcare system negatively. While others stated that they have a positive effect on the system in general as they provide a surplus to the Medicare trust fund, not only that they provide a surplus for the Medicare system but also that they contribute to state and local taxes that help to offset the government expenses.

119

“Immigration: Is It Impacting Our Healthcare Systems?” InHomelandSecurity.com. October 26, 2016. Web. December 04, 2017

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Second Topic: Contemporary Taxes I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. II. Tax Systems .............................................................................................................................. A. Progressive tax B. Flat tax C. Regressive tax III. Tax Types ................................................................................................................................. A. Income tax B. Value added tax (VAT) C. Tariffs D. Property tax IV. IRS: Internal Revenue Service ............................................................................................... A. Introduction and Jurisdictions of the IRS V. Tax on Online Sales ................................................................................................................. A. Introduction B. Previous regulations and the status quo C. MFA: Marketplace Fairness Act D. RTPA: Remote Transaction Parity Act E. Nexus VI. Cryptocurrencies ..................................................................................................................... A. Introduction B. Bitcoins VII. Debt Ceiling ......................................................................................................................... A. Introduction B. US Department of Treasury C. Debt Issuance D. Economic perspective E. Government Shutdowns F. Effects of raising/repealing the debt limit G. Effects of repealing the debt limit H. Effects of Not Raising the Debt Limit VIII. Starving The Beast .............................................................................................................. A. Introduction B. Effects on government budget, expenditure and debt C. “Feed The Beast” D. Contemporary perspective E. Conclusion 76

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Introduction

Benjamin Franklin was not mistaken when he said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Taxes are not collected to just stash money in the government’s pocket as it has been claimed. On the contrary, these taxes are “from the people and to the people”. With taxes being collected, many things have been renewed and enhanced, as the infrastructure of the country, welfare and many social programs. There are many forms and types of taxes to which we will be introduced in our topic. One of the most crucial taxes that we will be discussing is online sales taxation, which we will tackle in a more detailed way. From the name, it is deduced that this is an amount of money collected over the profit of online sales. On the other hand, the spread of technology all over the world reached the way of how we deal with each other when it comes to transactions or trade. Therefore, we will be also introduced to the whole new phase of money terms transactions especially online transactions. Bitcoins are the money of the future since 2009. But as the coin has two faces investing in them also do, so we will be tackling their advantages or their features and the risk in investing in them. II.

Tax systems

There are many types of tax systems around the world that we have to acknowledge before getting deeper in our topic.

A. Progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax system that implies a larger percentage of tax on high-income earners than of that implied on low-income earners. 120Many consider this system as one of the fairest taxation systems that are applied by governments like China, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy. It is of real important for us because it is the system of taxation of the United States. 121Some don’t like progressive tax as they claim that such a system treats people differently, as richer people ae paying more than those at the bottom or the lower classes.

B. Flat tax A flat tax is a tax system that applies the same percentage of tax on all levels regardless of the income bracket or the class of taxpayers. Russia is considered one of the largest economies applying a flat tax system. Some claim that such a system is one of the best if not the best as they consider it fairer as everyone pays the same percentage, also some claim that using this system would eliminate the need for the internal revenue service (IRS). Others are opposing it because 120

“Progressive Tax” Investopedia, July 25, 2017, December 05, 2017. “Forbes, Our Current Tax v. The Flat Tax v. The Fair Tax: What's The Difference?” July 28, 2016. December 05, 2017. 121

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they see that an accurate flat tax impacts taxpayers disproportionately, though the tax is proportionate.

C. Regressive tax A regressive tax is a tax system that applies a larger tax percentage of income on low incomeearners than that applied on higher income-earners. It is clear that such a system of taxation affects low income earners more severely than it does to high income-earners while some people see that it might be fair. Examples of regressive tax are sales tax, user fees and arguably property taxes. III. Tax Types There are many types of taxes imposed, which includes (but not limited to): A. Income Tax: It is an amount of money imposed on personal incomes. B. Value Added Tax: A percentage of tax imposed at each sale of a good or service along the production chain, it is based on the collection of value added by the seller to consumers. C. Tariffs: Amount of money paid on certain class of Imports and Exports. D. Property Tax: A tax levied on an owned property (house, land, etc...)

IV. Internal

Revenue Service

Introduction & responsibilities The internal revenue system is the United States federal government revenue service. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) administers and enforces U.S. federal tax laws, which means that it is responsible for collecting the taxes and enforcing such laws of taxation. It was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. It is a government agency that functions under the authority of the United States department of the treasury.it is headquartered in Washington, D.C., how the system works is that the states government collects taxes and then delivers them to the internal revenue system and then taxes go through the government hands to use and regulate them. 122 V.

Online sales tax

A. Overview Sales tax in general is a tax paid by people when they buy goods or services which is known as consumption tax imposed by the government. A traditional sales tax is paid at the point of sale and collected by the owner or retailer and then passed to the government. Online sales tax is the same concept as sales tax but on online sales and deals.123 Since e-commerce now is the future acts of economics in any country due to its easiness and fast 122 123

Internal Revenue Service, Country-by-Country Reporting Jurisdiction Status Table, December 05, 2017. Investopedia, Sales Tax, Published: April 27, 2017.Accessed: December 04, 2017.

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wide spread. The concept of online sales tax has been tackled and discussed but not set to a resolution till now. As a background, In a lawsuit with the reference of Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), the Supreme Court held that, “under the implications of the commerce clause, states may require retailers to collect use taxes only if it has a physical presence in that state. If, on the other hand, a retailer does not have a physical presence in the state, then a state generally cannot impose such obligations on the retailer.”124 That guards retailers from being obligated to collect sales tax in states where they do not have a significant presence.

It was promised that such topic would be discussed in the congress to put laws to it and two bills actually had been previously reintroduced to be negotiated again, which are:

Marketplace fairness act (MFA):

It is stated by this bill that online retailers who earn more than $1 million in non-home state sales per year would be obliged to collect sales tax not only in the states where they already have sales tax nexus, but also in any states where they have sales, which will break down the protection made by the law of 1992 mentioned before.

ii.

Remote Transaction Parity Act (RTPA):

Similar to the Marketplace Fairness Act, it would require online sellers to collect taxes in states where they have nexus and those who don’t have nexus but they do sales there. More than any other bill, the RTPA has been looked upon as a bill that shows negligence of how the e-Commerce economy truly works, as it proved it could be harmful to small businesses.125

B. Nexus: Sales tax nexus means a significant connection to a state that acquires you to collect taxes and deliver them to the government. So if you are an online seller and you have nexus in a state then the state will charge you for taxes on your sales. You will always be charged a sales tax nexus in your home state but in the case of online sales you may find that you have nexus in other states.126

Relations with other states that creates a nexus: 

Location, any physical place of business like an office or store.

124

Forbes, Internet Sales Tax Collection Acts Introduced in Congress. Published: May 02, 2017.Accessed: December 04, 2017. 125 Tax Jar Blog, What Reintroduction of Internet Sales Tax Means for Online Sellers. May 04, 2017. By Mark Faggiano, Accessed: December 04, 2017. 126

“Online Sales Tax for Ecommerce Businesses [Every State + Nexus]”, Jennifer Dunn - The Big Commerce Blog, Published: January 20, 2017, Accessed: December 04, 2017.

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A drop of shipping, just using a drop shipper to deliver your goods or services. Inventory, storing your inventory in any state is considered to be a nexus. Personnel, if you have someone that works for you such as a salesperson.

VI. Cryptocurrencies

Introduction: Economists define money as anything generally accepted as a form of payment for trading goods and services. The forms of money have evolved over time till reaching the form of digital files that can be send through the internet. Cryptocurrencies are intangible digital currencies that only exist electronically, they operate independently without a central control. In such currencies, encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and to verify the transfer of funds.

i.       

ii.

Features: Minimize the transaction cost as they are transferred directly from one person to another without financial intermediaries. They can be used in any country as it only requires internet connection. It has no prerequisites or arbitrary limits. They open up a whole new platform for innovation. Their software is completely open source and anyone can review the code. They are changing finance the same way the web Changes publishing which stimulates great ideas to flourish. They are easy to set up and have no chargebacks.

Risks:

The purchase and use of bitcoins conveys several risks due to their digital nature and absence of guaranteed value. A. Regulatory Risk: As cryptocurrencies have no central control governments may seek to regulate, limit or prohibit the use and sale of bitcoins, and some already have. B. Security Risk: As any internet service cryptocurrencies are subjected to the risk of their accounts being hacked. If access to a Bitcoin owner's computer hard drive is gained they can be transferred easily to another account. C. Insurance Risk: In US the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures the citizen’s bank accounts. While the accounts of Bitcoins are not insured by any entity but only by technological processes. D. Fraud Risk: There is a possibility that some people could manipulate the software and the accounts of the Bitcoins and try to sell false Bitcoins E. Market Risk: The value of the currency has seen wild swings in price over its short existence. If the number of 80

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people who believe and use bitcoins decreased their value would decrease and they might become worthless.

VII.

Bitcoins

Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency that is created in 2009. Since then many types of cryptocurrencies have been created as Lite-coin, Ethereum and I-cash. However, Bitcoins spread was much larger than any of them. “I'm a big fan of Bitcoin... Regulation of money supply needs to be depoliticized.” -Al Gore Former US vice president and winner of Nobel Peace prize. “Bitcoin is a technological tour de force” -Bill Gates Microsoft Co-founder. a. Inventor It was invented by an unknown programmer, or a group of programmers, under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. b. Software design The Bitcoin’s design is public where it was released as an open software source in 2009, its system type is peer to peer where the transactions all are done between the users directly without any intermediate devices or banks. Nobody owns or controls the bitcoins and everyone can take part and use it.127

Architecture:

For people who are using bitcoins or just hearing about them, it is a mobile app or a computer program that allows you to have something called a bitcoin wallet and a private account and enables you to use these bitcoins widely as money. But behind the scenes it is a much larger and more complex system. The bitcoin network doesn’t have any central control or authority but the transactions are systemized and have proven efficiency throughout the process.

a. Block chain Bitcoins are sharing a public ledger called the block-chain where each and every transaction processed in the network is contained, enabling each user’s device to verify the validity of each transaction. Where the block chain is a large distributed network of computers running special software, so whenever a transaction occurs the network records the senders and the receivers Bitcoin addresses, the amount transferred and enters this information onto the ledger which is the block chain, that is updated over a hundred time per day.

127

“Bitcoin”- September 09, 2017, Accessed: December 04, 2017.

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b. Mining The previously mentioned verification process is performed by what are called bitcoin miners, which are computers or other processing devices that individuals use to connect to the network. By this verification process successful miners obtain a new bitcoin as a return that is where mainly bitcoins originate from. Miners use special software to solve math problems that issues new bitcoins in exchange, this provides a smart way to issue the currency and creates an incentive for more people to mine. And since a minerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job is mainly to secure transactions by approving them, more miners mean a more secure network. The network of the bitcoin automatically changes the difficulty of the solved problems. At first miners used processors in their computers, but their efficiency decreased as time passes by and the formulas are getting harder. Therefore, new chips have been created that are designed especially for mining bitcoins, they consume a huge amount of power but they execute the process faster. Miners now have developed a criterion to cooperate in pools where the criterion is called pooled mining, pools of miners are able to find solutions faster than individual members. Each member then is rewarded a proportionate to the amount of work provided.

ii.

Bitcoinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market:

Bitcoins have many supporters who believe that they are money of the future. These supporters are of the view that it facilitates a much faster, no-fee payment system for transactions across the globe. Although it is not supported by a government or a central bank, it can be exchanged by traditional currencies. In fact, its exchange rate against the dollar attracts possible investors and traders who are interested in currency games. Certainly, one of the major reasons that bitcoin as a digital currency spread broadly is that they can be an alternative to national money or traditional commodities as gold or silver. The IRS stated in March 2014, that all virtual currencies, including bitcoins, would be taxed as property rather than currency. Therefore, gains or losses in bitcoins will be considered as capital gains or losses while they might be held as inventories. Like any other asset, the principle of buy low and sell high applies to bitcoins. As of December 2017, one bitcoin is worth 11768.02 US Dollarâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; a significant jump from late 2016, when it was around $770, where it is still increasing rapidly from one day to another till reaching 9307.00 US Dollar in 3rd of March 2018. As of January 2018, there were over 1384 and growing digital currencies in existence, which shows the severity of competition in the free market of bitcoins where the price is mainly determined by the law of supply and demand.

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Conclusion:

As many people now are actively using bitcoins in their major economic procedures, and as much more places are accepting bitcoins as a mean of payment, then: Should a federal law be initiated to regulate these transactions or not? Should these transactions be taxed or not? Forming a clear vision on the transaction of bitcoins and how the government should deal with it on a federal basis not only on a state bases to fill any loopholes that might be found is crucial.

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Debt Ceiling A. Introduction The United States Debt Ceiling is a limit on the amount of debts that can be issued to any faction in the United States, which is regulated by the US Department of Treasury.

B. US Department of Treasury: The role of the of Treasury is the steward of U.S. economic and financial systems. The Treasury Department is the executive agency responsible for ensuring the financial security of the United States, alongside promoting economic prosperity.128 Furthermore, it acts as an influential participant in the world economy. The U.S. Treasury, created in 1789, is the governmental department accountable for issuing all Treasury bonds, notes and bills. Furthermore, the secretary of the Treasury is responsible for international monetary and financial policy, including foreign exchange intervention. The Treasury, through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint, prints and mints all paper currency and coins in circulation. In addition, the Department manages U.S. government debt instruments, and collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service.129

C. Debt Issuance: A debt issue is simply a financial obligation that allows the issuer to raise funds by being bound to the lender with repaying the face value with an interest rate in a specific time. These issues take the form of treasury bonds & notes.

D. Economic Perspective: The US government is the largest spender on earth; with expenditures of $3.65 trillion in 2017. But the US doesn't bring in as much as it spends. So each year they borrow the difference & keep adding to their debt.

E. Government Shutdowns: The U.S. government shuts down when the Congress does not pass, or the President does not sign appropriation130 bills into law.

128

“Duties & Functions of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.” treasury.gov, Last Updated 1 April, 2018. Web. 5 December 2017. 129 “Bureaus.” treasury.gov, 28 June 2013. Web. 5 December 2017. 130 Appropriations: Legislations that provides financial funding for federal government operations.

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F. Effects of Raising the Debt Limit: It offers an economic ease with no pressure on investing and covering the US bills and interest burdens. Simultaneously, it drowns the US into more debt with more interest which is already worth an average of 20$ trillion.131

G. Effects of repealing the debt limit: It is expected to give the complete freedom to the Department of Treasury to raise funds at will. On one side, giving a great boost to the economy and a limitless check open for the government to invest and prosper. On another side, this is expected to multiply the amount of debt exponentially, as this would increase the amounts of debts issued which is owned by foreigners and governments like Japan & China, which adds pressure on the U.S. government in general affecting its decision making.

H. Effects of not raising the debt limit: If no debts are issued, the government would face barricades in using revenues while trying to keep up with expenditures. Eventually, the U.S. would be unable to pay off its current liabilities, including loans, healthcare, and other public services. As a result, the government would be forced to shut down. In addition, considerable consequences could arise as a result, that would change the nations credit rating worldwide, setting a financial wave that could raise mortgage and other rates.

I. Smart Regulations The national debt is tracked every day to the penny by a small group of treasury workers in Parkersburg, West Virginia. When the U.S. government hit the debt ceiling, they use economic procedures to keep the government under the debt limit. Holding on some investments, waiting to issue some internal debts; which are called "Extraordinary Measures". Using this fiscal sleight of hand keeps the U.S. constantly on the edge of the debt limit for many months. But this is just a delay tactic until Congress & President agree to raise the debt ceiling.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Federal Debt Clock.â&#x20AC;? usgovernmentdebt.us, 28 June 2013. Web. 5 December 2017.

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Starve the Beast A. Overview As discussed prior, the federal government expenditure is ever-growing. This has led politicians to seek numerous political and economic schemes, in efforts to push government expenditure downwards. A scheme that induced quite a controversy in the US was ‘Starving the Beast’. This strategy was introduced by American conservatives, in hopes to limit government spending. 132 B. The Process The process is as follows: Cut taxes in order to lower tax revenue of the federal government. Thus, deliberately try to force expenditure down. C. Effects on Government Budget, Expenditure and Debt Scenario 1 – Debts aren’t issued to compensate for tax cut:   

Government budget would forcefully decrease. Government expenditure would forcefully decrease. Government debts would not be constant Scenario 2 – Debts are issued to compensate for tax cut:

  

Government budget wouldn’t be affected, as loss would be compensated by debt revenue. Government expenditure wouldn’t be affected, as loss would be compensated by debt revenue. Government budget would significantly increase, as debts would be issued in high quantities to compensate for the revenue downfall happened by tax cuts.

D. “Feed the Beast” This political strategy is the absolute opposite of the latter strategy, introduced collectively by opposition of ‘Starve the Beast’. This system works by increasing tax revenue, for the purpose of balancing the budget only to deliberately make the government spend those inflows only.

“Starve the Beast: Origins and Development of a Budgetary Metaphor.” Independent.org, Independent Institute. Summer 2007. Web. 5 December 2017. 132

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E. Contemporary Perspective In regard to limiting or decreasing the government expenditure, many economists in the US nowadays see it impossible. This is accredited to the fact that almost half of the American federal budget is exclusively devoted to entitlement spending. Main examples to such spending is the Social Security and Medicare. Hence, it is seen that it is very inconvenient to try and cut a mandate spending.133 F. Conclusion A lot of variables are in play in such economic issue, like the constantly increasing federal government expenditure, as it is a serious issue which any action related to must be studied and implemented with extreme care. Many solutions like these strategies were proposed, but both schemes have been seen either prosperous, or wasteful by either sides of the public. Keeping the federal budget and expenditure balanced are essential as it is considered a top priority for the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s services continuity; hence, such issue cannot be left without handling.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;What really happens when you starve the beastâ&#x20AC;? economist.com, 24 July 2007. Web. 5 December 2017

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Third Topic: Keystone XL Pipeline I.

III.

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... • Overview • Perceived Benefits of Keystone XL • Perceived Flaws of Keystone XL • Final Executive Acceptance • Nebraska’s Acceptance • Lawsuit Against President Trump’s Acceptance Project Description .............................................................................................................. • Naming • Pipeline’s Route • Investments • Keystone XL Usage • Keystone XL Phases Status Quo ............................................................................................................................

IV.

Contracts’ Crisis ..................................................................................................................

Main Interest of Oil Corporations ....................................................................................

VI.

Indifference of Oil Corporations ....................................................................................... • 2000s Energy Crisis • Current Price Slowdown • Other Reasons Behind Uninterested Oil Companies Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................

II.

VII.

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Introduction



Overview

A Canadian project bearing the name ‘Keystone XL Pipeline’ stirred significant controversy back in 2008, when it was introduced. 10 years later, it is still regarded by the public as a controversial project. The Keystone XL Pipeline is an extension to the original Keystone Pipeline System, which is an oil pipeline running from Canada to the United States. It’s currently fully owned by TransCanada Corporation134, while it was commissioned135 in 2010. The pipeline was created with the purpose of importing crude oil from Canada into the United States. Keystone XL pipeline was faced with many objections since it was introduced. Citizens were divided on deciding whether the project’s benefits outweigh the costs, or vice versa. Perceived Benefits of Keystone XL: 

Addition to U.S. economy: Keystone XL is expected to bring net economic benefits from improved efficiencies, which are stated to range from $100 Million to $600 Million annually.



Employment: Employment enhancement is expected through the creation of various new jobs, including an estimate of 2000 temporary job, and 100 permanent job.



Conduit for oil supply from a friendly ally: Providing a steady and secure inflow of oil, in case of conflicts, imported from a friendly ally.



Increased exports of variant oil products: The project is expected to boost U.S. exports of variant oil products136, even as he U.S. is a net importer of crude oil.

134

TransCanada Corporation is a major North American energy company, based in Calgary, Alberta in Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in North America. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy. 135

Project Commissioning is the process of assuring that all systems and components of a building or industrial plant are designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained according to the operational requirements of the owner or final client. 136 Ex: Petroleum products

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Economies of scale for gulf coast refineries Gulf coast refineries, who have nearly half of U.S. refining capacity, support Keystone XL pipeline because it will lower their input cost relative to the options they currently use.

Perceived Flaws of Keystone XL 

Oil Spills Oil spills are toxic and might contaminate drinking water and irrigation, destroying agricultural lands on which the pipeline passes through.



Increased carbon footprint Citizens withheld environmental concerns against GHG137 emissions released from the extraction and processing of oil sands. Climate emissions would increase by 24.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.



Temporary jobs Employment enhancement is doubted by some citizens, as it’s widely thought that the jobs offered are mostly temporary, and would result in relocation problems for those workers after construction ends.



Deteriorating relations Canadian officials repeatedly stated that they perceive the U.S. government as uncooperative, and is showing little concern about Canadian concerns. This is a due to the long-lasting rejection of the project.

Initial applications to construct the XL extension were rejected, basing it on its negative impact on the environment. The Sand Hills region in Nebraska, which Keystone XL lies on, was to be significantly affected by the pipeline. After agreeing with the state of Nebraska to re-route Keystone XL, TransCanada filed another application in May 2012. This application was once again faced with rejection by the Obama administration, which stated that the safety of the U.S. citizens and environment is the main concern. In the U.S Congress, bills were pushed to override the veto, but it was never successful.

137

GHG: Greenhouse Gas

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Final Executive Acceptance On the 24th of March 2017, president Donald Trump ended a phase of around 9 years of rejection, when he announced that his administration approved the Keystone XL pipeline project. President Trump accredited his acceptance by saying: "It's a great day for jobs and energy independence."



Nebraska’s Acceptance In November 2017, a voting by the Nebraska Public Service Commission officially approved the alternative Keystone XL route passing through Nebraska, which set an end to the state’s dispute.



Lawsuit against President Trump’s Acceptance In November 2017, a lawsuit was proceeded against President Trump, which was brought up by environmentalists and landowners. It addressed the administration’s approval of the Keystone XL permit application, as the lawsuit accused the administration of failing to conduct updated environmental reviews before approving on Keystone XL.

II. 

Project Description Naming

- The first 3 phases of TransCanada’s project are referred to as Keystone Pipeline System. - The last phase (Phase IV) is regarded as the Keystone XL extension. In Keystone XL; ‘XL’ stands for: - Export Limited.  Pipeline’s Route The Keystone Pipeline System runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) within Hardisty in Alberta, Canada, to the gulf coast. Specifically, it passes through: 138 • Refineries in Illinois & Texas • Oil tank farms • Oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma While the Keystone XL extension also starts at Hardisty, Alberta, it passes through: • Montana • South Dakota • Nebraska 138

“Route Maps- Keystone XL 101” – keystone-xl.com, Web. 9 March 2018

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Finally, sands’ crude oil is transferred to the market hub in Steele City, Nebraska. 

Investments:

The original Keystone Pipeline System cost US$5.2 billion. The Keystone XL expansion expenditure is approximately US$7 billion, expended on land permits, pipes, labor pay and lobbying.



Keystone XL Usage The Keystone XL pipeline phase is intended to aid the creation of a mixture when American crude oil enters the XL pipelines at Baker, Montana. Thus, light crude oil from the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota, is mixed with synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from the Canadian Oil Sands. Next, oil would be transferred through South Dakota and Nebraska, as it would finally join the original Keystone pipelines located in Steele City, Nebraska. Lastly, the oil would be on its way to Cushing’s storage and distribution facilities in Oklahoma, as Cushing is considered one of the pipeline’s major crude oil refining hubs.



Keystone XL’s Phases Originally, the XL expansion is divided into 2 segments, which are the Gulf Coast pipeline project and the Keystone XL pipeline project. Combined, the two pipeline segments are able to deliver up to 830,000 Bpd139 of crude oil. The Gulf Coast pipeline is 485 miles of a 36-inch pipeline that transfers crude oil from Cushing, Oklahoma, tank farms to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. That project contains all facilities to transport U.S. crude oil to the gulf state. The Keystone XL pipeline is 875 miles of a 36-inch pipeline that links Hardisty, Alberta in Canada, to Steele city, Nebraska. Furthermore, it also includes the Bakken Marketlink140 in Baker, which’s a lateral pipeline that transfers up to 100,000 bpd of crude oil from Williston Basin to Cushing, Oklahoma and Keystone XL in Steele city.

III.

Status Quo Currently, the project is accepted but isn’t constructed yet, and this is due to the contracts’ crisis.

139 140

Bpd: Barrels per Day “Bakken Marketlink” – transcanada.com, Web. 9 March 2018

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Contracts’ Crisis Recently, oil companies have not shown the same interest in Keystone XL as they used to. Back when keystone was introduced in 2008, demand on oil was skyrocketing by huge distributing corporations, as all corporations wanted to sell as many barrels as they can within this price surge. Unfortunately for TransCanada, because of the significant delay of the project by former president Barack Obama’s administration, the demand on keystone XL was not met back then. Currently after being approved by President Trump, the average price per barrel decreased significantly. After this huge setback, operators at TransCanada are faced with a crisis, which is significantly less distributing corporations wanting to sign contracts for Keystone XL.

Main Interest of Oil Corporations

The pipeline’s efficiency is the main interest of oil corporations in Keystone XL. Specifically, the pipeline transfers oil with cheaper transfer costs than other conventional alternatives, as rail transportation. As estimated by The Congressional Research Service141, the transportation of crude oil by pipeline is about $5/barrel, versus $10-$15 per barrel through rail transfer142. The only advantage of rail transport is its flexibility and widespread, as it has 140,000 miles of track in the United States, compared to 57,000 miles of crude oil pipelines.

VI.

Indifference of Oil Corporations Economists mainly accredited the uninterested behavior of oil companies to various reasons. Firstly, and mainly, current oil prices. 2000s Energy Crisis: Back in 2003, crude oil had just surpassed $30 per barrel. Later in mid-2005, its price had doubled to reach $60 per barrel. This price surge still had momentum, as the price hit a record high in 2008, when it surpassed $130 per barrel. This lead to an inflated desire by oil companies, to process and sell as much oil as possible. These oil companies were the prospective customers of TransCanada, when it first introduced Keystone XL.

141

“Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues” fas.org, Congressional Research Service - 2 December 2013. Web. 9 March 2018 142 “U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress” fas.org, Congressional Research Service – 4 December 2014. Web. 9 March 2018

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Current Price Slowdown: Ten years later, in 2018, this is not the case anymore. Over the past decade, crude oil price sunk down to approximately $40 per barrel, and this is due to: -

Oversupply of crude oil

In 2014, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)143 decided against decreasing crude oil production in 2014. As a result, oil markets faced excess supply, which resulted in crude oil prices decreasing with over 50%. Declining demand on crude oil Due to the declination of economies of European and developing countries, consumption of oil and oil-variant products was forced downwards. Furthermore, newly developed vehicles are becoming more efficient, leading to less fuel consumption. An example of these vehicles include electric cars.

Appreciation of the U.S. Dollar The strength of the U.S. dollar is a main reason of the declination of crude oilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s price. This is due to the relation between the U.S. dollar strength, and the price of commodities. When the value of the dollar increases, the price of commodities falls, which had been the case for a significant period.

Iran Nuclear Deal (Financial Speculation) Fear was dominant in the oil market, due to worries over excess supply of crude oil. A substantial portion of this sentiment was the Iran Nuclear Deal. In this deal, more Iranian oil export is allowed, which was expected to increase supply against demand significantly.

Other reasons behind uninterested oil companies: -

Long Term Commitment: Signing companies would be required to sign long-term contracts, which would deem them liable to stick to keystone for a significant period. Companies want to avoid that due to the uncertainty of the price and market of the crude oil currently.

143

OPEC: An intergovernmental organization of 14 nations, aiming to ensure stabilization of oil markets, supply to consumers, and income to producers.

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Cheaper Alternatives: Signing companies sees possibilities of cheaper alternatives elsewhere, which does not make Canadian oil much lucrative as it once used to be.

Environmental Incidents: On November 16, the main Keystone pipeline’s second largest oil spill took place in South Dakota, after only eight years of operation. Furthermore, the pipelines' previous major spills—one in South Dakota, one in North Dakota—were large and caused more than $11 million in property damage. Such environmental incidents are related to a special permit given to TransCanada: In 2007, a special permit was granted for TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline by The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in which the company enjoys a privilege to push oil through its pipes at pressure equivalent to 80% of the tolerable stress level the pipeline can tolerate. Usual regulations bound the stress level to 72%. TransCanada claimed that a leak of more than 50 barrels (2,100 gallons) could only happen once every 11 years for the entire pipeline, when it presented its project to state and federal regulators back in 2006. Ironically, incidents had been widespread.

VII.

Such environmental incidents spread bad reputation, which oil corporations try to avoid.

Conclusion

As previously discussed, Keystone XL has both benefits and flaws to oil corporations. Yet, most corporations seem to outweigh the flaws over benefits of the project, which is why TransCanada had been struggling with contracts. Even as Keystone XL is now accepted, it might never see the light. Given the significance of such project, it requires much congressional attention and research to ensure prosperous steps towards the future of Keystone XL pipeline.

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Committee on Judiciary

Prepared by: Chairlady Nourmeen Rashwan

Vice Chairlady Reem Hesham

Ranking member Abdelrahman Mohammed El-adl

Party consultant Aya M. Azmy

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"This nation was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened." -John F. Kennedy "Those who deny freedom for others deserve it not for themselves." -Abraham Lincoln "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." -Martin Luther King Jr. To the young dreamers of freedom and future knights of the civil liberties To the most honorable delegates of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary'18 Secretariats Team

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Committee History and Jurisdiction: Established in 1816 as one of the original standing committees in the United States Senate, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is one of the most influential committees in Congress. It considers legislation relating to judicial proceedings. Since that time, the scope of the committee’s concern has expanded to include not only civil and criminal judicial proceedings and Federal courts and judges, but also issues relating to bankruptcy, espionage, terrorism, the protection of civil liberties, constitutional amendments, immigration and naturalization, interstate compacts, claims against the United States, national penitentiaries, Presidential succession, antitrust law, revision and codification of the statutes of the United States, state and territorial boundary lines and patents, copyrights and trademarks. Particularly important in our time is the Committee's oversight responsibility for the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Any legislation that carries a possibility for criminal or civil penalties can be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, so its legislative workload is substantial. The committee’s weighty agenda has frequently placed it in a central role in American politics, most notably during its consideration of impeachment charges against presidents of the United States in both 1974 and 1998. Subcommittees:       

Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Bankruptcy and the Courts The Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights Crime and Terrorism Immigration, Refugees and Border Security Oversight, Federal Rights and Agency Actions Privacy, Technology and the Law

Leadership: Chairman

Ranking Member

Chuck Grassley

Dianne Feinstein

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Table of content First topic: - Self Ownership:-……………………………………………. First sub-topic:- Euthanasia:-………………………………………………………… I.

Introduction…………………………………………………………….

II.

What is Euthanasia? ……………………………………………………

III.

IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.

Types of Euthanasia……………………………………………………… History of euthanasia……………………………………………………… Euthanasia in Religions…………………………………………………… Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) ………………………………….……… The legal aspect of euthanasia……………………………………………… The Financial Aspect…………………………………………………………….

IX.

The Medical and Ethical Debate…………………………………………………

Famous Cases…………………………………………………………….

XI.

The Living Will…………………………………………………………….

XII.

Animal euthanasia…………………………………………………………….

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Frist topic: - Self-ownership First sub-topic:- Euthanasia I.

Introduction People always think that they will die in a certain time they do not know, and most of them believe that nothing could make them decide to end their lives. Living in pain or suffering might make any individual think about ending his life to put an end to it. It is a hard decisio n between life and death. A decision includes different aspects that should be considered.

II.

What is Euthanasia? The term Euthanasia is derived from the combination of the two Greek words “Eu” and “Th anatos.” This combination means good or easy death if translated literally. According to merriam-webster’s dictionary, it is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.”144 Derek Humphry says that euthanasia is “a broad, generic term meaning ‘help with a good d eath.’”145 Euthanasia is also known as “Mercy Killing” which, according to Humphry, means “Taking the life of another person in the belief that this is a compassionate act because the ill person is unable to do so.”146 In other words, it is putting an end to someone’s suffering from a dise ase that causes terrible pain with no hope of survival. Euthanasia is accompanied by other terms:-147

Terminal sedation:- According to Humphry, it means that “upon patient request, doctor pu ts patient into deep sleep with medications, during which time the patient dies either of the underlying illness or starvation/dehydration.”148 This means that the patient is not forced to stay alive in pain and is not killed either. He or she is put in an artificial coma or rather, a ca

Merriam-Webster. “Euthanasia.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, 2017. Humphry, Derek. “Definitions of Euthanasia.” Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization, 19 Jan. 2006, www.assistedsuicide.org/definitions_of_euthanasia.html. 146 Humphry, Derek. “Definitions of Euthanasia.” Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization, 19 Jan. 2006, www.assistedsuicide.org/definitions_of_euthanasia.html. 147 “Euthanasia: Key terms and definitions.” BBC.UK, www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/keywords.shtml. 148 Humphry, Derek. “Definitions of Euthanasia.” Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization, 19 Jan. 2006, www.assistedsuicide.org/definitions_of_euthanasia.html. 144 145

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se of deep sleep until he dies due to lack of proper nutrition. In this case, the patient does no t feel any pain until he/she die. -

Competence: - It means that the patient understands his/her own medical condition, the cou rse of the disease, and all the risks of using any sort of treatment.

Dignity: - It is “the value that a human being has simply by existing, not because of any property or action of an individual.”

DNR: - “It is an abbreviation for Do Not Resuscitate.” The word “Resuscitate” means reviving someone from apparent death, so DNR means do not attempt to revive a dying patient. An example for that is when doctors try to resuscitate someone whose heart stopped due to a heart attack back to life.

Doctrine of Double Effect: - Is a term that means allowing the use of a drug that shortens t he life of a patient if its aim is to reduce pain. Such drugs are considered as double-edged w eapons. In short, they are medicines with side effects. It is also known as indirect euthanasia .

Futile treatment: - It is an ineffective treatment. This means that they will not try it on the patient because they know that it is of no use.Palliative care: - It is any form of care given t o a patient aiming to reduce his or her suffering.

Pro-life:- It means that an individual is against ending the life of anyone for any reason.

The right to die: - It is “the right to refuse medical treatment, even if that refusal would result in death.”

Right to life: - It means denying a patient’s right to die.

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Types of Euthanasia

III.

Euthanasia has more than one form to be applied. In the upcoming lines, there is an expl anation for each type and how it is performed149: -

First:- The Ordinary Types:

1- Active Euthanasia:- It is when an active action happens causing a direct and immediate deat h ,such as giving a patient an overdose of painkillers or injecting the person with substance t hat leads to death. Sometimes it is called “aggressive euthanasia” 2- Passive Euthanasia:- It means “letting the patient intentionally die” kind of euthanasia. It ha ppens when there is no hope for a patient that they decide treatment cannot help anymore. T his could happen through two ways of treatment:

Withdrawing treatment: switching off medical machines for the patient that make him al ive.



Withholding treatment: disapproving a surgery that might make difference in the patient ’s life time.

3- Voluntary euthanasia:- It is when the decision of ending the person’s life is based on his ow n wish with conscious mind. 4- Involuntary Euthanasia:- it is when the decision of euthanasia is not based on a direct Wish of the patient. Some theories divide this into two categories, the involuntary Euthanasia is when the decision basically is against the patient’s wish, on the other hand, no n-voluntary kind of euthanasia is when the wishes are hard to be known ,for example a chil d or a person in coma. 150 IV.

History of euthanasia:(5th Century B.C. - 1st Century B.C.) In ancient Greece and Rome, euthanasia was widely acceptable. Socrates, Plato and Sen eca the Elder were few of its prime supporters in the ancient world.151 The death of terminal ly ill patients was made easier by the administration of a poisoned drink. Plato wrote: "Mentally and physically ill persons should be left to death; they do not have the right to liv e." In Sparta (431 B.C-404 B.C), it was commonly practiced for each newborn male child to be checked for any sign of disability which, if found, usually led to his death. This

149

BBC, 2014, ethics guide,forms of euthanasia “Center for Health Ethics.” School of Medicine, University of Missouri , 2016, ethics.missouri.edu/euthanasia.html. 151 Ian Dowbiggin, PhD. A Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America, 2003 150

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practice was regarded as a way to protect the society from unnecessary burden.152 Hippocr ates spoke against the principle. "Hippocrates of Kos" was an ancient Greek physician (460 B.C. – 370 B.C.) of the Age of Pericles (Classical Athens). He has written the "Hippocratic Oath" (late 5th century B.C.) an oath that is historically tak en by physicians and other healthcare professionals swearing to practice medicine ethically. This oath is still sworn in our present time. Hippocrates stated the following in the text of hi s oath. "I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel.” (18th - 19th Centuries) In 1828, the earliest American statute explicitly to outlaw assisting suicide is enacted in New York. In 1870, Non-physician, Samuel D. Williams, addressed the Birmingham Specu lative Club on Euthanasia and promoted the use of chloroform or other drugs not only to ter minate the pain of dying, but to intentionally end a patient's life. The 19th century witnessed a revolution in the use of anesthesia. Morphine was isolated ear ly in the century. During the U.S. Civil War, physicians became more experienced in the us e of hypodermic morphine to relieve pain and this practice spread. However, just as physicians deemed the use of narcotics and anesthetics for pain relief.153 (The 20th Century) The USA first started to embrace euthanasia in the early 1900’s. The New York State Medi cal Association supported the gentle and pain-free death.Between 1906 and 1907, active eut hanasia proposals came to Ohio and Iowa state legislatures but they were immediately rejec ted. (Euthanasia in Nazi Germany) Alfred Hoche, authoer of the essay “Permitting the Destruction of Life Not Worthy of Life” , embraced euthanasia in his essay as a legitimate medical procedure to relieve society and t he human gene of the weak and the vulnerable. Adolf Hitler supported and propagandized t he idea. By 1935, the German Nazi Party had already approved euthanasia for disabled chil dren and “useless and unrehabilitive” patients. In 1938, New York City establishes the Euthanasia Society of America, which was established by th e Reverend Charles Francis Potter. In October 27, 1997, the Death with Dignity Act is enact ed in Oregon, allowing terminally-ill residents to terminate their lives by the self-administra tion of lethal medications, specifically prescribed by a physician for that purpose.154

“A General History of Euthanasia” life.org.nz. The Life Resources Charitable Trust, 2011. Web. 13 November 2017 EJ Emaneul, PhD. The History of Euthanasia Debates in the United States, 1994 154 Oregon Revised Statuses127.800-995. Death with Dignity Act (1997) 152 153

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(After the 2000s) In 2001, Netherlands Legalized Euthanasia.155 In 2008, Washington was the second state to legalize physician assisted suicide after Oregon via the Washington Death with Dignity act156 followed by Montana in 2009 and Vermont in 2013. In Oct. 5, 2015, Californ ia legalized physician-assisted suicide under the End of Life Act.157 V.

Euthanasia in Religions 1- Judaism158:-

In a general scope, the Jewish are against Euthanasia, but there are some thinkers who believe th e voluntary passive euthanasia can be legal and that there’s no religious barrier for it but in limited situations. 2- Christianity159:Christians in general are against euthanasia, this mainly is built on the acceptance of the God im age and creation without human interference. There are some other contradicting views are based o n how Christianity respect any human being, and from this point it comes the idea of forbiddening euthanasia. 3- Islam160:Islam forbids euthanasia and suicide. This is based on the fact that life is a gift given by God an d only God determines the duration of this gift. There are phases in Quran that prove direct evidenc e for such belief such as:” When their time comes they cannot delay it for a single hour nor can the y bring it forward by a single hour.”

VI. Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) 1- Definition:Assisted suicide is the case when someone provides a terminally ill patient with guidance, information, and means needed to take his or her own life with the intention that they will be used for this purpose. It is called Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) when the one helps the patient to end his or her life is a doctor.

155

International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. Frequently Asked Questions, www.internationaltaskforce.org, 2006. 156 Chapter 70.245 RCW The Washington Death with Dignity Act(2008) 157 The California State Constitution, ABX2-15 (AB-15), the End of Life Option Act (2015) 158 Staff, MJL. “Euthanasia: A Jewish View.” My Jewish Learning, www.myjewishlearning.com/article/euthanasia-ajewish-view/. 159 “Euthanasia and Assisted Dying.” BBC , Aug. 2009. 160 “Euthanasia, Assisted Dying, Suicide and Medical Ethics.” BBC, Aug. 2012.

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(PAS) is a form of voluntary active euthanasia; it is done at the patient's request and byprovidin g him with a potentially lethal medication; e.g. an overdose of prescription medication, making him able to end his own life successfully. It is also called physician-assisted death (PAD), assisted dyin g, or physician aid-in-dying.161 2-

Difference between Euthanasia, Physician assisted suicide and Suicide:- People usually confuse bet ween euthanasia and physician assisted suicide; as in both there is physician intervention, and PAS is a form of voluntary euthanasia. Here arises a question about

What is the difference between the two? The main difference between them is who administrate the medication used to end a life. In euthanasia, the physician who is the one responsible of administrating the lethal medication or perform the act which will end the life. In (PAS), the physician's role is to provide the patient with the information or the necessary means needed to end his life, but the patient is the one who administrates the medication and the whole process.162 The confusion is not between euthanasia and PAS only. There is a debate about whether physici an-assisted suicide is considered "suicide"; or we should call it physician assisted dying because th ere is a difference. Suicide is to intentionally and voluntary commit an act to end your life; the suicidal could be a term inally ill patient who may request a PAS also, someone has a mental illness, especially depression or a normal person who has problems that lead him to end his life thinking it is the only solution. T here are common characteristics that distinguish between medical patients who attempt committing suicide and patients who request assisted suicide; which are depression, anxiety, and ambivalence a bout dying.163 But the difference between suicide and PAS is that in suicide:The difference between them is that PAS has to be requested by a terminally ill patient and a ph ysician has to participate I ending the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life while suicide does not require any of that. The s uicidal could be a terminally ill patient or a normal person, but in PAS the one who can request it s hould be a patient.

"Ethics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Euthanasia: Key terms and definitions." bbc.co.uk. BBC, Web. 2 Dec. 2017. "Assisted Suicide." medicaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2017. "Medical Definition of Physician-assisted suicide." medicinenet.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2017. Timothy E. Quill and Bernard Sussman. "Physician Assisted Death." The Hastings Center, Web. 2 Dec. 2017. 162 Robert H. Lurie. "Introduction to Physician-Assisted Suicide." National Cancer Institute, Web. 2 Dec. 2017. "What is the Difference Between Assisted Dying and Euthanasia." worldrtd.net. The World Federation of Right to Die Societies, Web. 2 Dec. 2017. 163 "Suicide Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary." dictionary.cambridge.org. Cambridge Dictionary, Web. 2 Dec. 2017. 161

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The legal aspect of euthanasia:

1- Federal laws on euthanasia and assisted-suicide:Euthanasia is prohibited by the federal government and all 50 states under general homicide law s. The assisted suicide laws are generally dealt with on a state level, as the federal government does n’t have assisted suicide laws.

2- State laws on euthanasia and assisted-suicide: 

Where it’s legal:

Physician-assisted suicide is legal in five states and DC. -California: End of Life Option Act (Sept. 11, 2015) -Colorado: Proposition 106, End of Life Option Act (Nov. 8,2016) -Oregon: Ballot Measure 16 (Nov. 8, 1994) -Vermont: Act 39 (Bill S.77“End of Life Choice”) (May 20, 2013) -Washington: Initiative 1000 (Nov. 4, 2008) -DC: Death with Dignity Act of 2016 (Oct. 5, 2016) -Montana (by court ruling): Montana Supreme Court in Baxter vs. Montana (Dec. 31, 2016) 

The criteria of legal euthanasia:

The physician assisted suicide* involves two key players: The physician and the patient, each of whom need to fit a certain criteria to qualify for receiving and providing physician assisted suicide. The patient: -18 years of age or older. -Resident of a state where it is legal. -Capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him/herself and has made the req uest voluntarily. -Diagnosed with a terminal illness that will end their life within the upcoming 6 months. The physician: -The attending physician must be licensed in the same state as the patient and have a current -United States Drug Enforcement Administration (USDEA) certificate. -The diagnosis, given by the physician, must include a terminal illness, with six months or less to li ve. 106

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-The diagnosis must be certified by a consulting physician, who must also certify that the patient is mentally competent to make and communicate health care decisions. -If either physician determines that the patient's judgment is impaired, the patient must be referred f or a psychological examination. -The attending physician must inform the patient of alternatives, including palliative care, hospice a nd pain management options. The timeline of the request of the patient: -First oral request to physician -15 day waiting period -Second oral request to physician -Written request to physician Penalty: The degree of punishment for the physician that performs assisted-suicide where it’s illegal is va riable according to the state, from a Class A felony or manslaughter, which means the unlawful kill ing of a human being without express or implied malice according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, 164 to spending up to 10 years in prison.165

VIII. 

The Financial Aspect

Terminal illness treatment realities:Most of the terminal illness patients who receive Medicare die after an advanced phase of the disease in which doctors should apply symptomatic care alone without any aggressive treatments that attempt to prolong the life. However, it continues far too long. Although terminal illness patients probably die within six months in which they enjoy medical care, these few months cost the government a lot; the Health Care Finance Administration done a statistic in 2003 said that about 25% of Medicare funds are spent in the last 6 months of life which equal about $68 billion, i.e. $42,000 per dying patient. The amount of medical care spending differs across the country, there are different high spe nding regions and low spending regions. However, the quality of care and access to medical services in high spending regions are equal or worse than in the lower ones; the first one pro vided 60% more services including end-of-life care than the last one.

“Manslaughter.” Merriam-Webster, 25 Feb. 2018, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manslaughter. “State-by-State Guide to Physician-Assisted Suicide” euthanasia.procon.org. Procon.org, 21 Feb. 2017. Web. 16 Nov. 2017. 164 165

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If we assume that the lowest spending regions have no overutilization of services that woul d save patients untold misery; and this scenario also would save more than $400 billion in o ut-of-pocket expenses from 2006-2015, and about $1.2 trillion from Medicare.166 

Hospice Care Costs:-

Hospice Care or end-of-life care is a care designed to provide people who are in the final phase of terminal illness with a supportive care including psychological, spiritual and medical support. Hi s aim of that type of care is to help patients in the last months of their lives to be comfortable, free of pain and enjoy peace, rather than treatment.167 The patient who enjoys a Hospice Care is expected to live 6 months or less usually. Hospice are can take place:   

In a hospital At home At a hospice center In a skilled nursing facility

In 2011, 2513171 Americans die; 80 percent of them were enjoying Medicare coverage at the time of death; they received professional medical care in hospitals, their own homes or nursing homes. The intensive Care Units (ICUs) are included in the professional medical care provided in hospitals, in which 20 percent of Americans spend their last days. In 2010, Medicare-certified hospice agencies provided 1.58 million Americans with hospice care. The costs were $13 billion for hospice care paid by Medicare, with an average cost $10,700 per patient. In 2009, the costs were higher; $55 billion has been paid by Medicare for doctors and hospital bi lls for patients during the last two months of their lives, ICU costs $10,000 per day per patient and hospital inpatient costs exceed $6,200 per day.168

166

K. Cundiff. David. "Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Realities." Medscape.com. 200. Web. 2 Dec. 2017. "Hospice care." medlineplus.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Web. 2 Dec. 2017. "Medical Definition of Hospice Care." medicinenet.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2017. 168 Fay, Bill. "Hospice and End-of-Life Options and Costs." Debt.org. Web. 2 Dec. 2017. Raphael, Carol. Ahrens, Joann. Fowler, Nicole. "Financing end-of-life care in the USA." ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Center of Biotechnology Information NCBI, September 2001. Web. 2 Dec. 2017. 167

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Families' costs:-

The end-of-life decision is not based only on patient's desire or even his family or doctors'decisi on but also based on financial considerations. A statistic in the State of Oregon where assisted suicide is legal showed that 66 percent of the as sisted suicide cases, the patients' decided to end their lives the patients' took end-of-life decision to not be a financial burden on their families. This makes sense when knowing that the average cost o f a proper health care is $35.000-40.000, which is a number not all families could afford. "Right to Die" supporters say that the elderly and people with terminal illness choose to die rath er being a burden; they claim that this reason is the second most important reason next to pain and s uffering behind patients' requests to done euthanasia. This makes us assume that the increase in eld erly population through the next decades will affect policymakers to start to deal with euthanasia an d assisted suicide as a means of cost containment.169 ď&#x201A;ˇ

Cost of Ending life:-

Even if the patient takes end-of-life decision, there is still the costs of the medical procedures re quired to done euthanasia; the lethal medications used for assisted suicide cost from $35 to $50. Eu thanasia opponents assume that making the cost of dying less expensive than receiving medical car e encourage patients to choose end-of-life decision rather treatment.170 IX.

The Medical and Ethical Debate

A topic like Euthanasia is always surrounded by different opinions and points of views. Differen t individuals, not only in the United States but also in the whole world, get into heated debates tryin g to defend their argument. Just like every topic that has any sort of relation to health care, there is a medical debate concerning euthanasia. There are two opinions regarding the medical debate. The first one is against Euthanasia claiming that there is always hope and that new drugs and medic ines are being developed every day. This is the opinion of the relatives of the patient and some doct ors. They are against euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide or anything similar to them. In some cases, they might use the patient to test different drugs believing that this is for the common good.

169

"Economic Aspects of Euthanasia." Life.org.nz. Web. 2 Dec. 2017 "Would Financial Motivations Encourage Insurance Companies, Health Care Providers, and Patients to Seek Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide if Those Options Were Legally Available?" Procon.org. 17 Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2017. 170

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The other opinion is that euthanasia is one of the rights of the patient and that it is his or her decisio n to conduct it or not. There is no right or wrong here because after all these are different ways of s eeing things. As for the ethical aspect, some individuals believe it to be morally wrong. They state that it shou ld never be allowed under any circumstances. On the other hand, another group suggests that eutha nasia can be legal in certain cases, but the law should not be changed or modified to allow its practi ce. Finally, some advocate that assisted suicide, or both assisted suicide and euthanasia, should be reco gnized as legally and morally acceptable options in the care of dying or severely ill patients. This m eans that that there are those who see the practice of euthanasia is immoral, those who see that it is necessary in “exceptional” cases, and there are those who believe that it is something moral and tha t it should be accepted. Each group has its own opinion that is based on their different ideas, morals, and beliefs. The intere sting thing here is that everyone was against euthanasia until recently. This shows that ethics and m orals could change from time to time and with their change, other things like medical and scientific aspects and more can change as well.

Famous Cases:-

1-Terri Schiavo171:Terri Schiavo is one of the most well-known euthanasia cases in the United States. She got a car diac arrest that prevented the oxygen from reaching the brain for few seconds which led to brain da mage. She was on a feeding tube for almost half of her life. Michael Schiavo, her husband decided that he doesn’t want his wife to suffer more and started to see how to move with a euthanasia proce ss. He went to the sixth circuit Court of Florida and asked for removing the feeding tube from his wife . That was despite the wish of her family. The husband argued that she would not like to live her lif e through that unbearable suffering. The court ruled in the favor of the husband and on 24th of April, 2001 the feeding tube was remove d just for several days and it has been put again. On February, 2005 Pinellas County ruled by remo ving it again after several appeals it reached the federal court and the final removal decision was ta ken. Terri Schivaco died on 31th of March 2005.

171

“Ten Years After Terri Schiavo, Death Debates Still Divide Us: Bioethicist.” NBCnews, Mar. 2015.

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2-Brittany Maynard172:She is a 29 years old woman from California. In 2014 she faced glioblastoma, brain tumor, and had just six weeks to live. She announced her wish to die without suffering anymore on her bed bes ide her husband with good music in the background as she stated. California was not applying any act or law that supports euthanasia. Maynard decided to travel to Oregon to end her life their as Oregon was the first state to allow eut hanasia for terminal illness.

XI.

The Living Will

“A will is a document that specifies how an individual's property and assets should be distribute d after their death.”173 A living will or advance healthcare directive is very much similar to normal wills. The main differe nce is that what is written in a living will is medical instruction regarding the treatment of the patie nt. Another significant difference is the fact that normal wills become public in cases of death while li ving wills stay private. The only individuals who can see it are the physicians responsible for treati ng the patient. Conditions for creating a living will:-174 

The individual must be over 18 years old.



The individual must have a “sound mind.”



The living will must be signed by its creator or his/her proxy, who is a representative. This i ndiviual can be called a health care agent, a health care proxy, a health care surrogate, a hea lth care representative, a health care attorney-in-fact, and a patient advocate.



It may also need a witness.

“The cost of setting up a living will varies from state to state, depending on whether it must be witnessed by someone. Costs typically fall between $250-$500 to hire a lawyer to draft the living w ill, while forms can be self-completed for between $45 and $75.”175

Dobuzinskis, Alex. “California Cancer Patient, 29, Moves to Oregon for Assisted Suicide.”Reuters, Oct. 2014. “Will vs. Living Will.” Diffen, www.diffen.com/difference/Will_vs_Living_Will. 174 “Will vs. Living Will.” Diffen, www.diffen.com/difference/Will_vs_Living_Will. 175 “Will vs. Living Will.” Diffen, www.diffen.com/difference/Will_vs_Living_Will. 172

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Animal euthanasia:

 Reasons behind it:1- The surplus of animals in shelters: - Over 6 million animals are handled by animal shelters in the United States every year. Although some of them adopted, nearly 4 million unwanted dogs and cats are left with nowhere to go. It’s of extreme difficulty for shelters to be able to house and support all of these animals until their natural death in a way fit to humane standards; as the animals would be cramped in cages and kenn els for years. In addition, many animals would have to be turned away as there’s no room for them. 2- Terminal illness and a compassionate goodbye:Similar to human euthanasia, terminal illness is one of the strongest reasons for animal euthanas ia. Alternatives: 1- Neutering and animal birth-control:One solution to the overpopulation of domestic animals, most notably cats and dogs, is through spaying and neutering. -Neutering: The castration of the male animal. -Spaying: The removal of the ovary of the female animal.176 

The methods of animal euthanasia:

1- Intravenous injection of barbituric acid or its derivatives (usually sodium pentobarbital):The American Veterinary Medical association states that, this is the most compassionate method of euthanizing animals.177 2- Gas chambers:This method is used by many animal shelters.The alveoli and blood need a certain concentration of inhaled vapors and gases to give the required effect; thus, all inhaled methods have the potential to affect the animal’s health in adverse ways because the start of unconsciousness is not instant. Distress could be created as a side effect from the properties of the agent (eg, pungency, hypoxia, hypercarbia) or by the conditions under which the agent is administered (eg, home cage or designated chamber, slow displacement or prefilling of the container). Inside the gas chambers, conscious animals are become exposed to watching other animals suffer from convulsions and muscular spasms as they die.

“Spaying/Neutering” Americanhumane.org. American Humane, 25 Aug 2016. Web. 16 Nov 2017. “AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2013 Edition” Avma.org. American Veterinary Medical association, 4 March 2013. Web. 14 Nov 2017. 176

177

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3- Gunshot:This method is widely unacceptable by many animal rights organizations as bullets are not alwa ys accurate in hitting the struggling animal’s head. In addition, some animals survive the first shot s o they have to be shot again until they die thus making them go through unnecessary pain. 4- Other methods:This includes electrocution and decompression chambers. 

The Ethical Paradox:

Putting down sick animals almost has a worldwide support as the most compassionate option to relieve the animal’s pain, but there’s a strong opposition to voluntary euthanasia when it comes to h uman beings. Even though the former (animal euthanasia) is done without the consent of the anima l and the latter is performed at the request of the patient. This creates what is known as ‘the caringkilling paradox.’178

“Euthanasia for animals: what it can teach us about assisted suicide in humans.” Independent.co.uk. The Independent. 21 Jul 2015. Web. 14 Nov 2017. 178

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Second sub-topic:- Organ Trafficking:I.

Introduction…………………………………………………………….

II.

What is Organ Trafficking? ……………………………………………………………

III.

How much is organ trafficking worth? ………………………………………………

IV.

History of organ transplant and trade………………………………………………

V. VI.

The black market……………………………………………………………. The Network of Organ Trafficking……………………………………………

VII.

The Legal Aspect…………………………………………………………….

VIII. How Does Organ Traders Get Organs? …………………………………… IX. X.

Economic perspective……………………………………………………………. Famous cases…………………………………………………………….

XI.

Organ donation…………………………………………………………….

XII.

Medical aspect…………………………………………………………….

XIII. Illegal immigrants, Underaged and Transplant List……………………………… XIV. Important Statistics…………………………………………………………….

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Second sub-topic:- Organ Trafficking I.

Introduction

Thousands of people are waiting for a kidney, liver, heart, cornea, or even a tissue, they may wa it for several years till there is a donor, but what if the expected organ is taken illegally from a pers on who risks his life for cash? The black market of organ trafficking is a huge one that it cannot be handled, but there is anothe r side of the issue; which is the patients that have hope to live a normal, healthy life again. II.

What is Organ Trafficking?

Organ trafficking is the act of buying and selling human body parts in the black market through an illegal process. Usually, wealthy individuals are involved in this trade because they have the mo ney they need to buy organs. It is one of the most common trades in the black market nowadays. The reason behind this is the fa ct that a lot of people, who need to replace damaged organs, can no longer wait to get their new org ans. This has to do with something called supply and demand. “According to the American Transplant Foundation, 123,000 people in the United States are on the waiting list to receive an organ. Every 12 minutes a new name is added to the list and an average of 21 persons per day die due to a lack of organ availability.”179 In 2015, only 30,970 transplants out o f 121,333 actually took place, legally.180 In short, it means that the fact that the demand is larger than the supply is one of two main reasons behind organ trafficking. The other main reason is money and the income of such trade in the black market.

Small-Jordan, Dianne. “Organ Harvesting, Human Trafficking, and the Black Market.” Decoded Science, 23 Mar. 2016, www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966. 180 Small-Jordan, Dianne. “Organ Harvesting, Human Trafficking, and the Black Market.” Decoded Science, 23 Mar. 2016, www.decodedscience.org/organ-harvesting-human-trafficking-black-market/56966. 179

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How much is organ trafficking worth?

Body parts are very expensive. Here is a list of the worth of some body parts:

Kidneys - $200,000

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Liver - $157,000

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Heart - $119,000

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Corneas - $24,400

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Scalp: $607



Skull with Teeth: $1,200



Shoulder: $500



Coronary Artery: $1,525



Hand and Forearm: $385



Pint of Blood: $337



Spleen: $508



Stomach: $508



Small Intestine: $2,519



Gallbladder: $1,219



Skin: $10 per square inch

That makes the total of these parts somewhere around $509,708, and that is not all. The human body as a whole is worth much more than that.181 According to the World Health Organization, America is one of many organ-importing countrie s and by the use of the web, patients can get transplant packages from $70 to over $160,000.00.

Chan, Casey. “Here's How Much Body Parts Cost on the Black Market.” Gizmodo, Gizmodo.com, 22 Apr. 2012, gizmodo.com/5904129/heres-how-much-body-parts-cost-on-the-black-market. 181

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History of organ transplant and trade: Timeline:

-1954:

On December 23, the first successful living-related kidney transplant led by Dr. Joseph Mur ray and Dr. David Hume at Brigham Hospital in Boston: Ronald Herrick gave his kidney to his ide ntical twin, Richard, in a successful transplant surgery. -1967: Dr. Thomas Strazl succeeded in the first liver transplant surgery at the University of Colora do in Denver, CO. -1968: Uniform Anatomical Gift Act establishes the Uniform Donor Card as a legal document for a nyone 18 years of age or older to legally donate his or her organs upon death. -1984: National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) prohibits buying or selling of organs in the United States.182 -2011: Levy Izhak pleaded guilty to 3 court counts of organ trafficking in addition to one count of conspiracy in a federal court in New Jersey and sentenced 2.5 years in prison. This is documented a s the first organ trafficking case in the US.183 -2014: Levy (Izhak) Rosenbaum gets released from the federal correctional facility and returns to h is home in New York City’s Brooklyn borough.184 V.



The black market: The organs Traded:

Medical and biological advancements have paved the way for many organ transplantation operat ions. Unfortunately, one of the key benefiters of such advancements is the organ trade.Organs eligi ble for transplantation/trade are heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, cornea, intestines, lungs and tissues. 185



The scope of the market:

Similar to any type of trade, organ trade has a local and an international scope.

“History of Organ Donation.” Liveonny.org. LiveOnNY, Inc. 5 Dec 2010. Web. 13 Nov 2017. Henry, Samatha. “Brooklyn Man Sentenced 2 1/2 Years in Fed Organ Trafficking Case.” Nbcnewyork.com.NBCUniversal Media, LLC, 11 Jul 2012. Web. 13 Nov 2017. 184 Zennie, Michael. “Israeli citizen who made millions off black market organ trade is released from US prison.” Dailymail.co.uk. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 19 Dec 2014. Web. 14 Nov 2017. 185 “Organs and tissues that can be transplanted.” Donors1.org. Gift of Life Donor Program, 26 Oct 2012. Web. 14 Nov 2017 182

183

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Local scope:

Despite the fact that there are currently 121,678 people waiting for lifesaving organ transplants in the U.S.,186 the local black market of organs in the United States is slow. This could b e attributed to many factors: 1- Income: The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita, which is a measure for a country’s total economi c output that indicates the standards of living, in the United States is 57,466.79 USD in 2016. Mean while in other countries where the black market of organs is booming, the GDP per capita is signifi cantly lower. Leading examples include: Afghanistan (561.78 USD), India (1,709.39 USD) and Chi na (8,123.18 USD).187 2- Governmental crackdown: The United States Congress has put an end to the organ trade market in 1984 by passing ‘the Na tional Organ Transplant Act’ which outlawed the sale of human organs. People who are accused of organ trafficking would be “fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”188

 International Scope:-The organ-importing countries The term “organ-importing countries” refers to the countries of origin of the patients that go oth er countries to have a transplantation operation. Canada, Israel, Australia and USA are some of the major organ-importing countries. -The organ-exporting countries:The term “organ-exporting countries” refers to the countries of origin of the ‘donors’ who sell th eir organs for a small amount of money. The major organ-exporting countries include: 1- India: foreigners receive their organs through sale and purchase from local donors. 2- Pakistan: Around 2000 renal transplants were performed in 2005, two-thirds of which were estimated to be for foreigners.189 3- Other countries include China, Egypt, Philippines and many others.190

“Organ donation and transplantation statistics.” Kidney.org. National Kidney Foundation, Inc, 6 May 2015. Web. 12 Nov 2017. 187 “GDP of all countries.” Data.worldbank.org. The World Bank Group, 12 Nov 2017. Web. 13 Nov 2017. 188 S.2048 — 98th Congress (1983-1984) “The National Organ Transplant Act.” 189 Rizvi, A. Pakistan: Legislative framework on transplantation. Second global consultation in human transplantation. Geneva: WHO; 28–30 Mar 2007. 190 Shimanzono, Yosuke. “The state of the international organ trade: a provisional picture based on integration of available information.” Who.int. WHO, 6 Dec 2007. Web. 12 Nov 2017. 186

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The Network of Organ Trafficking

Patients are usually put in waiting lists to get organs for years, because donors are scarce; which is a strong reason behind black market spread around the world despite the World Health rganizatio n (WHO) guidelines that prohibit selling and buying organs. These guidelines areendorsed by around two hundred countries, including the United States. On the other hand, donors are risking their lives for just ($5,000) because they desperately in need of mone y. WHO states that every hour worldwide, more than one organ is sold illegally. Although the market of organ and tissue donation are strictly regulated in the United States, the black market of organs does exist and there are underhanded dealings, despite the illegality of recei ving money for an organ donation. In poor countries, citizens tempted to sell their organs on the black market. The procedures need ed to carry out any deal are complicated, they are taken to another country where a surgery to remove the organ is operated in a makeshift operating room. The most famous countries that full of donors are India, Brazil and South Africa, donors usually taken to South Africa or Turkey to perf orm a surgery to remove the organ, then organs are shipped to clinics that adopt "don't as don' tell" policy and another policy that they take anyone claiming to be the patient's friend who wants to do nate, no matter how unlikely that friendship seems. In 2003, an illegal network for kidney-procurement in South Africa was discovered, the surgerie s were done in the same country but donors were mostly from poor areas in Brazil for $6,000 to $1 0,000 in return, then the same organs were sold for $100,000. Sometimes all needed is only a tissue, not a full organ. One of the places to get tissue is the fune ral home. The black market broker makes a deal with funeral home directors who do on-site cremat ion to carve up the dead body before creaming it; he can also take tissue from the mouth and gums. Then tissue will be sold to a research facility. This type of trafficking threats the public health, beca use sometimes, the tissue may be taken from a body infected by a disease, despite it was sold with a document claiming that the dead body was disease free. Another way to get living tissue is oral surgeons, they sell to the brokers of the black market, the tis sue they remove legitimately or extra tissue they removed. One of the famous cases of organ trafficking is the case of an oral surgeon called Michael, who opened Biomedical Tissue Services with an embalmer; they harvested human tissue for many years

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from patients' bodies and sold them to research facilities, eventually, they were arrested and charge d with different crimes.191

VII.

The Legal Aspect

In the United States, There is an act called the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984. This act prevents selling of buying organs from any unauthorized institution. Organs are given for free for t hose who need them as long as they meet certain conditions like passing medical tests. In 1997, a la w was issued that makes selling or buying organs and tissues illegal. The punishment for breaking t his law “includes three to eight years in prison and a fine equal to as much as 360 days of minimum wage. ...”192 VIII.

How Does Organ Traders Get Organs?

Organ traders acquire organs to sell through one of two ways:1- The first one is kidnapping:In this case the victims are usually women and children because they are the easiest to kidnap. The victims are usually not found. In case a victim is found, it is nothing more than an empty corpse. 2- The second one is organ theft:Organ theft means that someone is kidnapped but stays alive. He is kidnapped with the purpose of s tealing a certain organ. He wakes up in a pool full of ice inside an abandoned place with a note to t ell him to go to the nearest hospital and not to call the police. Also, this sometimes happens in hospitals while having a surgery. The patient undergoes a surgery to fix something wrong with his body. However, the doctor steals one of his organs without anyone noticing that until it is too late. That is if the doctor is a part of the black market. After that, these or gans are sold in the black market. A third method is selling which is mentioned in section number VI.

IX.

Economic perspective:

191 Shimazono, Yosuke. "The state of the international organ trade: a provisional picture based on integration available information." who.int. World Health Organization, Web. 4 Dec. 2017. Thomas, Emily. " Black Market For Organs Reportedly Alive And Well On Facebook."

huffingtonpost.com. Huffingtonpost, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2017. Inglis-Arkell, Esther. " How do you buy organs on the black market?" io9.gizmodo.com. 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2017. SCHEVE, TOM. " How Organ Donation Works." health.howstuffworks.com. Web. 4 Dec. 2017. 192 “Organ-Trafficking laws in key countries.” The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 June 2004, www.csmonitor.com/2004/0609/p12s02-wogi.html.

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Legalizing organ trade: is it the safer choice?

-The congressional ban on the existence of a commercial market for organs creates a paradox as it a lso implies that organs are ‘articles of commerce’ that lie within the purview of Congressional pow er and would otherwise be put for sale on the market.

-The sale of hair, sperm, blood and other body parts that can be replenished is carried on legally wit hout being shunned by society. This questions whether the commercialization of other human orga ns should also be acceptable; not for its money value, but for the biotechnological advancements th at are hindered by the lack of available resource (organs). -Even though federal and state laws ban the buying and selling of organs for transplantation, they h ave not exclusively banned their use in research, education, or commerce—which led to the inevita ble increase in their value. -Advancements in biotechnology and genetic research have also yielded a potential billion-dollar m arket for cells and other cellular by-products. -The legalization of organ trafficking can lead members of any society to exploit one another, but t his is also a characteristic of the illicit organ trade. -Creating a legal space for these operations means that in case any type of complications occur to t he seller, they would be dealt with before or during the surgery. Thus, the process would become sa fer to the sellers.193 -Iran:Iran is the only country that allows people to sell and buy kidneys under the state-regulated surv eillance of two non-profit organizations, the CASKP and the Charity Foundation for Special Diseas es. These charities match potential vendors with recipients and are responsible for checking the pos sible donation’s compatibility, thus making sure the trade is fair. Over a 100,000 people were estimated to be on the waiting list for kidney transplants in 2010 – wai ting lists were eliminated in Iran in 1999.194

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Famous cases:Matchmaker:-

Gregory, Anthony. “Why Legalizing Organ Sales Would Help to Save Lives, End Violence.” Theatlantic.com. The Atlantic Monthly Group, 9 Nov 2011. Web. 15 Nov 2017. 194 “Kidneys for sale: poor Iranians compete to sell their organs.” Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media Limited, 27 May 2012. Web. 16 Nov 2017. 193

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One of the famous cases of black market organ trafficking was for someone called Levy Izhak Rosenbaum who titled himself as “matchmaker”. This person used to get organs’ donors from Israe l to the United States, he is specialized in kidneys’ black market. Matchmaker used to get organs fr om donors for 10,000 dollars and sell them to hopeless Americans up to 160,000 dollars. He was ca ught in 2009 in New Jersey for illegal organ trafficking which was the first case in the United states .195 

Kendrick Johnson:-

A victim of organ trafficking who was a teen from Georgia. He was found dead in a rolled map in his school’s gym in 2013. When the body was examined it was stuffed with newspaper. The brai n, heart, lungs and liver were missing.

XI.

Organ donation:

According to medical dictionary, organ donation is “The removal of a body part from one perso n for transplantation into another, typically to restore functional capacity.” Organ donation may hap pen during life when an individual decides to give a bone marrow or a kidney to someone else. It al so happens after death, when someone agrees to donate his organs once his life comes to an end.196 

Types of donors:-

-Living donors:Living donation is when the donor is alive while donating. This kind of donation is limited to sp ecific organs that the person could live without such as, kidney and liver.-deceased donors:This kind of donation happens when the donor is dead. The organs that could not be donated wh ile living such as heart, lungs, eyes,…etc. -Vascularized Composite Allografts (VCA):This kind of donation happens after death as well. It includes giving away nerve connections, sk in, bones, tissues,…etc. it also could be a hand or face features donations.197 

The medical procedures required for donation:-

As for living donor, donors must go through medical process to make sure they are suitable for donating and that there’s no psychological or physical side effects on both the donor and the receiv er. Living donors should not have any heart or kidney disease, high blood pressure, cancer and diab etes. They must have good health and aged between 18-60 years old.198

Porter, David, and Carla K. Johnson. “First Case of Organ Trafficking in US? .” NBC News, 24 July 2009. “Medical Dictionary .” The Free Dictionary , 2003, medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/organ+donation. 197 “How You Can Donate Life: Different Types of Organ Donation.” UPMC , 15 Apr. 2017. 198 “The Living Donation Process.” Organdonor.gov, Department of Health and Human Services 195 196

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As for deceased donor, the dead donor should be treated through special procedures. The patient must be linked with artificial mechanism to connect organs with oxygen in order to keepthem work ing.199 

Survival duration of organs and tissues after death:-

There are some organs that survive for years and others that die just within hours. For example skin and bones survive for 5 complete years while heart dies within 4-6 hours. If the donor is dead the ventilator must be kept to provide organs with oxygen needed for their survival to be trans planted to another body.200 XII.

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Medical aspect:-

Transplant removal:-

The first step in organ transplantation is transplant removal, which means opening up the body of t he donor to extract the healthy organ whether the donor is alive or dead. This step should follow th e definition of death and consent.201 

Transplant rejection:-

Organ transplant should be matching with the body that the organ is put in. Sometimes it is not a n easy process because matching depends on blood type, body size, the patient’s waitingtime, the ti me the organ was took off at, and many others aspects even the time from the donor's hospital to th e patient’s hospital counts. In addition, the health of the donor matters and to what extent it is relate d to the patient’s. Any changes within all these aspects can lead to a direct rejection from the body t o receive a new organ.202

XIII.

Illegal immigrants, Underaged and Transplant List:-

Experts said that if one donor donates his organs, they could save lives of more than 50 patients. All people could be a potential organ and tissue donors, whatever their age or health condition. No one is too old to donate his healthy organs and tissues to move to another one's body to help him liv e in a good health. And according to donation laws that regulated organ and tissue donation in the United States, if the donor is under 18, he should just have his parent or guardian permission to don ate.203

“The deceased Donation Process.” Organdonor.gov, Department of Health and Human Services “Frequently Asked Questions.” DCI Donor Services, 2017. 201 “Human Organ Transplantation.” WHO World Health Organization. 202 “Matching Donors and Recipients.” Organdonor.gov, Department of Health and Human Services. 199 200

203

"Organ Donation." medlineplus.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 4 Dec.

2017.

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Some people argue that donation done by minors is not ethically appropriate, because of the lac k of maturity that makes underaged are not able to give valid consent to donation. But on the other hand , there are some medical cases in which the donor should be minor or newborn.204 Another controversial case of organ donating is illegal immigrants. People usually assume that il legal immigrants do not have the right to donate their organs, but in the United States, they can don ate organs. However, they have lack access to organ transplantation.

A statistic said that in U.S., 2.5 percent of all transplanted organs are donated annually by illegal im migrants, on the other hand, they receive less than 1 percent of all organ transplants. Depending on these numbers, some people argue that the donation system is biased against und ocumented immigrants, as they donate a large number of organs and in return, they have fewer cha nces to get organs and in some cases, they do not have complete insurance to cover transplant's sur gery. They argue that as we accept organs donated by undocumented immigrants, we should also help an y patient of them who needs an organ transplant and does not enjoy anyinsurance medical coverage .205

XIV.

Important Statistics:Supply and demand206

204

Capitaine, Laura. Thys, Kristof. Van Assche, Kristof. Sterckx, Sigrid. Pennings, Guido. "Should Minors Be Considered as Potential Living Liver Donors?" onlinelibrary.wiley.com. 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 4 Dec. 2017.

205

Leena. "Organ Transplants and Immigration Laws." us-immigration.com. Web. 4

Dec. 2017 206 OPTN: Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network, 2016, optn.transplant.hrsa.gov.

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Organ transplant surgeries performed in 2016207

207

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Organ Donation Statistics.â&#x20AC;? Organ Donor, 2016, www.organdonor.gov/statistics-stories/statistics.html.

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Second topic: - Criminal Justice System:I. II.

Introduction……………………………………………………………. What is Criminal Justice System? …………………………………………………

III.

Components of the U.S. criminal justice system………………………………

IV. V. VI. VII.

History……………………………………………………………. Rehabilitation and retribution……………………………………………………… Financial aspect……………………………………………………………. Prisoners' humanitarian rights under laws of United States…………………………

VIII. Prisoners voting rights……………………………………………………………. IX.

Other Felon rights…………………………………………………………….

Prejudices against ex-convicts………………………………………………………

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Second topic: - Criminal Justice System I.

Introduction

Since Cain killed Abel, man has been looking for "justice" to implement between people. Howe ver, while he is looking for it, he forgets to ask what is the real meaning of justice? And while hum ans are implementing sanctions to criminals, they forget to ask what the ultimate goals of punishme nts and prions?

II.

What is Criminal Justice System?

Criminal Justice System is a whole system established by the Federal government, includes fe deral, state and local agencies responsible of dealing with the crime and the criminals. Early world set this system when countries start to feel the urgent need for a system to control crimes and enfor ce criminal law and penalties with certain procedural rules to maintain security and justice. These agencies are like an interdependent series which process defendants, suspects and convict ed offenders, as any agency's decision affect the other agencies. The American Criminal Justice System is a distinctive one, because the system is like an overlappi ng network includes many institutions under many levels (I.e. Federal level and State level) and spe cial jurisdictional levels like military courts and territorial courts; the criminal laws applied by thes e institutions vary, although they are all under the U.S. Constitution.208 The U.S. Criminal Justice System has three main scopes, as follows:-

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Federal scope: - The federal criminal justice system handles crimes that have a national sco pe, like espionage, treason and crimes committed in more than one state or on federal prope rty.

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State scope: - The state criminal justice systems handle crimes that take place within the stat e boundaries.

Military Criminal Justice Systems: - A much related term to Criminal Justice System is criminolog y", it is a type of science responsible of studying the crime, its consequences, causes, costs, and the psychological side of criminals. Although they both are complementing each other in combating th e crime, they are different because Criminology is a science and Criminal Justice System is a syste

208

"The Structure of Criminal Justice System." cliffsnotes.com. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. FRASE S. RICHARD. WEIDNER R. ROBERT. "Criminal Justice System - Structural And Theoretical Components Of Criminal Justice Systems, The Systems In Operation, The Importance Of Viewing Criminal Justice As A System." law.jrank.org. Law Library- American Law and Legal information, Web. 3 Dec. 2017. "The Criminal Justice System." victimsofcrime.org. The National Center for Victims of Crime, Web. 3 Dec. 2017. "U.S. Criminal Justice System." correctionalofficer.org. Correctional officer, Web. 3 Dec. 2017.

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m follows the government; in which crimes and criminals are detected, detained, tried and punishe d.209

III. 

Components of the U.S. criminal justice system:Law enforcement210:-

It includes any individual that has the very first contact with criminals such as patrol officers, sh eriffs and deputies, federal agents, even park and game rangers. They are people who are responsib le for enforcing the law ,investigating crimes and catching criminals.it is a must for those people to know clearly the citizens’ and civil rights as well as their rights and limits of questioning. 

Courts:-State courts: - They are courts that are mainly responsible for cases within their respective states. For example, if a theft occurred in the state of Missouri, the trial will be held in the c ourt of Missouri. State courts are divided into three levels. These levels are circuit courts, a ppellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court does not look at all cases as it o nly chooses 80-100 cases per year. “State courts are courts of ‘general jurisdiction.’ They h ear all the cases not specifically selected for federal courts.” State courts interpret state laws . Each state gets to make and interpret its own laws.211 -The Federal court: - The Federal court is divided into three levels as well. These levels are district courts, appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is considered t he third level in both courts because if it accepts the case then it will have the final word in i t. Federal courts take certain cases. These cases are cases where federal laws are trespassed, cases concerning treaties, cases that the U.S.A. Government is a part of, cases involving the constitution of the U.S.A., and cases where there is a conflict between two or more states wi th over $70,000 USD. To combat the fear of giving federal courts too much power, the framers set up a federalcou rt system that can only hear cases in special circumstances. This is called having ‘limited ju risdiction.’212 -The Supreme Court: - It gets the final word and is, mostly, appellate. The Supreme Court c hooses the cases it reviews. From around 7,000 cases submitted by state and district courts, 80-100 are chosen.

209

Roufa, Timothy. "Learn About Criminal Justice." thebalance.com. The balance, 15 Nov. 2017. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. “Three Components of the United States Criminal Justice System.” Criminal Justice Programs . 211 “State Courts vs. Federal Courts.” The Judicial Learning Center, Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C., 2015, judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts/. 212 “State Courts vs. Federal Courts.” The Judicial Learning Center, Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C., 2015, judiciallearningcenter.org/state-courts-vs-federal-courts/. 210

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Corrections:It is a “branch of the criminal justice system that is responsible for dealing with individu als who have been convicted of any crime.” The role that the correctional system plays is to make sure that the convict receives his punishment whether it is spending time in prison, pr obation, community service, of paying a fine.213 The four goals of corrections are: retributio n, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation. “Each state’s corrections department is responsible for determining which policies and meth ods will be used to reach these goals for both adult and juvenile offenders.”214

IV. History: The beginning of the criminal justice systems around the world:In ancient civilizations, prisons took the form of underground dungeons, which are dark prisons from the dark ages, that guilty or suspected criminals spent their life awaiting their death sentence or.215 Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt are where the earliest records of priso ns were recorded. -Mesopotamian Imprisonment:The Mesopotamians are people who live between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in anci ent times. They use imprisonment as a form of punishment that could be traced back to the ancient codes of Ur-Nammu and Hammurabi respectively, where a person in debt could be i mprisoned by their debtors. However, that person would still be under the protection of the state in the sense that if they died during imprisonment, the debtor would be punished due t o maltreatment.216 Even though it was used, imprisonment wasn’t favored as a form of punishment by the Mesopotamians; they believed that it benefitted neither the state nor the injured party. Inste ad, they preferred the use of criminals for forced labor for they saw it as the more economic ally and socially beneficial alternative. -Ancient China:-

213

“Top Corrections Degree Programs Online | Criminal Justice.” Discover Criminal Justice, 2017,

discovercriminaljustice.com/specialty-profiles/corrections/. 214

“Top Corrections Degree Programs Online | Criminal Justice.” Discover Criminal Justice, 2017,

discovercriminaljustice.com/specialty-profiles/corrections/. 215 216

“History Of Imprisonment” crimemuseum.org. Crime Museum, LLC, 15 Mar. 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. “History of prisons.” Prisonshistory.net. Prison History, 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2017.

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In ancient China, punishment for all crimes had to be universal as well as harsh. A variet y of wooden collars and cages were included, in addition to having a chain attached to heav y rock tied around a convict’s neck. -Ancient Greece and the hope for rehabilitation:Prisons in ancient Greece were used as temporary housings for prisoners on death row, al though it seems that they were rather willing to allow them to escape and go into exile. Man y ancient Greek philosophers shared the concept of rehabilitating prisoners. There are some records of a certain class bias in punishment, and criminals who were not Greek city state ci tizens were severely punished.217 -Modern day prisons:London is the birthplace of modern day imprisonment. According to Foucault’s Discipli ne and Punishment, Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, was known for his views ag ainst the death penalty and thus created a concept for a prison that would be that held prison ers as a form of punishment. The idea behind his design was to ensure that the people who were locked up would never know if they were being watched by guards or not, which woul d save money, as fewer officers would need to be hired. This prison was never build, but th e idea behind it eventually caught-on. 

History in the United States At the time of the Colonial period, the penal structures in the United States could be sum med up in two institutions: prisons and workhouses. The jails were commonly used for the detention of the accused as they await their trial. In addition, they held debtors and religious and political offenders. They were rarely used as punishment for actual crimes but served o nly as a transit between the criminals’ freedom and punishment. The workhouses, on the ot her hand, weren’t penal institutions in the strict sense of the word. They were mostly used to suppress the poor and weren’t open for the reception of felons. T he combination of both later produced the modern jails.218 Punishment included execution, exile, flogging and shaming. Ironically enough, a lot of the early arrivals to American colonies were criminals banished f rom Britain. This practice ended the Revolutionary war and the banished criminals were sen t to Australia instead.219 Quakers, who were few of the first whites to denounce slavery in American and Europea n colonies, were also among the first to advocate substituting corporal or capital punishmen t for imprisonment, thus setting the foundations of modern criminal justice.

217

Plato, Crito, [Trednnick, H., Tarrant, H. (trans.), 2003. Plato’s Crito, in The Last Days of Socrates . London: Penguin Books Ltd.] 218 {Article} [Henry Elmer Barnes, Historian. Historial Origin of the Prison System in America, 1921] 219 Al-Khatib, Talal. “Doing time: A History of US Prisons.” Seeker.com. Group Nine Media, Inc, 21 Jul. 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2017.

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After the Civil War, America experienced a rise crime rates, leading to the overcrowding in prisons. Newly freed slaves in the South were getting locked up over the most minor offe nses. Being targeted by law enforcement authorities and sentenced by a racially biased justi ce system, African American prisoners quickly became a disproportionate number in the tot al population of prisons. Even though slavery was made illegal by the Thirteenth Amendme nt, arresting criminals and sentencing them to hard labor was still perfectly legal. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that women’s-only prisons and juvenile facilities started to appear. Many of the reforms improved the quality o f life of the inmates, offering vocational training, educational classes, libraries, etc. to ambit ious inmates who desired to become better people.

V. Rehabilitation and retribution: The philosophy behind punishment:“Retribution” is an expression that means ‘balancing a wrong through punishment’. Whi le revenge is oftentimes personal and not always proportional to the victim’s level of injury, retribution is usually impersonal and well-balanced.220 -Punishment and Contract Arianism:The right of society to punish lies in the social contract. In short, the concept suggests th at all citizens freely and consensually enter into an agreement to form a society by losing a part of their freedom as individuals for the return benefit of protection. However, if a person transgresses the liberties of other people, then he/she has broken the s ocial contract and thus, society is allowed to punish them. -Punishment and Utilitarianism:The Utilitarian rationale defines punishment as being essentially evil, and tries to justify it by the grander benefits that result. Under utilitarianism, the intentions are seen as unimpo rtant and “goodness” of an act is measured by how much it benefits “the many” (all of socie ty), even if it were painful to the individual. The purpose of punishment is to deter and facilitate rehabilitation so if “the many” benefit f rom the punishment of an individual (through deterrence), then punishment is, by that defini tion, good. -Imprisonment and Conservatism:The main aim of prisons was to deter and punish. Even though they were not necessarily viewed as reformative, prisons were seen as a much more humane shape of punishment tha n earlier corporal punishments. Prisons were a type of exile. In the past, they banished wron gdoers and criminals to the wilderness; as prisons were built in isolated places far away fro m urban areas, they soon became the new wilderness. The individual was seen as evil or we

220

{Article} [Joycelyn M. Pollock, PhD. The Philosophy and History of Prisons, 2005]

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ak and the society saw the need to protect itself against him. As long as the offender was aw ay, the society felt safer and more protected.

-Imprisonment and liberalism:The liberal rationale supports the concept of reformation and rehabilitation at some point during the 19th century, the philosophy behind imprisonment changed. Prisons were seen f or more than an alternative to brutal past punishments. Instead, people started noticing their redemptive effects. Prisons were viewed as an entity capable of altering individuals and ma king them into better people. 

Rehabilitation programs in U.S prisons:--

-Delancey Street This is an initiative that offers a variety of programs that are designed for effective rehab ilitation. In addition to fulfilling their high school equivalency requirement (GED), the resid ents of Delancey Street go through skill training where they’re offered the ability to choose a set of skills they want to possess like mechanics, cooking, data processing or many others. Delancy street is self-funded. The organization pays resident wages with the profit of the n umber of businesses that it operates as well as maintains the housing project. Thus far, the o rganization has a print shop, a Christmas tree retail, a restaurant and other businesses.221 The program is for two mandatory years but most of the residents stay for four. The orga nization also helps its graduates as they embark on their journey into the real world.222 The aim is to allow prisoners to have alternatives to going straight back out on the street in cluding the option of entering Delancey Street itself before, instead of after, they "hit rock b ottom.” -Prison Entrepreneurship program:This program focuses on chancing inmate behavior through the teaching of valuable skill s that are needed in entrepreneurial settings, like writing a business plan and then finding th e needed finance to launch. This program has made a measurable impact on most of its students that many even went o n to start their own businesses.223

“The California Prison and Rehabilitation System.” Web.stanford.edu. Stanford University. 27 Jul. 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. 222 “Who are we” Delanceystreetfoundation.org. The Delancey Street Foundation, 16 May 2006. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. 223 Couch, Robbie. “These Programs Are Helping Fix A Broken U.S. Prison System.” Huffingtonpost.com. Oath, Inc., 2 Dec. 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. 221

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-Arizona’s Community Bridges (FACT): The organization’s Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) team works with t he Maricopa County Sheriff’s office and mentally ill clients. A vast majority of these clients have conditions like major depression, bipolar disorder, panic and schizophrenia and have h ad plenty of run-ins with law enforcement. The team connects former and current inmates with basic services that help them in their liv es. FACT addresses their unique needs in hopes of preventing them from going back to pris on. -

Classification of sentences in the US:224

According to the US Law, the type of penalty depends on the severity of the offense that’s been co mmitted:1- Class A felony: life imprisonment, or if the maximum penalty is death. 2- Class B felony: twenty-five years or more. 3- Class C felony: less than twenty five years but ten or more years. 4- Class D felony: less than ten years but five or more years. 5- Class E felony: less than five years but more than one year. 6- Class A misdemeanor: one year or less but more than six months. 7- Class B misdemeanor: six months or less but more than thirty days. 8- Class C misdemeanor: thirty days or less but more than five days. 9- Infraction: five days or less, or if no imprisonment is authorized.

224

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Financial aspect:Jails funds:The prisons’ fund is determined based on a request from the department of justice every separate year according to their different needs from year to another. The Department request of funding in 2017 was $7,299.2 million dollars. This fund include s salaries, buildings, health services and different activities that help BOP (bureau of prison s) fulfill its mission of secure.225



Rehabilitation programs fund:Those programs are combined through different factors of employment, education, psyc hological, societal ,and many other aspects for the inmates rehabilitation. Those programs f unding is part of the department of justice budget and funding that came directly from the g overnment. Funding such programs may cost high percentage of budget but in return it redu ces recidivism and tax dollars.226

VII. Prisoners' humanitarian rights under laws of United States  Health Care:The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." According to the prohibition of "cruel and unusual punishment," U.S. prisoners have a cons titutional right to health care. The government institution responsible of providing health and mental care forprisoners is "the Federal Bureau of Prisons BOP"; it is an institution under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Federal Bureau of Prisons was established in 1930. It is responsible for "managing and regulating Federal penal and correctional institutions. It provides essential medical, mental and dental health services by its professional staff, and f

United States, Congress, “U.S. Department of Justice FY 2015 Budget Request.” U.S. Department of Justice FY 2015 Budget Request, U.S. Department of Justice, 2015, pp. 1–2. www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/jmd/legacy/2013/09/07/prisons-detention.pdf. 226 “THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF PRISON REHABILITATION PROGRAMS.” Penn Wharton , University of Pennsylvania , Aug. 2017. 225

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or chronic or acute medical cases, it refers patients to several medical referral centers provid ing advanced care.227 In contrast, a research done by Harvard Medical School physicians from data collected n ationally in 2002 and 2004 from U.S. inmates, and published in 2009 by the American Jour nal of Public Health. The survey said that more than 40 percent of the total population of pri sons and jails reported a chronic medical condition, and more than 13.9 percent of these con ditions in federal prisons, 20 percent in state prisons, and 68.4 percent in jails did not go thr ough medical examination by doctor or nurse since they entered prison. 228 

Rights of heterosexual able-bodied prisoners: Prisoners do not have full constitutional rights, but they are protected by the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments. 1- Eighth amendment:The eighth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and guarantees the priso ners to have basic living conditions at least.229 2- Fourteenth amendment:The fourteenth amendment protects prisoners under its equal protection clause, ensuring that no prisoner gets discriminated against based on their race, sex or religious belief.230



Disabled prisoners:The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):This act doesn’t distinguish between prisoners or non-prisoners. Thus, it applies to prote ct prisoners with disabilities, guaranteeing reasonable accommodation.231



LGBTQ community:The prison rape elimination act (PREA): The act aims to individualize Housing, Program and Work Assignments for Transgender & Intersex Individuals. “The act requires agencies to create program placements and individ ualized housing for all transgender and intersex individuals, including assignment of transg ender and intersex individuals to male or female facilities.

227

"Medical Care." bop.gov. Federal Bureau of Prisons, Web. 3 Dec. 2017.

228 "Inmates suffer from chronic illness, poor access to health care." news.harvard.edu. Harvard University, 15 Jan. 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2017. "Medical and Mental Health Care." aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, Web. 3 Dec. 2017. 229

The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 8. The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 14 231 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Public Law 101-336. 230

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Any policy or practice that houses individuals based solely on their genital status must be c hanged.”232



Nutrition:The Bureau of Prisons BOP is not responsible only of inmates' health care, but also resp onsible of their healthy nutrition; it serves around 227 million meals annually, through 122 i nstitutions to approximately 207,000 inmates. In 2008, BOP provided a national menu for all institutions to be implemented, with standardized recipes and products that bought to prepare meals. The menu is subject to a five-week menu cycle and is reviewed every year to assess product pricing, nutritional content and inmates eating preferences. The mission of BOP is to meet the general population needs, help inmates at nutritional risk and preserving the public health, this happened through its professional employees, e.g. Bop employs 15 registered dietitian nutritionists.233

VIII. Prisoners voting rights 

Introduction:Usually, criminals lose most of their rights as a part of their punishment. Among these ri ghts is their voting right which is a controversial topic. Each state has its own laws in most cases. This includes prisoners voting rights as some states disenfranchise/deprive them whil e others do not. The focus here is on those who committed a felony. “In criminal law, a felony is a category of crimes that are often classified as the most serious types of offenses, and they can be eith er violent or non-violent… Felons are imprisoned in a prison facility instead of a local jail e stablishment. “Criminal fines may also be imposed for felony charges, often in the amounts of thousands of dollars.”234 “Under traditional common law, felonies were called ‘true crimes,’ and usually included ser ious offenses such as: homicide, attempted murder, rape, arson, human trafficking, burglary , robbery, failing to inform a sex partner of their HIV-positive status, criminal damage to pr

232

Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. Public Law 108-79. Marcason, Wendy. "Nutrition for Inmates." eatrightpro.org. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Web. 3 Dec. 2017. 234 Clarke, Peter. “Find the Right Lawyer Now! Choose Your Legal Category:” What Is a Felony? | LegalMatch Law Library, 28 Nov. 2017, www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/what-is-a-felony.html 233

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operty, escaping from a prison, interfering with a guardian's custody rights including interst ate interference, and assisting in a felony. State and federal courts and laws may categorize other crimes as felonies.”235

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History:Ever since the United States won the independence war, Americans worked so hard inwr iting their own constitution and establishing laws to organize their lives. Voting rights are o ne of the things they were concerned about. However, this started to take a clear path on Ap r. 19, 1792. At this time, the state of K entucky became the first state to establish criminal d isenfranchisement. Its constitution states “Laws shall be made to exclude from…suffrage th ose who thereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, or other high crimes and misde meanors.”236 In July 9, 1793, the state of Vermont established criminal disenfranchisement, which is p reventing them from voting. This power belongs to the supreme court of the state. After that , many states established criminal disenfranchisement until Aug. 28, 1821. This is when the state of New York established criminal disenfranchisement. It should be n oted that in Nov. 5, 1845, the state of Louisiana disenfranchised anyone who commits any c rime punishable by hard labor. Disenfranchisement has racist origins. Slaves or rather, black people, and were prohibite d from voting at all. However, in Feb. 3, 1870, the 15th amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows former slaves to vote and prohibits racially based disenfranchisement. This guarante ed African Americans to vote. The amendment declares in its first section that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”237 In 1882, the U.S. congress passes the Edmunds act to ban polygamists from voting. A po lygamist is a man who marries more than one woman. Then, many states tried to maintain white supremacy by amending their state constitutions like what happened in the state of Al

Clarke, Peter. “Find the Right Lawyer Now! Choose Your Legal Category:” What Is a Felony? | LegalMatch Law Library, 28 Nov. 2017, www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/what-is-a-felony.html 236 “Historical Timeline - Felon Voting - ProCon.Org.” Should felons be allowed to vote?, 25 June 2013, felonvoting.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000016. 237 “Historical Timeline - Felon Voting - ProCon.Org.” Should felons be allowed to vote?, 25 June 2013, felonvoting.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000016. 235

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abama in 1901. After that, in Sep. 9, 1957, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights act of 1957 which gives “the U.S. Attorney General the authority to bring lawsuits on behalf of African Americans denied the right to vote.”238 These are some examples of how the United States dealt with disenfranchisement through time.

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Demographics of U.S prison population:-

239

“Historical Timeline - Felon Voting - ProCon.Org.” Should felons be allowed to vote?, 25 June 2013, felonvoting.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000016. 239 O'Reilly, Bill, and Bernard Goldberg. “O'Reilly Dismisses Overrepresentation Of Blacks In Criminal Justice System.” Media Matters, 16 July 2013, www.mediamatters.org/blog/2013/07/16/oreilly-dismisses-overrepresentationof-blacks/194894. 238

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Felon Voting Rights240:-

NEVER LOSE RIGHT TO VOTE

Maine Vermont

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LOST ONLY WHILE INCARCERATED | AUTOMATIC RESTORATION AFTER RELEASE

District of Columbia Hawaii Illinois Indiana Maryland (3) Massachusetts Michigan Montana New Hampshire North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Utah

LOST UNTIL COMPLETION OF SENTENCE (PAROLE AND/OR PROBATION) | AUTOMATIC RESTORATION AFTER

Alaska Arkansas California (2) Colorado Connecticut Georgia Idaho Kansas Louisiana Minnesota Missouri New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina

LOST UNTIL COMPLETION OF SENTENCE | IN SOME STATES A POSTSENTENCING WAITING PERIOD | ADDITIONAL ACTION REQUIRED FOR RESTORATION (1) Alabama Arizona Delaware Florida Iowa Kentucky Mississippi Nebraska Nevada Tennessee Virginia Wyoming

“FELON VOTING RIGHTS.” NCSL, NCSL, 28 Nov. 2017, www.ncsl.org/research/elections-andcampaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx. 240

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TABLE ONE: RESTORATION OF VOTING RIGHTS AFTER FELONY CONVICTIONS

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Other Felon rights241:Felons are not deprived from voting rights only. There are other rights that they are depri ved from. They lose:-

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The right to travel abroad

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The right to own firearms

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The right to jury service

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The right of employment in certain fields

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The right of public social benefits and housing

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The right of parental benefits

Prejudices against ex-convicts:After serving sentences in prison, many ex-convicts and offenders may find facing real l ife beyond prison’s wall something difficult. This is due to their criminal and the society’s e yes that spot them in discrimination and marginalization. One of barriers ex-convicts face is the employment discrimination. Civil rights act of 1964 prohibits private or public job seekers to be discriminated based on race, gender, ethnicity o

“What Rights Do Convicted Felons Lose?” The Law Dictionary, The Law Dictionary, thelawdictionary.org/article/what-rights-do-convicted-felons-lose/. 241

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r religion.242 Ex-convicts may try to find ways of survivals that may lead them back to priso n because they cannot find a decent job. 243

Jacobs, James. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When, If Ever, Does Employment Discrimination against Ex-Offenders Violate Title VII?â&#x20AC;? Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2015. 243 Flake, Dallan. When Any Sentence Is a Life Sentence: Employment Discrimination Against Ex-Offenders. Washington University Law Review, 2015. 242

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Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Prepared by: Chairlady Sohila Amr

Vice Chairlady Farah Ibrahim El-Sabagh

Ranking member Mohannad Adel Rashed

Party consultant Ahmed El-Bassuny

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Jurisdiction: The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) is the Senate’s primary oversight committee with broad jurisdiction over government operations generally and the Department of Homeland Security in particular. Its primary responsibilities are to study the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all agencies and departments of the federal government; evaluate the effects of laws enacted to reorganize the legislative and executive branches of government; and study the intergovernmental relationships between the U.S. and states and municipalities, and between the U.S. and international organizations of which the U.S. is a member. In addition to governmental affairs, the Committee oversees and receives legislation, messages, petitions, and memorials on all matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, except for appropriations, the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, immigration, customs revenue, commercial operations, and trade. Subcommittees:    

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) Financial and Contracting Oversight (FCO) The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce (FPFW) Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations and the District of Columbia (EMDC)

Leadership: Chairman

Ranking Member

Ron Johnson

Claire McCaskill

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First Topic: Intelligence Agencies Table of Contents 1. National Security…………………………………………. 2. An overview of the United States Intelligence Community……………….. 3. History and formation of the Intelligence Community……………………. 4. Legal aspects of the Intelligence Community……………………………... 5.

Key Intelligence Agencies…………………………………………………

6. Budget of the Intelligence Community…………………………………… 7. Executive, Legislative and Judicial oversight over the IC………………... 8. Notable cases from the Federal Bureau of Investigation…………………. 9.

Notable cases from the Central Intelligence Agency………………………

10. Notable cases from the National Security Agency……………………….. 11.

Surveillance, Whistleblowing and civil liberties…………………………

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The Intelligence Community of the United States of America

1- National Security: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs was transformed by the September 11 attacks when it became apparent to the US government that national security was threatened to an unprecedented level. No longer could the Governmental Affairs Committee (as it was called before 9/11) undertake the huge task of keeping America and her citizens safe. Therefore, national security became the larger theme in each case or dilemma discussed and, in each bill released. National security could be defined as the state of safety and stability of a nation against threats of espionage, terrorism, and war. It is important to note that the threats to a nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s security could be both domestic and foreign. Therefore, this warrants governments to undertake measures to secure its nation within its borders as well as on foreign land. Though the concept of national security was inadequately limited to the role of the military; traditionally, it was understood in terms of an army fighting in a battle for securing the country from invaders. However, during the middle of the 20th century, the definition of national security broadened; the term now includes more types of security such as economical security, military security, cyber security, political security, homeland security, human security, and environmental security. The widened scope of national security beyond the role of the military grew out due to the new types of threats that were associated with the latter half of the 20th century and the 21st century. The strategies devised to combat these new and developed forms of threats are fundamentally concerned with intelligence gathering. Therefore, national security could be defined as the protection of the nation and the people through armed forces and through the protection of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s information confidentiality244. 244

Holmes, kim R." What is National Security?". 2015 Index Of U.S military Strength. The Heritage Foundation, 2017.web18 November.2017 accessed. 146

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2- An overview of the United States Intelligence Community: The United States Intelligence community is an assemblage of 17 agencies that work collectively for the sake of National Security protection, Homeland security, Counter-terrorism operations, espionage and counterespionage, military defense and supporting foreign policy. The role of the IC is to provide up-to-date and reliable information to US policymakers, decision-makers and war-fighters245 The term Intelligence community was coined and introduced to the American public by General Walter Beddle Smith who in the 50s served as the Director of the Central Intelligence (CI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As from 1946 to 2004 the Head of the Intelligence Community was the director of the Central Intelligence (CI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), but since 2004, the office of the Director of Central Intelligence (CI) was replaced by the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and a separate office directing the CIA was founded. The Director of National Intelligence(DNI) serves as the head of the Intelligence Community and is the principal advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council (HSC) for intelligence matters related to national security. He oversees and directs the implementation of the National Intelligence Program.246 The DNI is appointed by the President and approved by the Senate and he can only hire his own staff not most of the Intelligence agencies heads and staff. Nowadays, the Intelligence community consists of seventeen agencies that work collectively under the Executive Branch. Two of the seventeen agencies are independent; The Office of the Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) while the fifteen other agencies are affiliated to other parent federal departments: Department of Defense (1) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) (2) National Security Agency (NSA) (3) National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) (4) The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Four intelligence units of the military (Department of Defense): (5) Navy (6) Army (7) Marine Corps (8) Air Force Department of Energy (9) Office of Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence

Department of Homeland Security 245

''An overview of the Intelligence Community'' gop.gov. U.S. Government Publishing Office. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 246 â&#x20AC;&#x153;An overview of the United States Intelligence Community for the 111th Congressâ&#x20AC;? fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 147

The 17th Model of American Congress (10) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (11) U.S. Coast Guard Intelligence Department of Justice (12) Federal Bureau of Investigation Drug Enforcement Agency (13) Office of National Security Intelligence Department of State (14) Bureau of Intelligence and Research Department of the Treasury (15) Office of Intelligence and Analysis.247

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3- History and formation of the Intelligence Community: Intelligence is a long-held practice in the US history of ascending to global power. Its activities proliferated as a profession as a product of the Cold War between the United States and Russia (USSR back at that time). The history of the current intelligence is the history of all of its agencies and most importantly the CIA. During the Second World War, President Roosevelt depended on a league of his informants in the government to gather information about the intentions of other world leaders, one of his friends was William Donavon, who was a veteran and a diplomat, Donvon was entitled to establish a civilian intelligence agency to complement the intelligence agency of the army. Upon Donvon’s arrival, Roosevelt appointed him as the coordinator of information which entitled him to collect and analyze data upon the approval of the President concerning national security significance. The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor revealed the lack of coordinated intelligence in the US which prompted the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) headed by Donvon to enhance more coordination between intelligence agencies that existed at that time248. There was a big debate whether should there be a civilian intelligence agency or to leave the intelligence activities to the army. In 1945, President Truman abolished the Office of Strategic Services and divided its functions between both the Department of State and the war. He also issued what is known as the National Security Act of 1947 to create the Central Intelligence Agency instead as a civilian foreign intelligence agency. There were also many debates about the position of Director of Central Intelligence and whether it should be a civilian who holds this position or an active duty military officer. Also, questions about the relationship between the newly-established CIA and other agencies were raised, like for example the Federal bureau of Intelligence (FBI) and the military, as the National Security Act‘s vision is to make the CIA a focal point within the government to collect Intelligence data. That means that the CIA should have access to all files gathered by all other agencies, including the FBI and the military. The military abided to the coordinating role

‘’ Member of the IC’’ dni.gov. Office of director of national intelligence. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed 248 ''history of the CIA'' CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 247

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4- Legal aspects of the Intelligence Community: The IC functions under a multitude of laws, regulations and executive orders that organize its authority, inter-agencies relations, finances, oversight and scope of power. Most notably: 

National Security Act of 1947250

In July 1947, President Harry Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 whereby, the National Security Council was established as principal advisor for the President on intelligence policy; the post of Secretary of Defense was established and the military units (Navy, Army and Air-force) were unified. The act also established the Central Intelligence Agency as a civilian foreign intelligence agency headed by the director of Central Intelligence. It was mentioned in the act that the CIA shall have no law-enforcement unit or police.



Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978251:

Signed by President Jimmy Carter, FISA was a direct result of the Senate investigation on President Nixon's illegal wiretapping on his opponents. The law allows law-enforcement to conduct surveillance programs and to wiretap suspects only if those suspects are agents of a foreign power. ISA court is established under the FISA as a secret court designated to grant or deny surveillance warrant for law-enforcement agencies against foreign spies or terrorists. FISA also permits physical searches for premises, and materials by nearly the same procedures like electronic surveillance. Many critics claim that the way FISA court function risks the civil liberties; as from one side the court only listens to the government’s side of the story as only the court judge and the government are present in the court room. In addition to that, it is also very rare for FISA court to turn down surveillance warrants; for example: according to the Electronic privacy Information Center, from the year 1979 to 2013 there have been 35,434 surveillance warrants approved and only 12 rejected.

“The Evolution of the U.S. Intelligence Community-An Historical Overview” fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 250 ''Text of the Original 1947 National security Act'' global.oup.com. Oxford University Press. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 249

251

''The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA)'' it.ojp.gov. Justice Information Sharing. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 149

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Executive order 12333 of 1981252

Signed by President Ronald Regan on December 1981, the Executive order expanded the roles, powers and the capacity to conduct intelligence activities for the IC. The order gave a guideline to the activities permitted to the IC, for instance, the collection of information whether by lawful means or the usage of information obtained incidentally could be important for security reasons. The order also forbids any engagement or conspiring to assassinate any person. The Executive order emphasized clearly that all departments and agencies shall ensure free and full exchange of information and cooperate to fulfill the goal of “the protection of United States national interests from foreign security threats”253 the act considered it important to dedicate resources to the protection of not only the United States government, but also US corporations, establishments, or persons.



The USA Patriot Act of 2001254

Originally named: ‘’Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism’’, Congress enacted the Patriot Act by overwhelming, bipartisan support quickly after 9/11 attacks. The Act supplied law enforcement with new tools to detect and prevent terrorism and authorized the intelligence agencies to investigate organized crime, drug trafficking and crimes of terror without necessitating the agencies of tipping off the terrorists. The act allowed law-enforcement to use surveillance and wiretapping to investigate potential terrorist attacks, it also allows federal agents to request court permission for roving wiretaps for a specific suspect, also for requesting bank accounts, and business records. Section 215 of the Patriot Act was the most important section that caused controversy. this section permits the collection of tangible things such as books, documents, records and other items for an investigation concerning foreign intelligence. this section was misinterpreted by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the US administration to obtain bulk information such as telephone metadata from telecommunication companies to allegedly spy on citizens.

252

'Executive Order 12333--United States intelligence activities '' archives.gov. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 26 March 2018 accessed. 253 “the U.S. Executive order 12333’’ Archives.gov. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 254 ''The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty' Justice.gov. The U.S. Department of Jusice. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 150

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ď&#x201A;ˇ

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Homeland Security Act of 2002255

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 was one of the results of 9/11 attacks to US. The act established the Department of Homeland Security, which is the third-largest cabinet-level department, its mission is to prevent terrorism and enhance security, secure borders, enforce immigration laws and secure cyberspace. The act resembles the National security act as it also created a new post which is the Secretary of Homeland Security and it established an advisory board to the office of the President, which is the Homeland Security council. ď&#x201A;ˇ

Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act 2004256

Signed by President Bush in the aftermath of September attacks, the act is a 235-page comprehensive act that covers quiet range of subject matters related to homeland security and intelligence reform. One of the hundreds of results made by the Act is the establishment of the office of the Director of National Intelligence to coordinate the work of the Intelligence community. The act also established the joint Intelligence Community Council, the National Counterterrorism Center. And as safeguard for civil rights, the act established the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight board. The importance of the Act is not that it established many positions and public offices, the significance of the act lies in the mandate it gave to the Intelligence community, for example: the act gave the right to the FBI to collect private travel information from commercial air carrier companies, so the IC can analyze the pattern of travels and deduce any possible terrorist activity or pattern. The act also called for a national strategy on transportation and imposed many restrictions and new policies on immigrations and border security. Although FISA allows intelligence agencies to obtain wiretaps warrant from the court, the only obstacle was that the agency should prove a connection between the suspect and a foreign power to the court, while this act gave the authority to the FBI to collect data without seeming connection between the suspect and any foreign power. This change to FISA procedures is called the Lone Wolf amendment. The act also stressed on many subject matters, for example, it emphasized on the importance of the information-sharing environment policy between federal, state, local, private and international actors to combat terrorism. It also emphasized the importance of open-source intelligence for protecting the national security. The act in one of its sections acknowledged the importance of 9/11 commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendations and call for its implementation

255

''Homeland Security Act of 2002'' dhs.gov. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Web. 26 March 2018 accessed. 256 ''Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004: Title VII--Implementation of 9/11 Commission Recommendations'' state.gov. The U.S. Department state. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed . 151

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Freedom act of 2015257

In 2015, President Obama issued the USA freedom act as a civil rights safeguard. the act ended the bulk collection of data under section 215 of the Patriot Act. It also required more transparency, more sharing and declassification of FISA court and the American people, the act also gave tech companies a variety of options on how to respond to federal orders in regards to national security. Nevertheless, the act also strengthened national security by many measures such as increasing the penalties for terrorist-related crimes.

5- Key Intelligence Agencies: A) The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)258: Established in 1947, the CIA is an independent and civilian agency. The CIA provides senior civilian officials and Policy-Makers with comprehensive material and essential Intelligence especially on the international scale to shape the US international policy concerning national security matters259. The CIA reports directly to the DNI, the President and his National Security Council. The CIA has a large number of civilian employees. It participates in many Intelligence-related activities, such as cyber operations or on-ground missions. The CIA has five main priorities according to their spending: counterterrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, informing decision makers with national security updates, counterintelligence and cyber Intelligence260. The CIA does not enjoy any law enforcement power inside the US; their mandate is strictly limited to gathering and analyzing the data collected and briefing policy makers with intelligence information. Nonetheless, there were many allegations that the CIA participated in many Intelligence covert actions overseas.

B) The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)261: The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is a military agency that collects and produces foreign military intelligence for military commanders, war fighters and policy makers. ‘’The Director of the DIA is a senior military Intelligence adviser to the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI)’’ 262

257

''US freedom Act: what is in and what is out'' washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Web. 26 March 2018 accessed. 258 ''About CIA' 'cia.gov. The US Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 21 March 2018 accessed. “An overview of the United States Intelligence Community for the 111th Congress” fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 260 ‘’ ‘Black budget’ summary details U.S. spy network’s successes, failures and objectives’’ washingtonpost.com. 29 August 2017 published. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 261 ‘’About DIA'' dia.mil, Defense Intelligence Agency. Web. 26 March 2018 accessed. 259

‘’U. S National Intelligence an overview 2013’’ dni.gov. Office of director of national intelligence. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed 152 262

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(FBI)263:

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is a member of the Intelligence Community and performs its functions under the Department of Justice. It is mostly concerned with domestic Intelligence and responsible to identify threats to US national security264. The FBI has jurisdiction to investigate all federal crimes (not assigned exclusively to another federal agency265) and to investigate national security threats as granted by federal law and executive orders.

6- Budget of the Intelligence Community: The Intelligence Community budget has two components: National Intelligence Program and Military Intelligence Program. The National Intelligence Program (NIP) includes all activities and programs relating to the Intelligence Community under the leadership of the DNI and Head of agency or the DNI and the President, while the MIP is devoted to military operations and tactical activities and any military/intelligence-related activity and is supervised by the Department of Defense266. Some critics deem having two separate programs as a door for corruption as both the NIP and MIP can problematically overlap. The National Intelligence Program (NIP) was designed under the legal power of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, in accordance with the act is the responsibility of the DNI to develop and determine the annual budget for the National Intelligence program based on proposals from the heads of each agency within the Intelligence Community. The DNI is legally responsible for the right appropriation and budget execution to Intelligence-related activities. The DNI is required by law to disclose the “aggregate amount of funds appropriated by the Congress” 267 of the Intelligence community within 30 days by the end of the fiscal year. As part of the 9/11 commission’s recommendation, the intelligence budget began recently to be publicly disclosed, The National Intelligence Program budget request was first publicly disclosed in February 2011. the fiscal NIP budget in the year 2018 is $57.7 billion while the MIP budget is $20.7 billion.268 There are currently many trends in Intelligence spending for example: the privatization of Intelligence or the use of and allocating most of the funds to private contractors to perform certain technical, defense, procurement, or other services. The IC is only obliged to disclose its top-line budget numbers but not the budgetary detailed information for security reasons. The former CIA Director George Tenet, expressing his opposition to disclosure has said that disclosing the budget means providing foreign governments of as assessment of US Intelligence’s capabilities and weakness. On the other hand, others who share a different opinion believe that the IC should be 263

''History'' Fbi.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed.

‘’ Member of the IC’’ dni.gov. Office of director of national intelligence. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed 265 “An overview of the United States Intelligence Community for the 111th Congress” fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed. 264

266

It is important to notice, the MIP is not the defence budget, it is an amount of fund devoted to finance tactical operations to serve the army defence strategy 267

Ibid ''intelligence Community Budget'' dni.gov. office of the director of National Intelligence Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 268

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accountable and transparent. For the meantime, the DNI should only disclose the general budget and not anything related to a certain agency or program and this has been the debate since then. Aside from the non-ending debate about secrecy versus transparency, there is another debate regarding the US excessive spending on intelligence. It has been reported that the US spends on Intelligence more than the whole world put together. Simply, the complex-structured Intelligence community is one of the reasons why the United States spends a lot. There are 17 agencies and there are thousands of full-time employers, staffers in tens of agencies, councils, departments and boards. All of that represent a real bureaucratic burden. For example, when Congress enacts a law that establishes a counterterrorism council or when the President creates a new office that means to combat cyber security, or when the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act established the office of the Director or National Intelligence all of that meant endless spending on Intelligence. The Congressional Research Service referred in the same context that “It should be remembered that Intelligence analysis is an intellectual exercise; it is not possible to increase budgets by 50 percent and receive 50 percent better analysis in the next fiscal year” 269 Another issue that is a directly related to the problem of overstaffing and the extravagant spending on Intelligence is the question of ‘how much is enough?’270 How much Intelligence collection is too much? As one of the important critiques to the work of IC is that they produce too many reports on nearly the same thing every year which could be deemed as a duplication of effort. Some experts suggest that the United States should reduce the number of agencies in order to save resources and to allow the IC to function efficiently without any bureaucratic obstacles. 7- Executive, legislative and judicial oversight over the IC Both the United States Congress and the Executive branch oversee the Intelligence community. The word oversight does not only mean checking the legality of the community’s actions but also to see the quality of its work. The White House set the national security agenda along with the designated bodies and has the right to define what ‘could risk the national security’ and ‘what could not’ so simply, although the National Security Act, states that the Congress must be ‘fully informed’, sometimes the President and the IC withhold information from members of Congress for the sake of national security. They do so, based on lax interpretation of the act, in a way that serves their interest of secrecy. They agree with the fact that the Congress must be informed, but they don’t inform the 535 members of Congress, instead they only inform 8 senators known as the gang of 8271: The Senate majority leader 1. 2. 3. 4.

The Senate minority leader The House majority leader The House minority leader The Senate Chairman of the select Committee on Intelligence

''US intelligence spending – value for money?'' blogs.reuters.com. Reuters. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 269

‘’intelligence Community Spending: Trends and Issues'' fas.com. Federation of American scientists Web. 22 March 2018 accessed. 271 ''Congressional Oversight of the Intelligence Community' belfercenter.org. Harvard Kennedy School. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 270

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5. The Senate Ranking Member of the select Committee on Intelligence. 6. The House Chairman of the permanent select Committee on Intelligence. 7. The House Ranking Member of the permanent select Committee on Intelligence Although the Congress has a huge power to execute over either the Executive branch or the Intelligence community, the Executive branch still has the upper hand, as it controls the flow of information to Congress, which if it was deprived of its right to gain access to information, its ability to carry out any action will be paralyzed, because then, any decision will be simply, baseless and uninformed.

A) The Executive Oversight over the IC272 

The President:

The president is the top-ranked position in directing the national security agenda, and also in overseeing their activities. Upon his willingness, the President can obtain any Intelligence or military information, the only problem is that he must have a demonstrated need-to-know, thus the IC can withhold information from the President if he couldn’t provide them with a proper need to know. The President can also appoint commissions to investigate certain IC’s failures or alleged violations of law; like for example: A) The 9/11 commission which was formed after the attack to investigate the Intelligence community failure to anticipate and deter the attack. The main recommendation that commission came with is that the uncoordinated efforts between the FBI and the CIA permitted the attack and couldn’t help preventing it273. B) The Iraqi intelligence commission which was established after the Iraqi invasion. When the public found out that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq despite the U.S administration’s claims that there were, the committee found out that the IC committed a major intelligence failure in the pre-war judgment and this cost the U.S and Iraq a war. Some commentators believe that there is a conflict of interest in case of the President who is directing the national security and also who is overseeing their activities, for example during the Iraqi Intelligence commission which was formed by George Bush, the report issued by them made it clear many times that it is not part of their mandate to investigate whether the President or any one from the administration manipulated the pre-war intelligence.

 The President’s Intelligence Advisory board: It is established to advice the President on the quality, legality of any intelligence activity, and to examine any violations of law. However, it has not been influential lately as President Bush 272

''Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Current Structure and Alternatives' Fas.org. Federation of American Scientists. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. ''9/11 commission report'‘. 9-11commission.gov. national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states. Web. 22 March 2018 accessed. 273

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terminated its power to oversee the Inspector General274 of each intelligence agency and terminated the requirement that each Inspector General in the Intelligence agency should submit a report every three month. Bush also terminated its power to refer to the Department of Justice for any criminal investigation and just allowed it to notify the President if other officials are not addressing the problem. The Obama administration also tried to weaken its power by reducing the number of its members from 14 to only 4. And after more than a year of Trump presidency, President Trump has not nominated a single member in the board, as a result the board now is not functioning.275

 The United States Joint Intelligence Community Council: The Executive oversight body; its members are: the DNI who chairs the meeting and the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and the Attorney General. One of the positive points in the JICC, is that the Chairman is in charge of delivering the council opinion in the specific subject matter under discussion, but if a certain member disagrees with the Chairman, the Chairman is responsible for delivering the council opinion and the opinion of the disagreed member, this is very crucial because it allows the President to look at all points view and not risk one percent chance of truth. However, some people question the effectiveness of the JICC, all of the members have their 9-5 work at their Departments of State, Treasury, Homeland, etc.. Thus, they don’t have much of the time to devote for overseeing and managing Intelligence matters. The second criticism is the Chairman’s lack of power. C) The legislative oversight over the IC.276 Congressional oversight is mostly practiced by two main committees, the House permanent select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate select Committee on Intelligence. Although it is mainly the jurisdiction of those two committees to discuss Intelligence matters, sometimes based on the urgency and the nature of the subject-matter, other committees get involved. 

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence:277

It consists of 15 members, 8 from the majority party and 7 from the minority, regardless of the actual ration in Congress. 8 seats out of the 15 are reserved for one majority and one minority members from the following committees: Appropriations, Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Judiciary. The Committee structure is intended to reflect the nonpartisan nature of Intelligence and encourage 274

Under each of the 17-IC-agencies, there is an office for the inspector general which is in charge to conduct independent investigations, audits, reviews about fraud, misconduct, violation of law or any wrongdoing. 275 ''A Key Intelligence Advisory Board Has No Members' foreignpolicy.com. The Foriegn Policy. Web. 22 March 2018 accessed. 276

Ibid

277

''Sources on Oversight'' intelligence.senate.gov United States Senate. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 156

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the Committee to work in a bipartisan manner278. The Senate majority leader, the Senate minority leader, as well as the Chairman and the Ranking Member of the Committee on Armed Service are non-voting members in the committee by the virtue of their positions. All senators have access to classified Intelligence assessments, but the Intelligence sources, programs and budget are mostly limited to committee members. However, the President, as previously mentioned, can only choose to tell to the leadership instead of the whole committee. One of the most powerful congressional tools is the appropriation of funds, if Congress is not satisfied with a certain program, it can simply shut it down by ceasing to finance it. Congress may withhold making decisions or taking action on important things (such as approving nominations) to the Executive branch in order to force them doing Congress preferred action or hold them accountable and transparent. They also have the power to create investigative committees which are equivalent to the Presidential commissions. Senate Intelligence committee members attend closed briefing and hearing sessions with IC heads. They also have the power to accept or refuse presidential nomination for IC positions although very limited positions require Senate approval, like the DNI and CIA heads; but these positions are highly influential, so sometimes the White House will choose to fill those positions by Congressional personnel who are experienced in Intelligence and senior member of the committee, like for example, the current Director of National Intelligence: Dan Coats.

The Judicial Oversight over the IC.279

Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), any law-enforcement or intelligence agency that seeks to get a surveillance warrant should request it from Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

8- Federal Bureau of Investigation: Case Studies. The FBI is the principal federal law enforcement unit in the United States. Unlike many other agencies, the FBI is both an Intelligence unit and a law-enforcement unit. As part of the intelligence community the FBI is under the chain of command of the office of the DNI, and as a law enforcement unit, it operates as part of the Justice department. The Director of the FBI is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for a term that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exceed 10 years. Having the dual nature of the FBI is seemingly reflected in their investigative priorities and mission, on one side, the FBI investigates Terrorism, Counterintelligence, Cybercrime and Weapons of Mass Destruction, and on the other side, they investigate white-collar crimes, organized crimes and corruption.280

278

''About the Committee'' intelligence.senate.gov United States Senate. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. ''The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA)'' it.ojp.gov. Justice Information Sharing. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 279

280

what we investigateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. FBI.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation Web. 22 March 2018 accessed. 157

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a) FBI Spying on Political and Social Groups.

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J. Edgar Hoover was the longest-serving director of the FBI since its establishment with its current name. During his 48 years tenure from 1924 to 1972 he led a war on organized crimes, gangsters and the KKK. However, Hoover’s unstoppable power allowed him to dig deeper into the personal life of his opponents to blackmail them. It was recorded that some U.S presidents were afraid to fire him for that reason. Hoover also has led a series of illegal wiretapping, disruption, false accusation, political sabotage, smear campaigns and spying against civil rights activists, feminist movements, black-rights groups and anti-Vietnam war figures. Among the people he monitored were Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and John Lennon. Also, it was declassified in the 80s that the FBI was spying on the leader of Portico Nationalist Party.

b) FBI Activities in Latin America. Before the establishment of the CIA, and during the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt turned to J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI to be in charge of political surveillance in Latin America. This was achieved through a program called the Special Intelligence Service (SIS) where 700 agents were assigned to combat Nazi influence in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. The SIS’s mission was not confined to Latin American countries with significant German populations or Nazi spy rings. As evidenced by the SIS’s overreach, a number of agents were dispatched to Ecuador, a country which does not host any German espionage networks but expanding the regional scope of thesis to Ecuador was prompted by the concerns over Nazi infiltration. Soon after, the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover shifted the SIS’s focus from Nazism to communism in 1943 as it became clear to Hoover that the local leftists are as threatening as Nazis.

c) The Associated Press Case.283 In 2007, an FBI agent falsely impersonated the identity of an Associated Press journalist so he can approach a 15-year old suspect via email to ask him to open an article which has a software tool that could reveal the computer location of the suspect. When the incident sparked, the FBI Director claimed that the technique was unusual, yet legal and used in rare cases. The Associated Press filed cases against the FBI and the Justice Department. In 2017, the Inspector General has reported that there are new policies at the FBI that requires top level approval to restrict its agents’ abilities to pose as journalists.

9- Central Intelligence Agency: Case Studies. The Idea of having a civilian Intelligence Agency developed during the Second World War. There were many trials to imitate the successful British model of Intelligence at that time. Four agencies were considered to be the forerunners of the current CIA: The Office of the Coordinator of Information, the Office of Strategic The FBI’s War on Civil Rights Leaders'‘. thedailybeast.com. The daily beast. Web. 22 March 2018 accessed. 281

''COINTELPRO'‘. vault.fbi.gov. The federal bureau of investigation. Web. 21 March 2018 accessed. ''Appeals Court sides with Associated Press in lawsuit against FBI'' .washingtonexaminer.com The Washington examiner .Web. 21 March 2018 accessed. 158 282 283

The 17th Model of American Congress Congressional Research Service Report Services, Strategic Services unit and Central Intelligence Group. Established under the authority of the National Security Act of 1947, the CIA is a foreign civilian Intelligence agency. It is an independent organization which means that it follows only the Director of National Intelligence but it does not fall under the authority of any parent department. The CIA’s dominant Intelligence discipline is Human Intelligence (HUMINT) which can be defined as a sort of Intelligence-gathering that relies on on-ground sources, informants and direct contacts in contrast with other technological Intelligence disciplines such as SIGINT for example. The CIA also focuses on Open-source Intelligence disciplines which means they look for any publicly accessible data through social media accounts, YouTube, websites, or magazines to track any potential threat.

A) CIA’s Covert Actions284 285 286: The CIA is entitled for data collection and analysis as any other Intelligence agency. However, it is mandated also to perform other covert actions oversees such as foreign political influence; for example, the CIA’s intervention in the Iranian coup d’état against Mohamed Mossadegh in 1952 and the Guatemalan coup d’état to overthrow the democratically elected President in 1954. The CIA had also carried out many covert activities in Latin America to influence the election and to install US-backed authoritarian leaders. In the Middle East, the CIA backed and funded many guerilla groups and Islamic militia to fight against the Soviets in the Afghan-Soviet war. The CIA has been allegedly accused of maintaining and fueling worldwide crises such as civil wars, regime changes, coups d’état, ethnic conflicts, etc.

B) CIA-Congress relations287 288: The United States Senate published a 6000-page report on CIA torture from 2001 to 2006. The report revealed that the CIA violated many human rights principles such as torture in CIA-run black sites and secret persons, use of harsh techniques in interrogation, extraordinary rendition, imprisonment of innocent people and providing misleading information to Congress and the Whitehouse. In 2014, Senator Dianne Feinstein accused the CIA of hacking into the computers of Senate staffers. The CIA Director rushed to deny the accusation, while an internal investigation made by the CIA's Inspector General proved the fact that the CIA was spying on Senate computers. The Director of the CIA had to apologize soon after reversing months of public denials289. 284

'dark prisoners: inside CIA torture program'‘. aljazeera.com. Aljazeera. Web. 23 March 2018 accessed.

285

CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran’‘history.com. history. Web. 22 March 2018 accessed

. ''10 of the Most Lethal CIA Interventions in Latin America’‘telesurtv.net. . La nueva Televisión del Sur. Web. 22 March 2018 accessed. 286

287

''committee study of the central intelligence agency's detention and interrogation program'. fas.org. federation of American scientists. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 288

''Report: Brennan drafted apology to senators for CIA hacking'' politico.com. politico Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 289 "CIA admits spying on senate staffers"theguardian.com. The Guardian. web. 13 March 2018 accessed 159

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National Security Agency: Case Studies.

National Security Agency is an important intelligence agency that operates under the Department of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence. They collect, analyze and monitor data for Intelligence gathering and counterintelligence purposes. Their field of specialization is Signal Intelligence (SIGINT). They are responsible for intercepting signals of communication by electronic devices. Since most of those signals are encrypted, the NSA deciphers those signals and tracks the sender and recipient. The NSA is also responsible for the information system and communication network within the US. The usage of the data extracted from signals can vary from combating international crime and terrorism to using it in diplomatic negotiations, supporting US allies or advancing US strategic objectives290. The NSA was established by order of President Truman in 1952. However, a special military division was handling the work of intercepting the signals even before the establishment of the NSA during the Second World War. Currently, the NSA is the largest component of the Intelligence community, having the largest personnel and budget. The NSA receives its budget from both the NIP and the MIP components which reflects the importance of the agency and how both the Department of Defense and the Director of National Intel rely on it.

A) Post-Watergate Scandal Revelations: In 1972, five people committed a break-in to the Democratic National Convention. They were caught bugging the premises. President Nixon who sought re-election denied his personal involvement or the involvement of anyone from his administration. The Washington Post by the aid of a whistleblower from the FBI helped in exposing the truth that the President seemed to know about the break-in and he ordered to cover-up the incident. President Nixon had to resign right after Congress started in the procedures of his impeachment. After the Watergate scandal, the Senate Church Committee was established to investigate certain violations made by the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA mid-1970. This included covert actions against foreign leaders, obliging telecommunication companies to share their traffic with the NSA, opening and photographing mails, and any other illegal espionage acts and secret projects. One of the greatest revelations of the committee’s reports was that the NSA cooperated with its UK SIGINT counterpart agency to spy on anti-Vietnam War and civil rights movement activists, Senators and journalists. Those revelations helped in the establishment of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to oversee the work of intelligence. The revelations also helped in the enactment of FISA to limit mass surveillance in the US.

B) Warrantless Wiretapping291: In 2005, the New York Times reported that the NSA has been wiretapping calls without obtaining a court warrant from FISA court under a Presidential Executive order from George Bush. The report caused series of public debates and controversy; there are people who claimed that FISA was overridden by the Presidential Executive order. Thus, it is totally legal to spy on people without court 290

''Signals Intelligence'‘ .NSA.gov. National Security agency. Web. 10 March 2018 accessed.

291

''NSA spying’. www.eff.org The electronic frontier foundation. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 160

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warrant. While others tried to challenge this program, which was named by George Bush the Terrorist Surveillance Program in front of courts. Courts did not accept the case as all petitioners did not have a legal standing and they failed to prove how they are personally involved or targeted by the program. Later on, some amendments were added to the surveillance program, but it continued until Congress passed the Freedom Act of 2015 shutting down the program. The NSA was no longer allowed to collect metadata or oblige telecommunication companies to supply them with data without a court warrant. The Freedom Act of 2015 ended all sorts of bulk collection of metadata, like phonorecords, etc.. It put some restriction on the ways the IC require court warrant. For example, the IC is no longer able to collect data on all of the citizens, the data collection should be based on case-to-case basis.

C) Edward Snowden leaks292 293 294: Edward Snowden is a former CIA employee, and a former contractor for the NSA. He got his prominence in 2013 when he leaked and copied several classified files that revealed that the US government has been spying on American people and various countries around the world. This even included ally countries. Snowden’s disclosure of those files to the news is still considered one of the biggest Intelligence breaches in the history of US. There is no specific number of how many documents does Snowden possess. However, he did not hand over all the documents he has to journalists. Snowden claimed to evaluate every single document before sending it for publication. Snowden revealed documents that proved that the NSA has been tracking and collecting every citizen’s email accounts (Google, Yahoo, etc.). He also leaked a FISA court order that directs Verizon to hand over all its customers telephone data to the NSA on a daily basis. Edward Snowden also claimed that the NSA was spying on foreign governments and around 35 world leaders; it spied on UNESCO, the European Union and the Chinese government. Also, there was an investigation in the German Bundestag about whether the NSA has spied on the cell phone of Angela Merkel the Germen Chancellor or not. The importance of Snowden’s leaks is that it revealed that the NSA is engaged in both; domestic surveillance on US citizens by collecting their private date through telecommunication companies, and engaged in foreign surveillance acts against US allies, enemies, international organizations, embassies, etc. Snowden stated that there is no limit to the US surveillance ambitions and capabilities. He went further by stating that the NSA is involved in industrial espionage against German companies that compete with US firms. As a result of the leaks, in 2015, President Obama signed the Freedom Act into law. The Act restricted the bulk collection of metadata by Intelligence agencies which mean the NSA is no longer able to ask for metadata for US citizens, instead they can track a certain number of a certain citizens’ phonorecords based on an individualized suspicion. In 2013, President Obama also created the NSA’s Office of Civil Liberties and Privacy to restore public confidence in the NSA work. Edward Snowden is currently facing two charges in US, the first one is theft from government property, and the second one is violating the Espionage Act. Snowden has been granted a temporary 292

'Edward Snowden: Timeline’‘bbc.com. British broadcasting corporation. Web. 20 March 2018 accessed.

''NSA tapped German Chancellery for decades, WikiLeaks claims’ the guardian.com. the guardian Web. 20 March 2018 accessed. 293

''US charges Snowden with espionage’ washingtonpost.com. the Washington posts. Web. 21 March 2018 accessed. 161 294

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asylum in Russia. Edward Snowden is seen as a whistleblowers and a hero by some civil liberties groups, while he is considered a traitor in the eyes of many IC agencies.

11-

Surveillance, Whistleblowing and Civil Liberties.

The information revolution in the twenty-first century transformed the role and power of governments. It also brought about more challenging problems to be faced when there is misuse of data and infringement on individual freedom. Furthermore, a distinctive feature of this modern age we live in is the emergence of what are often referred to as whistleblowers. These are individuals, often citizens, who release classified documents by the government and disclose it to the public. They attain these documents, often illegally through hacking and breaching security systems.

When it comes to revealing their identities, many whistleblowers choose to stay anonymous as they handle over the documents they obtained to their networks of hackers and journalists; for example, the informant who uncovered the Watergate scandal surrounding the Nixon administration was operating under the pseudonym of “Deep Throat”. Thirty years later, his identity was revealed to be FBI Associate Director Mark Felt. While no solid reason was provided to explain why Felt chose to not be identified, it can be argued that Nixon and his allies could have targeted Felt to take reprisal. In some cases, staying anonymous in the wake of the revelation might cause suspicious speculations about the motives of the whistleblower and it can be easier for the government to target and discredit him as he will not be able to defend himself.

A) Arguments regarding Whistleblowing:  Perspective of whistleblowers: protecting Civil Liberties. Whistleblowers’ arguments are mostly focused on the minimal government intervention, and the right to privacy as emphasized in the fourth amendment which ensures "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized". In other words, the government only has right to surveil citizens when there is probable cause. More specifically, surveillance should be on case-by-case basis not done perpetually on a large scale targeting all citizens.  Perspective of Government: Protecting National Security. On the other hand, the government responds on two fronts. Firstly, it condemns the actions of whistleblowers, saying that whistleblowers break the law because they breach confidential data they are unauthorized to access and/or disclose to the people. Secondly, the government proclaims that it is democratically elected and mandated to secure the nation from any threat, and they will take any necessary measure for the sake of national security protection.

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B) Laws governing Intelligence whistleblowing: There are various ways for the government (The Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch) to oversee the work of the IC. also, there are many unofficial channels by which concerned citizens can lobby the government to hold the IC accountable, for instance, civil rights lobby, media coverage, the use of unconventional media like social media campaigns, etc. moreover, in the United States in order to avoid in hassle and to solve any possible misconduct, wrongdoing or any sort of misuse of power, there are certain laws and regulations that govern the mechanisms, rights and duties of any whistleblower within the intelligence community.

 Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989295 The Act protects citizens who followed the legal channels in whistleblowing from any adverse personal action that might be taken from the government’s side. This might include firing, pay-cut, or demotion. Nevertheless, the act excludes from its patronage any policy-determining or policymaking positions, and any one working in any body that conducts foreign intelligence activities such as the FBI, CIA, NSA and any IC agency.

 Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998. Unlike the abovementioned act, this new act included the Intelligence Community in the whistleblowing protection. It provided legal channels for IC employees to report to their Agency's Inspector General and to the Congress Intelligence committees if the matter was an urgent concern. Although the Act was considered a breakthrough as it granted legal protection for IC employees, it did not guarantee any protection from possible work retaliation.

 Presidential Policy Directive 19 of 2012. This directive provides a protection for any IC member, employee or contractor against any reprisal for his participating in whistleblowing activity. President Obama issued the directive in 2012 to direct IC agencies to protect their employees from retaliation in case they engaged in any protected disclosure of classified information to their supervisor, their agency head, the inspector general or the DNI. However, the act does not permit anyone holding policymaking or policy-determining positions from disclosing any data. It also does not offer any protection if the whistleblower finding the governmental channels unsuccessful decided to use unofficial ones like media. This last weakness point is very critical, as the directive orders protection and transparency if there was a personal misconduct rather than if the agency itself was indulged in wrongdoing or misuse of power. Contrary to the popular belief, the above-mentioned three acts do not protect the whistleblower from any criminal prosecution that take place under the authority of the Espionage act of 1917.

295

"National Security Whistleblowing: A Gap in the Law'' brennancenter.org. Brennan Center for Justice Web. 19 March 2018 accessed.

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Second Topic: Lobbying Table of Contents: 1. What is Lobbying? 2. Types of Lobbyists: 3. Revolving Door 4. Highlights in History of Lobbying 5. Types of lobbing groups 6. Lobbying Federal Laws 7. Methods of lobbying 8. Citizens United v FEC 9. Examples of influential lobby groups and lobbyists 10. Foreign Lobbying 11. Russian Affiliation with the Past Presidential Elections 12. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)

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1 What is lobbying? The word Lobbyist in accordance to Cambridge dictionary means "a person who tries to persuade a politician or an official group to do something". Lobby or interest groups could be a company or an individual. The common point between them is that each is working advocating a certain interest of theirs. The controversial act of lobbying the government on behalf of a company or other interest groups has been a part of the U.S. politics since shortly after the nation was founded. In the 19th century, lobbying was mostly conducted on a state level, but in the 20th and 21st century, there has been a remarkable rise in activity, particularly on the federal level in the past thirty years. That is why it is considered a subject of debate for much of the 20 th and 21st centuries in the U.S. Lobbying can be defined as the advocacy of an interest that is affected by the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision. Individuals and interest groups alike can lobby governments, and governments can even lobby each other. Lobbying is considered essential to the proper functioning and operation of the U.S. government. That is why it is especially protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution. The role of lobby groups in the legislative arena is similar to the role of lawyers in the judicial arena. Unlike voters, lobbyists vary in the level of influence over the legislative process as it is often proportional to the resources they spend to achieve their goals whether time or money. In 2014, a report in The Nation suggested that although since 2002 the number of 12,281 registered lobbyists is considered a remarkable decrease, the lobbying activity increases as lobbyists use increasingly sophisticated strategies. It is estimated that the actual number of working lobbyists was close to a hundred thousand employees, and that the industry brings in $9 billion annually.

2-Types of Lobbyists: A) In-House Lobbying: They are lobbyists who are employees of the business or organization they lobby for in return of a salary.

B) Outside Lobbying: They are lobbyists who are employed by lobbying firms or proprietorship or a partnership to lobby for "outside clients". 296 3-Revolving Door. Revolving Door is a term used to expres s the phenomena of elected public officials who fail to get reelected and therefore usually assume a comfortable job working as lobbyists for a corporation or an interest group.

296

Maskell, Jack. Congressional Research Service. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2018. 165

The 17th Model of American Congress Congressional Research Service Report The main concern of the Revolving Door concept is that the elected officials who were supposed to represent the interests of citizens have instead became involved with the big-money interests, the for-profit corporations and interest groups with narrow concern of personal gain. Also public workers such as Congressional staffers and Executive branch employees have been taken over by private interests. Legally it is prohibited to restrict former public servants from working as lobbyists after they finish their public service. However, many presidents issued Executive orders trying to limit it.

Trump’s Ethics Pledge.297 Trump’s Executive Order “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees” was an act entailing that all employees of the Executive branch must make a pre-employment pledge that among other things prohibits them from certain employments either indefinitely or for an amount of time after termination. Some of them included that after termination, one wouldn’t be allowed to lobby for 5 years with respect to the agency he used to work for, another was a life time prohibition on lobbying for any foreign entity.

4-Highlights in History of Lobbying: The term 'lobby' is derived from an old German term "louba" which means a roof or a hall. It was firstly used in the British theaters in the 18th century to describe certain groups of people that used to be at the theaters' lobby only aiming to be connected with Londoners without watching the play. The term then was transferred to the American theaters where it has become the base of the term's political version.298 The political version of the term was also initiated in Britain in the 1640's in the British parliament, then it was transferred to the American Congress. A) 1792: The first lobbyist was hired during the American Revolutionary War (held by the united colonies that has become the United States) by The Continental Army (formed by the Second Continental Congress). William Hull was hired by the veterans of the State of Virginia who sought additional compensation for their services. B) 1850's: One of the very famous early bids was made by a gun maker called Samuel Colt (created a number of firearms as Colt.45). The bid was for extending a patent for seven years in return of lavish entertainment of senators and pistols as gifts to the lawmakers and their families. The gifts were extensively used that one of these pistols was gifted to a 12 years old child. C) 1870's: That era is marked as a part of the "Gilded Age" (era of rapid economic growth) and the birth of what is called "Social Lobbying" on the hands of Sam Ward "King of The Lobby". Originally Sam was hired by the Secretary of Treasury after the Civil War to restore economic stability. His technique relied upon indirect lobbing through fancy dinners with members of Congress. Sam was also hired 297 The White House, Executive Order: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees, January 28, 2017 298 21, 2015 Art on January. "Lobbying in the Lobby." US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2018. 166

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by corporations, individuals and foreign government. His legend did end unexpectedly with an accusation and admission of bribery in a Congressional investigation in 1875 in which he was accused of spending more than 100,000 dollars for bribing federal officials. In 1876, the first attempts by Congress to put restrictions over lobbying due to the growing concern of the abolishment of the people's will in their financial aided efforts. Forms of these attempts were the registration of all lobbyists with the Clerk of the House, and criminalizing any act of lobbying, and many other forms that had fostered till 1938. The first lobbying systematic regulations legislated by Congress were represented in two Federal different legislations "The 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act" followed by "The 1946 Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act".

D) 1938-Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA): This act was primarily legislated to limit the contributions of foreign lobbying that has begun to be a source of danger over the American public policy specifically during the Second World War. Germany was the main source of concern at that time with the "Nazi movement", delivering expected speculations to the American government that Adolf Hitler was leading financial Nazi propaganda in the United States. That was the motive behind McCormack Committee's 299300 recommendation of releasing FARA. FARA's main aim was to counteract the Nazi propaganda by identifying it as paid for and distributed by foreign agents without restricting it. (FARA was expanded later to include pro-communism propaganda). The regulations stated by FARA required the public disclosure of any communication held between any foreign entity and any American politician through their "Foreign Agents". The Secretary of State was the administration assigned to receive these disclosures and to register the "Foreign Agents". The term "Foreign Agent" included any lobbyist or attorney or representative working for a foreign agency or a domestic organization with foreign subsidization.301 In the 1950's and the 1960's FARA was amended many times, the most important amendment was in 1966 which switched the main function of FARA from an anti-propagandist act to an act regulating foreign lobbying and grassroots lobbying (groups or individuals who use their own money for direct lobbying and groups who have a main purpose other than lobbying).

299

Special Committee on Un-American Activities (1934-1935), was Authorized to Investigate Nazi Propaganda specifically and Other Propaganda Activities 300

"Guide to House Records: Chapter 22: 1910-1946 Nazi and Other Propaganda." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2018. 301

"2062. Foreign Agents Registration Act Enforcement." The United States Department of Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2018. 167

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During that era the perceived threat by this act was the influence of the fiscal policy and business of the American government by economic foreign competitors, not the influence of the American foreign policy. E) 1946-The Lobbying Registration Act (LRA): This was the first comprehensive legislation to be released enacted over domestic lobbying. Resembling FARA this acts aim was disclosing the lobbyists work without imposing any restrictions on it. It has identified certain descriptions to define the term "lobbyist" as any person who directly or indirectly would by himself or by any other individual influence the passage or defeat of certain legislation with a valuable and useable thing in return whether money or anything else. The lobbyists are obliged to register their contact information, salary and expenses in addition to quarterly filing reports of funds spent or received stating the receiver and the purpose of receiving with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate. It also required the names of magazines and newspapers that are in connection with the lobbyist, and finally to keep detailed records of their contribution if exceeding 500$ or more to members of Congress. Violating any of these requirements would have had the perpetrator pay a 5,000$ fine or serve a year of imprisonment and prohibition of lobbying for 3 years. Unfortunately, it was poorly drafted, and has been butchered many times under the plenty of revisions until it was extremely narrowed by the US Supreme Court in the case of United States vs. Harriss (1954), The Supreme Court stated that lobbying is an important constitutional right of petitioning the government and it must be protected. The main area the act has failed to cover was the Executive branch employees, some of the Congressional staff and some grassroots lobbyists. That default was confirmed in 1991 in the US General Accounting Office study that has stated that 10,000 effective lobbyists out of 13,500 weren't registered, proving the failure of the act's coverage. The act was narrowed to only cover paid lobbyists who deal directly with members of Congress on a specific legislation.302 F) The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) 1995: First, the targeted lobbyists: The " Professional lobbyist" are the act's only target, S/he is an individual who, in return of a client's or an employer's compensation, provide lobbying services, these services should include more than one lobbying contract and should constitute 20% of the lobbyist's time over a three month-period. This term "Professional Lobbyist" exclude the organizations that conduct "Grass-Roots" lobbying only, they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t obliged to register their members or employees to be able to lobby regardless how effective it is. "The Professional Lobbyist" is segregated into two categories "In-House" lobbyist and "Outside" lobbyist â&#x20AC;&#x201C;previously defined- as each of them has specified regulations.

302"Lobbyists."

U.S. Senate: Lobbyists. N.p., 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2018.

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G) The Registration Requirements: The Department of Registration is represented by the Secretary of State, and The Clerk of the House. The new definition of lobbyist recognized two kinds of lobbyists: in-house lobbyists and outside lobbyists who contract with clients outside the organization of business. Both types are required to register and report their financial activities. Organizations or businesses with in-house lobbyists must report the activities of its employee lobbyists. Outside lobbyists must register and report their activities on behalf of paying clients. Under LDA, a lobbyist must register on identical forms filed with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House within 45 days of meeting the registration threshold or 45 days of being employed by an organization as a lobbyist. Registration information generally includes the names of the lobbyist, employer and/or client, and any organizations that contribute $10,000 or more for the lobbying activities within a six-month period and play a substantial role in directing the lobbying activities. Additional reporting requirements apply to lobbyists representing foreign interests. Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, lobbyists representing foreign governments or foreign political parties must continue registering under the FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) and need not register under LDA.

5-Types of lobbing groups303 Each group or company has the freedom to choose the category of their interest group; each of these categories is dependent on the type of interest as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Economic interest groups. Public interest groups. Government interest groups. Religious interest groups. Civil rights interest groups. Ideological interest groups. Single-issue interest groups.

6-Lobbying Federal Laws A) LDA (Lobbying Disclosure Act) On December 1995, the LDA (Lobbying Disclosure Act) was passed by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Later, on January 2006, a revision was done so the Act stated that any lobbying entity must be registered with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

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Types of Interest Groups. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2017.

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The 17th Model of American Congress Congressional Research Service Report They must registrar within 45 days after the individual lobbyist makes a first plan to contact, or lobby, to the President, his VP, or any highly ranked Federal official. Those who do not follow in accordance with the Disclosure Act are penalized, including fines of over $50,000, and are reported to the United States Attorney.

B) Honest Leadership and Open Government Act On September 2007, the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act” passed and was signed into law by President George W. Bush amending the “Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995”. This bill included provisions requiring quarter annual reports on lobby spending by organizations. It also places restrictions on gifts for Congress members and provides for mandatory disclosure of earmarks in expenditure bills. In addition, this act places restrictions on the Revolving Door in direct lobbying.

C) Public Charity Lobbying Law The “Public Charity Lobbying Law” gave nonprofit organizations the opportunity to lobby without losing their nonprofit status with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). However, nonprofit organizations are not allowed to use a substantial amount of their spending on lobbying to about 5% of the organization's revenue. Organizations must chose to use the Public Charity Law allowing lobbying expenditure to increase to 20% for the first $500,000 of their annual expenditures, followed by 15% for the next $500,000, up to 1 million dollars. Another aspect to the lobbying expenditure laws are the spending restrictions between direct lobbying and grassroots lobbying. No more than 20% can be spent on grassroots lobbying at any given time, while 100% of the lobbying expenditures can be on direct lobbying.

7-Methods of lobbying A) Political Action Committees PACs are funds contributed by individuals working in an industry to campaign for their collective interests as the working individuals, not the institutions at which they are employed. There are several laws regulating PACs contribution and funding. PACs appeared around 1944 when an organization called The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) formed the first PAC to raise funds to finance re-election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt304. PAC money is money donated by employees of a certain business or unions to promote workers interest not the companies, so the money comes from voluntary contributions not from the treasuries since there where laws prohibiting that from happening. That is why PACs are considered in the eyes of the government separate segregated funds from their businesses.

304

“What is a PAC?” OpenSecrets.org “The Center for Responsive Politics”

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The 17th Model of American Congress Congressional Research Service Report Not all employees qualify to donate to the PAC, that is dependent on their salaries and their roles among other minuet legalities (mainly high-ranking employees and temporary workers are banned from participating). There are regulations limiting contributions donated by a single contributor. Also, other laws limiting the amounts they can give to a candidate or a specific party totaling a 5,000 USD to a candidate per election cycle and 15,000 annually to a national party committee. However, they can spend unlimited expenditure independent of any official candidate campaign to overtly advocate for or against political candidates

Fig (1) shows total money raised by PACs/Money spent directly to candidates Fig (2) shows relation between contributions to republicans and democrats candidates 171

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B) Leadership PACs As the political atmosphere increased in sophistication and complexity, politicians who wanted to strive and felt they could assume a more important role while at the same time fight for the advocacy of issues they hold dear started creating leadership PACs. Leadership PACs were created by politicians whom aspire to lead in a certain issue by supporting other candidates’ elections to help them better finance their campaigns and create a form of loyalty and support in case they win the election. These PACs were created with the sole purpose of supporting a certain candidate by another stronger politician who shares the same ideology or affiliation.

Some of the examples are the PAC “for a Level Playing Field” affiliated with Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts which donated 235,000 USD so far for the incoming election cycle aimed at empowering women running for public offices, and the “Prosperity Action” PAC which is affiliated to Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin which already raised 970,000 USD for Republicans running for House elections.

Fig (3) shows contributions by leadership pacs to other party candidates

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C) Super PACs305 “Super PACs” is a relatively new term. In technical terms, it is called ‘’independent expenditure-only committees’’ because of their nature of no direct associations, and the fact that they actually are not a political action committee. However, in the normal dialect it is called SUPER PACs, these PACs may raise unlimited sums from anyone whether they represent corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend these unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against laws and/or political candidates. However, they are prohibited from donating, coordinating or carrying the name of any political candidate. Nonetheless some have bypassed these rules. Most notable example of successfully bending these rules was when Carly Fiorina ex-CEO of HP ran for the Republican party nomination. In 2017 she created a Super Pac named “CARLY FOR AMERICA” when confronted by the FEC (the Federal Election Commission) they changed the name to “Conservative, Authentic, Responsive Leadership for You for America” And kept the acronym “CARLY for America”. Super PAC’s didn’t exist until 2010 when the Supreme Court was presented with the case “Citizen United vs. the FEC”

8-Citizens United Vs. FEC.306 Citizen United, a non-profit organization aired a short film critical of Hillary Clinton and advertised the film on TV; that was in violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, better known as “McCain– Feingold Act”. It defined an "electioneering communication" as any form of broadcast that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary and prohibited these spending’s to be done by corporation. The district court of DC held the law and prohibited Citizens United from airing the film. However, The Supreme Court reversed this decision, removing those provisions from the law and rendering four other laws unconstitutional. Although, they upheld the requirements for public disclosure by sponsors of the campaigning advertisements, yet in a more flexible way causing a degree of undisclosed spending.

305 306

“Super PACs” OpenSecrets.org “The Center for Responsive Politics” “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission” Ballotpedia.org

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Fig(6) shows amounts of campaign contributions and their disclosure levels

9 Examples of influential lobby groups and lobbyists: A)

NRA:

NRA is an acronym for the National Rifle Association, an American nonprofit organization founded in 1871 that stands for the protection of the Second Amendment that guarantees a citizen’s right to bear arms. The association was created as a community for gun enthusiasts, that’s until Congress started making gun-control laws, then it started informing its members about firearmrelated bills in 1934, and since then it has directly lobbied for and against legislation since 1975. It earned the titles “the oldest continuously operating civil rights organization” and the “largest and best-funded lobbying organization in the United States”. NRA’s primary goal is to promote rifle shooting on a scientific basic. The association’s mission is to defend the Constitution of the United States; this is only with reference to the right of American citizen guaranteed by such Constitution to possess, exhibit, acquire, transport, collect, carry, own, transfer, and have the right to use arms. It also focuses on encouraging public safety, training in the safe and efficient handling of firearms, hunter safety, and promotion of shooting sport. The organization also sponsors competitive marksmanship events and publishes several magazines. The NRA’s membership surpassed five million active members in May 2013. Also, lawmakers consider the NRA as one of the top three most influential lobbying groups in Washington D.C. In addition, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) is its actual lobbying arm, which also manages its PAC “the Political Victory Fund (PVF)”. Throughout its history, the organization has influenced policy and legislation, initiated lawsuits, and indorsed and opposed various candidates. The NRA has been criticized by multiple gun-control human right groups, gun rights advocacy 174

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groups, politicians, and political commentators. The NRA's oldest organized critics is headed by the gun control advocacy groups; the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), the Brady Campaign, and the Violence Policy Center (VPC). Twenty-first century groups include Every-town for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, and Americans for Responsible Solutions. It has been the focus of intense criticism after several high-profile shootings, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting where Adam Lanza killed 20 first-graders and six educators before killing himself as police arrived. In addition to the Stone-man Douglas High School shooting where a gunman opened fire on students killing 17 students and faculty members. The NRA is very well funded and has a religiously devoted membership. It successfully runs a business operating magazines for guns and a channel called “NRA-TV” where they showcase everything from anti-gun-control ads to a show called “love at first shot” where they film women shooting guns and rifles for the very first time to a show where they recreate all fan favorite gun fights from popular movies. One of the NRA’s main achievements is its ability to defund researches into gun control and databases with the amendment appropriately named “The Dickey Amendment”. It was a provision in the federal government omnibus spending bill which stated that “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used to advocate or promote gun control”. Later on, Congressman Jay Dickey who introduced the amendment unsuccessfully attempted to repeal it.

Figure 4shows statistics for gun violence 175

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B) Koch Brothers: The Koch family is an American family engaged in business and political activities mainly donating to conservative and Republican Tea Party causes running their multibillion dollars conglomerate “Koch Industries”. They own the second-largest privately-owned company in the US worth 115 billion dollars as of 2013. Fred C. Koch started the family business and developed a new cracking method for refining heavy crude oil. During the 1980s, they actively supported organizations contributing significantly to Republican Candidates, and especially those who favor for smaller government. They were against those who want to expand the government's role in health care, and they advocated combating global warming. They also donated more than 100 million dollars to tens of free-market advocacy organizations by 2010. The AFP (Americans for Prosperity) is the Koch brothers’ primary political advocacy group; whom David Koch was the top initial funder. The foundation also created “Patients United Now”, which advocated against a single-payer health care system. Also, both Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Works have provided support for the Tea Party Movement as AFP spent 45 million dollars in the 2010 election. In 2008, the three main Koch brothers, founded and directed 34 political and policy organizations. Also, in 2011 Koch Industries' PAC could donate about 2.6 million dollars to candidates. In 2010, they had supported “California Proposition 23”, which would have suspended the state's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. In the 2012 elections, the brothers donated 60 million dollars to defeat President Barack Obama. They also made 10 million-dollar grants to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to fight the Bush administration over the Patriot Act. In addition to that, they participated in fighting climate change. In 2011, Koch Industries Public Sector LLC – which is the lobbying arm of Koch Industries– advocated for the “Energy Tax Prevention Act” which would’ve rolled back the Supreme Court’s ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could regulate greenhouse gases. Koch’s Foundation is also a major funder of the “Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project” which criticizes records of the earth's surface temperatures. The Koch Brothers were then called the nation's most prominent funders of efforts to prevent curbs on fossil fuel burning. The Koch brothers have also funded efforts to stop the growth of solar and renewable power. In addition, they advocated a reform to the United States' criminal justice system; and in 2011, Koch Industries received the "Defender of Justice award" in recognition of their financial support for providing low-income defendants with competent legal representation, from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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C) Jack Abramoff. Mr. Jack Abramoff was a lobbyist who was imprisoned for multiple charges of fraud, bribery, tax evasion and conspiracy. With the involvement of other lobbyists, Congressional staffers and Congressmen, he was able to gain a huge kickback of 23 million dollars by deceiving his clients. Not only did he only overcharge them, he also used them to pay for private expenditure and to tax evasion. Abramoff gained his Congressmen allies using bribery, gifts and campaign contributions; in return,307 they agreed on passing legislations and releasing statements in Congressional records. As a result to the recognition of the crimes that have been done by Abramoff as a former lobbyist, Congress passed the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act amendmentâ&#x20AC;? to the LDA. This amendment has strengthened the requirements of disclosure enacted by lobbyists, implanting restrictions on provided gifts to Congress members and their staffs and obliging the disclosure of detailed expenditure bill.308 In 2009, former President Barak Obama signed an Executive order of a 5 years ban of executive officials from lobbying their agencies after leaving the office and from lobbying any of the Executive branch officials till the end of his administration.309310

10-Foreign Lobbying For many reasons which may vary from the United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; status in a unipolar world as a super power, to the great impact the US financial market could have on the global market, or the butterfly effect of a domestic US legislation internationally, most countries try to lobby the United States on its soil. They either can lobby Congress to pass certain laws or lobby the Executive branch for particular directives, or to influence the public opinion. US Citizen have their right protected under the first amendment in the constitution to lobby their government, and other foreign personnel can also lobby the US government on behalf of foreign entities. Since it is permitted for foreign agents to register for foreign lobbying, the list of stakeholders and lobby groups is not only of foreign-owned or private businesses, but also of allies to the US and other countries, regional organizations, embassies, dictatorships, minority groups, and people with certain causes.

307

USA. Department of Justice. Former Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison on Charges Involving Corruption, Fraud, Conspiracy and Tax Evasion. Department of Justice, 4 Sept. 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2018. 308

"S. 1 (110th): Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007." GovTrack.us. N.p., 3 Feb. 2017. Web. 10 Mar. 2018. 309 USA. White House. N.p., 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 10 Mar. 2018. <https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-200901-26/pdf/E9-1719.pdf>. 310

"Lobbying Timeline." Open Secrets. The Center for Responsive Politics, July 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2018. <https://www.opensecrets.org/resources/learn/lobbying_timeline.php>. 177

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A) The Legal Environment of Foreign Lobbing: In 1938, the United States issued the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) by which any agent who actively carries out the interests of another country and lobby on its behalf, should disclose the nature of the relationship, activities and sources of finance to the Justice Department. Originally, FARA was made to protect America from propagandists, especially German ones during the WWII period but it extended later. The goal of FARA is not to restrict the content or the cause of lobbying itself, but it is to facilitate it for the government of the United States to know the people who attempt to influence their policies and public opinion, track their activities and evaluate their programs.311 There are mainly two types of foreign lobby groups. The first type is an organization that is established merely to lobby for certain interests on behalf of a certain foreign government. The other type which is more common, is the professional lobby firms, which is basically a firm full of professionals who take lobbing as a career and who can lobby for a wide range of interests and long list of people. In the FARA, the term organization may include: publicity firm, public relations firm, fundraisers, political counsels, etc. the act excludes organizations working for the scholastic, scientific or religious purposes. Also, lawyers who are representing foreign clients and diplomats who officially represent their countries are not asked to register. So, any kind of organization that lobbies for the public good or for an official governmental mission and not for certain political/economic foreign agenda are exempted to register under FARA. Previously, FARA was administrated by the Department of State, but the administration was transferred shortly after the enactment of it to the National Security division in the Department of Justice. B) What Do They Lobby For312? In the 2017 semi-annual report of FARA to Congress, more than a hundred countries were registered in it for financing lobbying services. Those countries include: Afghanistan, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordon, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and others. Sometimes, lobbies do not represent the interests of the above-mentioned foreign governments, but they are hired by a group that is based or a national of this country. I.

Israel.

Although the most powerful domestic lobby group in the United States is lobbying for Israel, without having to register under FARA, the Israeli embassy in the United States contracted with an organization to receive information about the many financial mechanisms and policies related to US taxes, international trade, customs, etc. The government of Israel also contracted with another organization to advice on the legal proceedings in the US.

311 311

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Foreign Agent Registration Actâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Fara.gov. U.S Department of Justice. 1 March 2018

accessed 312

'FARA first Semi-Annual Report-2017' Fara.gov. U.S Department of Justice. 1 March 2018 accessed 178

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Iran.

The national council of resistance of Iran, an organization regarded as a terrorist organization by the government of Iran, worked with two organizations to disseminate information about the political and economic situation in Iran and to reach to media outlets and Congressional staffers and legislators. III.

Iraq.

The Kurdish regional government contracted a lobby group to keep them in contact with Congress and government officials, and to help them shaping perception about the Kurdish interests with the United States. IV.

Russia.

The Russian government contracted with an organization to arrange on their behalf meetings with policymakers regarding the imposition of sanctions by the US government. V.

Turkey.

Turkey hired an organization to help it maintain its positive relation with the US and to provide them with strategic communication services. The Turkish Ministry of Defense also contacted officials from the US government to create business opportunities for Turkey and the Turkish defense industry. Additionally, another lobby group was hired to encourage Congresspersons to join the Congressional caucus on Turkey. VI.

Palestine.

The Palestinian authority contracted with an organization to assist it in ensuring that the US fulfills its commitments of financial assistance and to help also the Palestinian authority in managing its bilateral relations with the US government. VII.

Qatar.

Qatar hired lobby groups to educate the U.S audience on investment opportunities in Qatar. This was done to advance the economic and security cooperation between both countries. Delegations representing Qatar for visits to the US were also prepared. VIII. United Arab Emirates. The UAE Embassy hired an organization to represent them in front of Congress and the Executive branch, to familiarize them with contacts of members of Congress, staffers and government officials and to conduct daily monitoring of US media outlets for any news related to the United Arab Emirates to keep track of the image portrayed in the media. IX.

Saudi Arabia.

The government of Saudi Arabia contracted many lobby groups to help them in increasing the economic opportunities between both countries, and to help them communicate with members of Congress regarding the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA law). The Embassy also contacted through the hired lobby group U.S military veterans interested in providing information regarding the JASTA law. Such contact facilitated a meeting between the veterans and Congressmen, 179

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and facilitated the arrangements for those veterans to travel to D.C to meet the Congressmen under the false pretense of serving the veteran interests not the Saudi government. X.

Foreign Connected PACs:313

Only American citizens and green cards holders can contribute to federal politics, but the American subsidies of foreign companies can form PACs and collect contributions from their American employees. Fig(7) shows the PAC money related to foreign investments by region

11 Russian Affiliation with the Past Presidential Elections: In the past 2016 Presidential elections, there were many allegations that claimed that Russia has interfered in an electoral hacking in order to secure Donald Trump’s triumph; such claims were stated by the Director of National Intelligence314. The Department of Homeland Security accused the Russian Military Intelligence Agency the GRU of hacking the email of Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Chairman Joel Benenson, and the servers of the Democratic National Committee315. On the other side, Russians denied any interference with the elections and President Trump also rejected any accusation of Russian electoral interference, but Russians were also accused of spreading misinformation campaigns and fake news on social media. In the aftermath of the hacking, President Obama imposed many diplomatic sanctions on Russia316 and several hearings were conducted at the Intelligence committees in the Congress. The FBI also conducted an investigation regarding the hacking which included people who worked for Trump’s Presidential campaign, in a response to the investigation of the Russian involvement in the election 313

“Foreign Connected PACs” OpenSecrets.org “The Center for Responsive Politics”

314

DNI Report: High Confidence Russia Interfered With U.S. Election." ny.mag.com. New York Media LLC. 6 January published. Web. 5 December "How Hackers Broke Into John Podesta and Colin Powell’s Gmail Accounts" Motherboard.vice.com. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed 315

316

"U.S. Sanctions Russia Over Election Hacking; Moscow Threatens to Retaliate" wsg.com. The Wall Street Journal. 29 December 2016. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed 180

The 17th Model of American Congress Congressional Research Service Report of Donald Trump, Trump decided to dismiss the director of the FBI James Comey. On June 2017, Comey testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee citing that he ‘’has no doubt’’ 317that Russia interfered in the election.

12-The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC): The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a lobby group that works in advocating pro-Israeli policies in the US Congress and the Executive branch. It works to strengthen and promote good relations for both countries to protect their security. They lobby Congressmen to support the Jewish state by foreign aids, government partnerships and antiterrorism activities. 318 AIPAC does not consider itself as a Political Action Committee (PAC) as it does not endorse specific candidates for political positions; rather, the committee works on encouraging its members at the 50 U.S states to help in getting into relationships with their Congressional representatives to educate them on the importance of the US-Israeli ties. 319 The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is claimed to be one of the strongest Israel allies in the political scene of the US and of the most influential ethnic lobby groups of all time. AIPAC has huge donors pool, a large number of members and a considerable support in Congress. For decades, AIPAC has embraced bipartisanship. It also takes pride in its ability to exert its influence on Democrats and Republicans alike.

A) History, Functions and Activities: In 1951, after 3 years of the establishment of the state of Israel, Isaiah Kenen a Canadian American, founded the “American Zionist Committee for public affairs” (AZCPA) as the forerunner of “American Israel Public Affairs Committee” (AIPAC). Isaiah was born to a family who were active in Zionism. He started as a journalist and following the establishment of Israel in 1948, he served in the Israeli delegation to the UN. At that time Keenen was registered as foreign personnel for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even after his lobbying activity, he didn't register himself as a lobbyist according to the Foreign Agents Registration Act. In his book titled Israel's Defence Line: Her Friends and Foes in Washington, he mentioned that the reason behind the establishment of AIPAC is the need for American economic assistance, since the influx of refugees that came to it, especially after the statehood. Despite the fact that the most powerful lobby in the US was as initiative of a single man –kenen, during the 70s, the 80s and the 90s, AIPAC managed to expand its staff, resources and its range of 317

''Statement for the record, Senate Select Committe on intelligence, James B. Comey" intelligence.senate.gov. U.S. Senate. Web. 5 December 2017 accessed 318

'Our mission' Aipac.org. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Web. 5 December 2017

accessed 319

‘How we work’ Aipac.org. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Web. 5 December

2017 accessed 181

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influence. Currently, AIPAC operates with thousands of members estimated to be 100,000 members, more than 100 staffers, 10 regional offices and a budget (in 2015) of more than 67$ million.320 AIPAC has succeeded to influence the US foreign policy regarding critical issues like: Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, and the statues of Jerusalem. In 1991, David Steiner, AIPAC'S President at the at time was phone recorded talking and boosting AIPAC'S influence over the administration and how they are negotiation with Bill Clinton over who would be Secretary of State. The issues of homeland security, defense and foreign aids also lies in the field of interests of AIPAC. Simply the main reason why AIPAC existed is to find economic assistance for Israel and the main reason why it continues, is to maintain these foreign aids. It is even notable that currently, Israel is the largest recipient of economic and military aids from the United States, one of the main arguments behind the huge financial support for Israel is the geopolitical sensitivity of its location. B) AIPAC’S lobbying techniques: Staff members of AIPAC maintain an active presence in the lobby of Congress, attending hearings, reviewing bills and legislations concerning Israel. They work closely with some officials to develop policy recommendations that could benefit the special relationship between Israel and U.S. 321 AIPAC also works and meets with Congressional candidates to view their stances and educate them about the relations between the two countries. Most importantly, they connect promising candidates to private donor. They work to support certain bills to pass. for example, they urge to fight the rising international boycott of Israel by supporting the US-Israel Trade Enhancement Act of 2015 and boycotting those who boycott it. AIPAC uses many lobbying techniques in order to influence the US domestic and foreign policy, the most key ways they do that is through constituents’ pressures and networking. C) Constituent’s Pressures AIPAC’s one of the most effective lobbying tools is to pressure Congresspersons through their huge network and through the wide number of members and organizations they coordinate with. Most of these organizations have a strong public relations machinery that push their members to call their representatives to advocate certain pro-Israeli policies. An insightful example for this is from a former Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, and Western Kentucky who stated that “If there's an issue that AIPAC wants a Congressman or Senator to hear about, I'm immediately contacted, and I get the word out to the six synagogues and the SIU [Southern Illinois University] Hillel that are in our Federation. The area synagogues, Hillel, and B'nai Brith lodges will immediately initiate a letter writing campaign.”322 While taking into consideration the current conventional and social media

320

Bielan, Kseniia. The influence of AIPAC on American Foreign Policy in The Middle East. Diss.

Masaryk University. 2015. 28 February 2018 accessed 321

"American Israel Public Affairs Committee." West's Encyclopedia of American

Law. Encyclopedia.com web. 28 February 2018 accessed 322

Bielan, Kseniia. The influence of AIPAC on American Foreign Policy in The Middle East. Diss. 182

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extent of expansion and accessibility to people, it can be imagined how easily AIPAC can reach their members to affect their representatives. D) Networking: AIPAC, as many other lobby groups, do networking of different types and on different scales. AIPAC networks with different societal sectors, Congressional staffers and organizations with the same cause. In the U.S. the Jewish population only makes up less than 3% of the American population, one of the strategies AIPAC follows to gain more of the popular support is to connect to other minorities and societal groups to assure back-up from the outside, like the Hispanic communities, African-American communities and others. Another way AIPAC influences the US decision-making processes is by keeping in contact, watching, and affecting Congressional aides, staffers and advisers, since most of the time they are the backbone of the Congressional work and they directly affect the stance of the senator. Thus, it is extremely important for AIPAC to keep the Congressional aides on its side; one way they do that is by conducting briefing sessions and educational seminars in Congress for the Capitol staff to brief them about how vital the US is to Israel.323 AIPAC also does send fully-paid trips to Israel for U.S legislators and staffers. The other way they conduct their networking technique is that they coordinate their work with other pro-Israeli organizations, like for example: anti-defamation league, Christians united for Israel (CUFI) and The American Jewish Congress. Most of the pro-Israel organizations inside the US, including AIPAC, work under the umbrella of Conference of presidents which contains 52 pro-Israel organizations. AIPAC is also keen on reaching student campuses and connecting with potential student leaders to teach them about the US-Israeli relations. They work with high school students, undergraduate students and post-graduate students. They are on campuses all across America from the top-ranked Ivy League324 universities, to small liberal arts colleges, and small local, historicallyblack universities.325They support them by various means, most knowingly is incubating campus initiatives, offering campus training programs and providing internship opportunities in the summer.

E) AIPAC’s Annual Policy Conference. AIPAC’S policy conference is a major annual event of pro-Israel movement. The conference aims to discuss the means by which the US-Israel relations can be strengthened. The conference basically consists of general and breakout session led by experts or keynote speakers. The 3-day-conference is a yearly demonstration of AIPAC’s leverage to influence and mobilize. Every year, presidents and prime ministers along with high-ranking military officers, officials and representatives are invited to speak and to attend the conference. Not only U.S officials are invited, Masaryk University. 2015. 28 February 2018 accessed 323 324

'hill staff’ Aipac.org. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Web. 28 February 2018 accessed. Ivy league: a league of 8 prominent private universities in the U.S: Brown university, Columbia

university, Cornell university, Dartmouth college, Harvard university, university of Pennsylvania, Princeton university and Yale university 325

‘AIPAC on campus’ Aipac.org. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Web. 28 February 2018

accessed 183

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but also their Israeli counterparts, like party leaders, prime ministers or advocates. In the 2016 conference, the list of keynote speakers included Vice President Joe Biden, former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, then-Republican candidate Donald Trump along with the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. The 2018 policy conference was scheduled in March to host the Vice President Mike Pence, the US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, the Prime Minister of Israel David Netanyahu and the US permanent representative at the United Nations Nikkei Halley326.

F) AIPAC and the Public Opinion: The public opinion is split regarding AIPAC, there is a large portion of the American society and most particularly in the Jewish community inside the US, who believe that AIPAC only represents conservative Israeli political faction and support the expansionist policies of Israel’s Likud party (the ruling party).327 There is also a vocal sector of the American society who fully support Israel, Zionism and the Jewish lobby, notwithstanding, they are not in line with AIPAC’s control of politicians. The Israeli/Jewish lobby in general in the US is not only about AIPAC, it consists of political actions committees that work on lobbying, campaign contributions, political pressuring, PR and media. The lobby also has private organizations like the Conference of Presidents which is an umbrella organization that consists of 52 pro-Israel organizations [including AIPAC]. Moreover, there are also think-tanks like the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, whose lobby has many writers and neoconservative policy advisors who work for high-level officials. AIPAC takes various measures to improve its images in front of the public, beginning by recruiting student leaders to media and public relations campaigns, to conducting and publishing public opinion surveys’ results. All of those measures are less likely to affect the foreign policy of US towards Israel, they are merely used for strengthening the public image of AIPAC and Israel. 328 However, it was stated before that AIPAC does not let the public opinion change its stance; rather, they want to ‘popularize’ their stances.

G) Allegations and Criticism: 

FARA As previously mentioned, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) is a law in the United States requiring any agent that represent a foreign country to disclose its relationship with that country and that include the activities and finance.

326

'2018 speakers’. policyconference.org. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Web. 28 February

2018 accessed 327

Uebersax, John S. 'the Israel Lobby and American Politics' Web. john-uebersax.com. 28 February 2018

accessed 328

Bielan, Kseniia. The influence of AIPAC on American Foreign Policy in The Middle East. Diss.

Masaryk University. 2015. 28 February 2018 accessed 184

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In the 50s and the 60s the US administration called many organization that lobby for Israel to register under FARA, but later on they withdrew this demand. In the 80s, the former Democratic Senator from Arkansas and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (CFR) James William Fulbright,329 and the former special assistant to the Deputy Director of the CIA Victor Marchetti, called for AIPAC to register as a foreign agent for Israel, but their petition was unsuccessful. AIPAC states that they do not receive foreign money from Israel or any foreign government and that they maintain their finances from private donors. 

Lawrence Franklin: Lawrence Franklin was a former Department of Defense employee when he was pleaded guilty for espionage charges. Franklin was accused of passing classified oral information regarding the United States policy towards Iran to AIPAC'S Senior Policy Director Steven Rosen and AIPAC’s Senior Iran Analyst Keith Weissman who in turn disclosed those classified documents to Israel.

In 2006, the judge ruled to sentence Franklin to 13 years in prison. And during the pre-trial ruling for AIPAC’s staffers (both were fired from AIPAC amid the scandal) a legal problem arose when the judge who is looking at the case wrote that for a crime to be committed, the accused must have the intention to benefit another nation as well as to harm the U.S. so to reveal secrets to a friend nation like Israel could be considered a crime330. In 2009, the federal prosecutors had to drop the charges since it will be very hard to prove AIPAC’s staffers convicted after the legal rule set by the judge. On June of the same year, the Judge agreed to reduce the sentence of Franklin from 13 years to 10 months house arrest with a total of hundred hours of community service. CBS news broadcasted that a year-long FBI investigation covered a spy inside the Department of Defense and it was revealed that it was Lawrence Franklin, who was one of two officials working for the Secretary of Defense on the policy towards Iran and who was before an attaché at the U.S Embassy in Israel. It was suggested by intelligence officials that Franklin’s motives were personal or ideological rather than financial and that he was in no position to influence the DOD’s policies towards Iran nor the war in Iraq. AIPAC’s spying case raised many different reactions. Both Israel and AIPAC found the espionage claims false and baseless and at the same time, the United States government did not accuse Israel of spying.

329

The United States exchange program was named after him as an appreciation of his effort to launch this

fellowship 330

‘’AIPAC decision a victory — with qualifiers” jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com. times of Israel. 28

February 2018 accessed 185

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‫لجنة شؤون الشرق األدنى ووسط وجنوب آسيا و مكافحة‬ ‫االرهاب‬ Committee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs and Counterterrorism (NESA)

Prepared by: Chairman Abdelrahman Hisham Mostafa

Vice Chairlady Sohaila Helmy

Ranking member Sherif Yehia

Party consultant Amal Ahmed

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‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫مقدمه عن اللجنه‬ ‫لجنة شئون الشرق األدنى و جنوب ووسط اسيا و مكافحة االرهاب‪ ,‬هي لجنة فرعية من لجنة الشئون الخارجيه في مجلس الشيوخ‬ ‫األمريكي‪ ,‬و هي اللجنه التي تعمل على تربط الواليات المتحده األمريكيه بالدول الواقعه في نطاق اللجنه الجغرافي‪ ,‬و التي تمثل‬ ‫دول الشرق األوسط و جنوب سسيا و شمال افريييا‬ ‫و بعد انشاء هذه اللجنه من قبل اليائمين على النموذج منذ بداية ظهوره في عام ‪ 0222‬ذي سهمية كبرى‪ ,‬وذلك بسبب سهمية تلك‬ ‫المنطيه بالنسبة للسياسات األمريكيه في المجاالت المختلفة بداية من الناحيه السياسيهىو االقتصاديه و األمنيه‪ ,‬كما سن تلك اللجنه‬ ‫ساعدت في ربط شريحه كبيرة من سعضائها بلغتهم األم العربية و العودة لثيافتهم األساسيه‪ ,‬حيث سن اللغة الرسميه هي اللغة‬ ‫العربيه‬ ‫وتعد منطية الشرق األوسط ووسط و جنوب سسيا و شمال افريييا هي من سهم المناطق االستراتيجه في العالم ‪ ,‬من حيث مكافحة‬ ‫اال رهاب و الذي ينبع من تلك المنطيه و يمتد في جميع اجزائها ‪ ,‬و كذلك مكافحة الجريمه و استغالل الموارد الطبيعيه بشكل سمثل‬ ‫و الصراعات بين الدول الكبرى على الثروات هنالك‪ ,‬و كذلك سبل دعم التحول الديميراطي بطرييه سلميه بعد التحركات‬ ‫الجماهيريه الضخمه التي شهدتها الكثير من بلدان تلك المنطيه‬

‫‪١‬‬

‫‪Ranking Member‬‬

‫‪Leadership:‬‬ ‫‪Chairman‬‬

‫‪Tim Kaine‬‬

‫‪Jim Risch‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫أوالً‪ :‬الحرب األهلية في جنوب السودان‬ ‫‪ ‬جغرافية الدولة‪...........................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬الديموغرافيا والسكان‪.....................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬النظام السياسي في جنوب السودان‪......................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬األزمة في جنوب السودان‪...............................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬بداية األزمة وخلفيتها‪....................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬خروج النزاع السياسي عن المسار‪........................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬المواقف الدولية تجاه األزمة‪.............................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬حرب المصالح والنفوذ‪..................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬تداعيات الحرب "الوضع االقتصادي"‪....................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬أوضاع حقوق اإلنسان وفقاً لتقارير منظمة العفو الدولية‪..................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬الجهود المبذولة من قبل الحكومة في جنوب السودان والمنظمات الدولية لحل أزمة حقوق‬ ‫اإلنسان‪................................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬عالقة الجنوب بشمال السودان والواليات المتحدة األمريكية‪...............................‬‬

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‫الحرب األهلية في جنوب السودان‬ ‫انضمت جنوب السودان إلى منظومة دول العالم كدولة جديدة في التاسع من يوليو للعام ‪ ,1122‬وذلك عقب انفصالها‬ ‫عن السودان الشمالية وفقاً الستفتاء تم إجراؤه في التاسع من يناير من نفس العام وكانت نتيجته أن اختار ‪ %89,9‬من‬

‫سكان الجنوب االنفصال عن جمهورية السودان‪.‬‬

‫‪331‬‬

‫جغرافية الدولة‪:‬‬

‫تقع جمهورية جنوب السودان في وسط القارة اإلفريقية‪ ،‬وتجاورها كل من إثيوبيا وكينيا وأوغندا والكونغو باإلضافة‬

‫إلى جمهوريتي إفريقيا الوسطى والسودان الشمالية‪ .‬أما بالنسبة للتقسيم الداخلي‪ ,‬فتحتوي الجمهورية على عشر واليات‪.‬‬

‫الديموغرافيا والسكان‪:‬‬

‫وفقاً لتعداد العام ‪ُ ,1122‬وجد أن عدد سكان الجنوب يبلغ حوالي ‪ 21.11‬مليون نسمة‪ ،‬ويميزهم التنوع الديني‪ ،‬حيث‬

‫يتكون السكان من أتباع الديانات اإلفريقية التقليدية والوثنيين والمسيحيين الذين يشكلون من ‪ %01‬إلى ‪ %98‬من السكان‬

‫وأغلبهم من الكاثوليك‪ ,‬باإلضافة إلى المسلمين الذين تُ َّ‬ ‫قدر نسبتهم بنحو ‪ %21‬فقط‪ ,332‬كما يميز التنوع الَقَبلي دولة‬ ‫الجنوب حيث تحتوي على عدد كبير من القبائل التي تنتمي إلى إثنيات مختلفة وتتمتع بعوائل لغوية متباينة‪ ,‬وأهمها‪:‬‬ ‫قبيلة الدينكا‪ :‬أكبر القبائل النيلية السوادنية‪ ,‬وينتمي معظم قادة الجنوب إليها‪ ،‬ومن أبرزهم جون قرنق مؤسس الحركة‬

‫الشعبية لجنوب السودان‪ ،‬والرئيس الحالي للدولة "سيلفاكير ميارديت"‪.‬‬

‫‪333‬‬

‫قبيلة النوير‪ :‬ثاني أكبر قبيلة نيلية في الدولة‪ ,‬كما أنها تتشابه مع الدينكا في التكوين الجسماني والثقافة‪ ,‬وينتمي إليها‬ ‫المقال وأهم أطراف األزمة الحالية‪.‬‬ ‫رياك مشار نائب الرئيس سيلفاكير ُ‬ ‫قبيلة الشلك‪ :‬جماعة نيلية تعيش على الجانب الغربي من النيل األبيض و تمثل ‪ %8‬من السكان‪ ،‬وما يميز هذه‬ ‫القبيلة عن سابقتيها‪ ،‬خضوعها لرئيس بيده السلطة الروحية والزمنية‪.‬‬

‫‪334‬‬

‫النظام السياسي في جنوب السودان‪:‬‬

‫نظام الحكم في جنوب السودان هو النظام الجمهوري ويتكون من‪:‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫الهيئة التنفيذية‪ :‬تتكون من رئيس الدولة ورئيس الحكومة والحكومة‪ ,‬ويشغل رئيس الجمهورية منصبي‬

‫يعينه رئيس الجمهورية‪ ,‬بعد‬ ‫رئيس الدولة ورئيس الحكومة‪ ،‬أما الحكومة فتتكون من مجلس وزراء وطني ّ‬ ‫أن يصادق على ذلك المجلس التشريعي‪.‬‬

‫ُينتخب رئيس الجمهورية عن طريق انتخابات شعبية مباشرة لمدة أربع سنوات‪.‬‬ ‫‪ ‬الهيئة التشريعية‪ :‬تتكون الهيئة التشريعية في جنوب السودان من مجلسين؛ مجلس الواليات ويتكون من ‪81‬‬ ‫‪335‬‬

‫عضواً‪ ,‬والمجلس الوطني التشريعي ويتألف من ‪ 111‬عضواً‪ ،‬وتكون فترة والية المجلسين أربع سنوات‪.‬‬

‫‪ 15 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/arabic.2018‬انفصال جنوب السودان‪ 6 ،‬يناير ‪2011‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 3 ،‬مارس ‪ ar.tradingeconomics.com/south-sudan/population.2018‬حنوب السودان‪ ،‬عدد السكان‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪333‬‬ ‫‪ 15 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.aljazeera.net.2018‬الدينكا‪ ،‬قبيلة في قلب الصراع بجنوب السودان‪ 13 ،‬يوليو ‪ ،2016‬متاح على‬ ‫‪334‬‬ ‫‪ 15 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.aljazeera.net.2018‬أبرز قبائل جنوب السودان‪ 13 ،‬يوليو ‪ ،2016‬متاح على‬ ‫‪335‬‬ ‫‪ 3 ،‬مارس ‪ www.wipo.int/wipolex.2018‬الدستور االنتقالي لجمهورية جنوب السودان لعام ‪ ،2011‬متاح على‬ ‫‪331‬‬ ‫‪332‬‬

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‫‪‬‬

‫الهيئة القضائية‪ :‬تمثل المحاكم العليا أعلى سلطة قضائية في جنوب السودان‪ ,‬وهي تتألف من سبع قضاة‬ ‫بناء على اقتراح من مجلس الخدمة القضائية؛‬ ‫بما فيهم رئيس المحكمة ونائبه‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫يعين رئيس الجمهورية القضاة ً‬ ‫وهو عبارة عن هيئة قضائية وادارية تتكون من تسعة أعضاء‪ ,‬كما يتكون الجهاز القضائي من عنصر‬

‫آخر وهو المحاكم الفرعية والدنيا؛ التي تتمثل على المستوى الوطني في محاكم االستئناف ومحاكم‬ ‫المقاطعات‪ ,‬إضافة لوجود محاكم أخرى متخصصة وهيئات قضائية‪.‬‬ ‫أما بالنسبة لألحزاب السياسية في جنوب السودان‪ ,‬فيوجد ثالثة أحزاب رئيسية وهي؛ الحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان‬ ‫بزعامة الرئيس سيلفاكير ميارديت‪ ,‬حزب المؤتمر الوطني و أخي اًر حزب التغيير الديمقراطي‪.‬‬

‫األزمة في جنوب السودان‪:‬‬

‫‪336‬‬

‫المقال‪ ,‬رياك مشار االنقالب‬ ‫في الخامس عشر من ديسمبر ‪ ,1121‬أعلن رئيس جنوب السودان عن محاولة النائب ُ‬ ‫عليه بمعاونة مجموعة من منصاري مشار‪ ،‬وقاد هذا اإلعالن إلى نشوب نزاع مسلح بدأ في العاصمة جوبا‪ ،‬مالبث أن‬

‫تمدد ليصل إلى العديد من المناطق التي تحتوي على حقول النفط‪ ,‬لتدخل بذلك الجمهورية الوليدة في نزاعات على السلطة‬ ‫والثروة‪.‬‬

‫بداية األزمة وخلفيتها‪:‬‬

‫ُزرعت نواة األزمة عندما قام الرئيس سيلفاكير بعزل نائبه رياك مشار وجميع أعضاء الحكومة في أكبر تغيير وزاري‬ ‫شهدته الدولة منذ استقاللها‪ ،‬كما أُحيل للتحقيق األمين العام للحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان "باقان مأموم" عقب تصريحات‬ ‫علنية انتقد فيها آداء الحكومة‪ ،‬وتفجرت النزاعات بعد أن أعلن النائب المقال أنه ينوي الترشح لمنصب رئيس الجمهورية‬ ‫في اإلنتخابات التي كان من المفترض إجراؤها في ‪ ،1128‬وحصل في هذا الصدد على تأييد العديد من المسؤولين‬ ‫السابقين الذين أطاح بهم الرئيس من مناصبهم‪.‬‬ ‫يمكن القول أن الدافع وراء هذا التأييد هو تالقي رغبات جميع األطراف في ّأال يحصل سيلفاكير على فترة رئاسية‬

‫ثانية‪ ,‬حيث وجدوا أنه يتحول وبسرعة إلى ديكتاتور يريد االستئثار بجميع السلطات في يده ويسد الطريق أمام معارضيه‬ ‫عن طريق قمع الصحافة وحرية الرأي‪ ,‬فما كان من هذه المجموعة إال أن قادت حراكاً مكثفاً أرادت من خالله تغيير قيادة‬ ‫الحكومة عن طريق عمل سياسي تعبوي صاحبته حمالت إعالمية وتصريحات ركزت على أن كير يدير الدولة بطريقة‬ ‫أمنية‪.‬‬

‫وأشار محللون إلى وجود ثالثة أسباب تقف وراء االضطرابات في جنوب السودان‪ :‬أولها أن الفترة التي مرت على‬

‫استقالله قصيرة نسبياً‪ ,‬وبذلك فإن المسؤولين يفتقرون إلى الخبرة في اإلدارة والحكم‪ ،‬وثانيها وجود العديد من القبائل في‬ ‫القَبلي على انتمائها للدولة‪ ،‬مما أدى إلى سعي مختلف القبائل لجني الثروة دون‬ ‫جنوب السودان‪ ,‬والتي يهيمن انتماؤها َ‬ ‫وضع مصلحة الدولة في االعتبار‪ ،‬والسبب األخير يتمثل في ضعف سيطرة الحكومة المركزية على الجيش مما يجعل‬ ‫الصراع يتأجج بشكل دائم‪.‬‬

‫‪337‬‬

‫خروج النزاع السياسي عن المسار‪:‬‬ ‫نور عطية‪ ,‬جنوب السودان‪ :‬جذور المشكلة وتداعيات االنفصال‪ ,‬المركز الديميراطي العربي‪ ,‬مصر‪ 0 ,‬يونيو ‪.0222‬‬ ‫‪ 16 ،‬فبراير ‪www.aljzeera.net.2018‬عبد اللطيف محمد سعيد‪ ,‬جنوب السودان بين االنفصال والحرب األهلية والمجاعة‪,2017/3/5 ,‬‬ ‫‪S. Sudan: World’s youngest nation faces bleak future, 7/1/2017, www.france24.com/en, 16/2/2018.‬‬ ‫‪337‬‬ ‫إجالل رسفت وآخرون‪ ,‬انفصال جنوب السودان‪ :‬المخاطر والفرص‪ ,‬المركز العربي لألبحاث ودراسة السياسات‪ ,‬بيروت‪0220 ,‬‬ ‫‪336‬‬

‫‪190‬‬

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‫ما لبث أن تحول النزاع بين الرئيس ومجموعة المعارضين له من نزاع على السلطة إلى ما يشبه العنف الَقَبلي‪ ,‬خاصة‬

‫أن انتماء الرئيس إلى قبيلة الدينكا ونائبه األسبق إلى قبيلة النوير‪ ،‬أدى إلى تحول النزاع من صراع على السلطة السياسية‬ ‫إلى اشتباكات قائمة على العصبية واإلنتماء القبلي‪ ،‬والتى راح ضحيتها العديد من المدنيين‪ ،‬األمر الذي أدى إلى نزوح‬

‫‪ 2,8‬مليون شخص داخل البالد من والية إلى اخرى‪ ,‬بينما فر ‪ 2.2‬مليون إلى الدول المجاورة كدول السودان واثيوبيا‬ ‫وكينيا وأوغندا‪ ,‬ومن الجدير بالذكر أن أوغندا منفردة كانت تستقبل قرابة ‪ 2911‬نازح يومياً‪ ,‬كما امتدت أعمال العنف إلى‬ ‫مناطق واسعة في البالد خاصة في المدن التي يوجد بها حقول النفط بغرض السيطرة عليها‪.‬‬

‫المواقف الدولية تجاه األزمة‪:‬‬

‫قام مجلس األمن بنشر ‪ 0111‬جندي باإلضافة إلى ‪ 21111‬جندي من قوات حفظ السالم الموجودة بالفعل على‬

‫األراضي السودانية الجنوبية‪,‬‬ ‫من ِقَبل قوات األطراف المتنازعة وتعرض المبعوثين للمضايقات زاد من صعوبة هذه المهمة‪ ,‬كما اقترحت الواليات المتحدة‬ ‫حظر دخول األسلحة إلى جنوب السودان باإلضافة إلى فرض عقوبات كتجميد األموال ومنع السفر على األفراد المتهمين‬ ‫‪338‬‬

‫تعرضها للسلب والنهب‬ ‫كما قام المجلس بإرسال العديد من المساعدات اإلنسانية‪ ،‬ولكن ُّ‬

‫بارتكاب فظائع في الدولة وبحق المدنيين‪.‬‬

‫على ذكر المواقف الدولية يلزم ذكر الدور المحوري إلثيوبيا في احتضان المفاوضات من أجل تحقيق السالم و‬

‫محاوالتها إللزام أطراف النزاع باتفاقيات السالم التي يتم توقيعها من أجل التوصل إلى حل نهائي لألزمة‪.‬‬

‫حرب المصالح و النفوذ‪:‬‬ ‫يمثل جنوب السودان نقطة لتقاطع المصالح بين الواليات المتحدة األمريكية وبعض الدول األوروبية‪ ,‬باإلضافة إلى‬

‫الصين؛ فبالنسبة للواليات المتحدة يمثل جنوب السودان أهمية خاصة من الناحية الجيوستراتيجية‪ ,‬أما بالنسبة للصين‬ ‫فتتمثل أهمية الجنوب في الشركات الصينية الموجودة في المنطقة‪ ,‬وهذا يبدو تحدياً بالنسبة ألمريكا التي تسعى لفرض‬ ‫اإلستثمار في الجنوب في مختلف القطاعات من زراعة ومعادن وغيرها‪.‬‬

‫ويتحدد هدف هذه الدول مضاف ًة لها الدول المجاورة لجنوب السودان في الحرص على استمرار ضخ النفط الجنوبي‬ ‫عبر أراضي الشمال‪ ،‬والذي يؤدي وقف إنتاجه وتسويقه ألن يصبح الجنوب بما فيه من مشاكل عبئاً وعالة على المجتمع‬

‫الدولي بأسره‪.‬‬

‫تداعيات الحرب (الوضع اإلقتصادي)‪:‬‬

‫بين يناير ويونيو للعام ‪ 1128‬انخفضت قيمة عملة جنوب السودان "الجنيه الجنوب سوداني" مقابل الدوالر األمريكي‬

‫من ‪ 0.8‬إلى ‪ 22‬جنيه‪ ،‬كما أدت الحرب إلى حدوث مجاعة في جنوب السودان‪ ،‬فبعد أن اتسعت دائرة الحرب‪ ,‬أعلنت‬ ‫جنوب السودان وثالث منظمات تابعة لألمم المتحدة – الفاو واليونيسيف وبرنامج األغذية العالمي‪ -‬المجاعة في‬ ‫الجنوب‪.‬‬

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‫‪ 20 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/ar‬جنوب السودان يعلن الموافقة على دخول المزيد من قوات حفظ السالم‪ 5 ،‬سبتمبر ‪ ،2016‬متاح على‬ ‫‪.2018‬‬ ‫‪339‬‬ ‫عبد اللطيف محمد سعيد‪ ،‬جنوب السودان بين االنفصال والحرب األهلية والمجاعة‪ 5 ،‬مارس ‪ ،2017‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 20 ،‬فبراير ‪www.aljazeera.net.2018‬‬ ‫‪338‬‬

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‫أوضاع حقوق اإلنسان وفقاً لتقارير أُممية‪:‬‬

‫‪340‬‬

‫وفقاً للتقارير المختلفة الصادرة عن منظمات حقوقية تابعة لألمم المتحدة‪ ،‬فقد أسفرت هذه النزاعات عن انتهاكات‬ ‫جسيمة في حقوق المواطن واستمرت معها المخالفات للقانون الدولي اإلنساني على أيدي كافة أطراف النزاع‪ ,‬من بينها‬ ‫عمليات قتل ونهب وتدمير لممتلكات المدنيين واختطاف وعنف جنسي‪ :‬ففي والية بحر الغزال على سبيل المثال؛ شن‬

‫الحكوميون في أوائل العام ‪ 1122‬هجمات على المدنيين شملت عمليات قتل وتعذيب ونهب وحرق لمنازل المدنيين‪ ,‬كما‬ ‫أدت االشتباكات التي حدثت بين طرفي النزاع في مدينة واو إلى مقتل العشرات ونزوح ما يقرب من ‪ 01111‬شخصاً‪،‬‬ ‫ومن الحقوق التي تم انتهاكها وبشكل صارخ هي الحق في عدم التعرض للتعذيب أو اإلحتجاز التعسفي‪ ,‬حيث استمر‬

‫"جهاز األمن الوطني" و"مديرية المخابرات العسكرية" التابعة للجيش الوطني في اعتقال األشخاص الذين ُيعتقد بأنهم‬ ‫معارضون للحكومة‪.‬‬ ‫كما أفاد تقرير لمنظمة العفو الدولية بأنه تم احتجاز ما يزيد عن ‪ 11‬رجالً في مدينة جوبا دون توجيه أي اتهامات‬

‫وقيد الجهاز الوطني‬ ‫رسمية لهم أو إحالتهم إلى محكمة‪ ,‬كما لم ُيتَح ألي منهم فرصة الحصول على أية استشارة قانونية‪ّ ,‬‬ ‫اتصالهم بعائالتهم ولم يقدم لهم الرعاية الطبية الكافية‪ ,‬كما أفاد التقرير بتعرض بعضهم للضرب وغيره من أشكال‬

‫االعتداءات البدنية‪ ,‬وتظهر االنتهاكات جلياً باحتجاز المعتقلين في حاويات شحن معدنية رديئة التهوية وال َّ‬ ‫يقدم لهم الطعام‬ ‫إال مرة أو مرتين فقط في األسبوع‪.‬‬

‫ومن الحريات المنتهكة التي تتصدر القائمة هي حرية الرأي والتعبير‪ ,‬حيث استمر المجال المتاح للصحفيين أو‬

‫العاملين بمجال حقوق اإلنسان للعمل بحرية في التقلص‪ ،‬وواصلت السلطات مضايقة الصحفيين وترهيبهم واحتجازهم‬ ‫تعسفياً‪ ,‬مما أدى إلى فرار العديد منهم خارج البالد‪ ,‬ومن أمثلة ذلك تعرض " ألفريد تعبان "‪ ,‬وهو صحفي ورئيس تحرير‬ ‫صحيفة جوبا مونيتور‪ ,‬للقبض واالحتجاز وذلك بعدما نشر مقاالً ورد فيه أن مشار وكير قد فشال تماماً ويجب ّأال يظال‬

‫في منصبيهما‪.‬‬

‫ووردت في الئحة الحريات المنتهكة حرية تكوين الجمعيات‪ ,‬حيث صدر قانونان ينظمان أنشطة المنظمات غير الحكومية‪,‬‬

‫ولكن يقيد القانونان الحق في حرية تكوين الجمعيات وذلك عن طريق إلزام كل المنظمات غير الحكومية بتسجيل نفسها‪,‬‬ ‫ولكن الحكومة منحت نفسها الحق في إلغاء تسجيل المنظمات التي ترى أنها ال تتوافق مع القانون‪ ،‬مما يوضح أن وجود‬

‫مثل هذه الجمعيات هو وجود صوري ليس أكثر‪.‬‬

‫من الجلي أن أبرز الحقوق المنتهكة لسكان الجنوب هو الحق في الحياة‪ ,‬حيث يوضح التقرير الذي نشرته "هيومن‬ ‫رايتس واتش"‬

‫‪341‬‬

‫أن القوات الموالية للحكومة قامت بعمليات قتل مروعة وجرائم واسعة النطاق من تعدي جنسي إلى إحراق‬

‫منازل المواطنين وذبح البعض وشنق البعض اآلخر‪.‬‬ ‫تعرضن لالغتصاب الفردي أو الجماعي من قبل جنود‬ ‫أما بالنسبة للعنف الجنسي‪ ,‬فأفادت مصادر أن النساء قد َّ‬

‫يرتدون الزي العسكري وأحياناً رجال يرتدون مالبس مدنية‪ ,‬حيث قامت األمم المتحدة في تقرير لها بكشف عناصر ميليشيا‬ ‫متحالفة مع جيش الدولة قامت باغتصاب النساء كبديل للرواتب‪,‬‬

‫‪342‬‬

‫ومن أبشع هذه الوقائع ما شهدته نساء والية الوحدة‬

‫حيث تعرضت منهن حوالي ‪ 2111‬امرأة لالغتصاب في عام واحد‪.‬‬

‫تنديدا بهذه األوضاع وللفت أنظار العالم إلى ما يحدث في جنوب السودان‪ ,‬ذكر مفوض األمم المتحدة لحقوق‬ ‫ً‬

‫‪ 27 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.amnesty.org/ar/africa/south-sudan.2018‬تقرير جنوب السودان ‪ ،2018/2017‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 27 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.hrw.org/ar.2018‬جنوب السودان‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪342‬‬ ‫‪ 27 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/arabic‬مليشيات موالية لحكومة جنوب السودان "اغتصبوا نساء بدال من الرواتب"‪,2017/12/16 ,‬‬ ‫‪.2018‬‬ ‫‪340‬‬ ‫‪341‬‬

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‫اإلنسان أن العنف الجنسي المرتكب في جنوب السودان بحجمه ونوعه يعتبر أفظع ما شهده العالم من انتهاك لحقوق‬

‫اإلنسان مستدالً باألذى الجسدي والنفسي اللذان تتعرض لهما النساء المغتصبات وبالتقارير والبيانات التي توضح ماتقوم‬

‫به الحكومة من عمليات االختطاف واالغتصاب‪.‬‬

‫‪343‬‬

‫مسألة الصحة النفسية والحق في العالج‪ :‬من أهم النتائج المترتبة على ما شهده سكان الجنوب‪ ،‬تدهور صحتهم‬ ‫النفسية ووصولها إلى مراحل متأخرة جداً‪ ،‬فنسب المصابين باالكتئاب وحاالت ما بعد الصدمة آخذة في االرتفاع‪ ،‬كما‬

‫ويعتبر جناح األمراض النفسية الموجود في مستشفى‬ ‫يقابلها تدهور ومحدودية في خدمات الصحة العقلية والدعم النفسي‪ُ ،‬‬ ‫جوبا التعليمي هو المنشأة الطبية العامة الوحيدة التي توفر الرعاية النفسية في الجنوب وال يوجد بها سوى ‪ 21‬سري اًر فقط‪،‬‬

‫في هذا الصدد يلزم ذكر محدودية األدوية الالزمة للعالج النفسي وتوافرها المتفاوت‪ ،‬كما تواجه جنوب السودان انخفاضاً‬ ‫طبيب ْين فقط كالهما في العاصمة جوبا‪.‬‬ ‫كبي اًر في أعداد المزاولين للطب النفسي‪ ،‬حيث لم يتوافر في الجنوب سوى َ‬ ‫نظ اًر الفتقار الدولة لجميع مقومات الطب النفسي‪ ,‬لجأت الحكومة إلى الزج باألفراد الذين يعانون من مشاكل‬ ‫واضطرابات نفسية في السجون حتى دون ارتكابهم لما يخالف القانون‪ ,‬وهذا وفقا لما تم ذكره في تقارير رسمية نشرتها‬ ‫المنظمات الحقوقية‪.‬‬

‫الجهود المبذولة من قبل الحكومة الجنوبية والمنظمات لحل أزمة حقوق اإلنسان‪:‬‬

‫كمحاولة من الحكومة لتحسين ملف حقوق اإلنسان وتجنب الضغط الدولي المتزايد‪ ،‬قامت بإنشاء "العديد من اللجان"‬

‫منها لجنة إلدارة األزمات‪ ,‬ولجنة للسالم والمصالحة وتضميد الجراح‪ ،‬ولجنة للتحقيق في هذه االنتهاكات‪ ،‬باإلضافة إلى‬

‫ذلك سعت الحكومة للسيطرة على مناطق كانت تحت إشراف المتمردين وذلك لإلشراف على أوضاع حقوق اإلنسان بها‪.‬‬ ‫باإلضافة إلى اللجان المحلية‪ ,‬وافقت جنوب السودان على تدخل لجنة التحقيق التي شكلتها اللجنة اإلفريقية لحقوق‬

‫االنسان لمتابعة األوضاع‪ ,‬وقد أسفرت تحقيقات هذه اللجنة عن إدانة جميع زعماء الجنوب‪.‬‬

‫قامت الحكومة بتوقيع بيان ينص على إجراء مفاوضات بينها وبين المعارضة بشأن السالم برعاية منظمة "إيغاد"‬ ‫الهيئة الحكومية الدولية المعنية بالتنمية‪ ،‬باإلضافة إلى اإلشراف على المفاوضات‪ ،‬قامت " إيغاد " بالتأكيد على مبدأي‬

‫سيادة القانون وحقوق اإلنسان باعتبارهما أساسيين ال يمكن لعملية السالم أن تتم دونهما‪ ,‬كما قامت بالضغط على أطراف‬ ‫النزاع لاللتزام باالتفاقات التي تم التوصل إليها موضح ًة العواقب التي سيواجهها من يعرقل عملية السالم‪.‬‬ ‫كمحاولة من الحكومة للتأكيد على نفوذها داخل الدولة‪ ,‬أعلنت أن حماية المدنيين مسؤوليتها الرئيسية وأن نشر السالم‬ ‫‪344‬‬

‫وتعزيز المصالحة بين أبناء الجنوب ُيعد من أولوياتها‪.‬‬ ‫بخصوص الدور الذي لعبته األمم المتحدة في ملف حقوق اإلنسان في جنوب السودان‪ ،‬فقد طالبت بإجراء تحقيق‬ ‫دولي مستقل حول الجرائم المرتَ َكبة‪ ،‬وجددت تحذيراتها من التطهير اإلثني‪.‬‬

‫‪345‬‬

‫‪ 28 ،‬فبراير ‪ news.un.org/ar.2018‬جنوب السودان؛ انتهاكات واسعة‪ 21 ،‬يناير ‪،2016‬‬ ‫‪ 3 ،‬مارس ‪ aawsat.com.2018‬منظمة {إيقاد} تؤكد أنها حققت اختراقا كبيرا لحل أزمة جنوب السودان‪ 24 ،‬أكتوبر‪ ،2014‬متاح على‬ ‫‪345‬‬ ‫جنوب السودان‪ ،‬األمم المتحدة تعمل على الجبهتين السياسية وحفظ السالم لوقف القتال‪ 30 ،‬ديسمبر ‪ ،2013‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 27 ،‬فبراير ‪news.un.org/ar.2018‬‬ ‫‪343‬‬ ‫‪344‬‬

‫‪193‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫عالقة الجنوب بشمال السودان والواليات المتحدة األمريكية‪:‬‬

‫أوالً‪ :‬عالقة جنوب السودان بدولة السودان‪ :‬اتسمت العالقات بين الدولتين بالتوتر تارة والتعاون تارًة أخرى منذ‬ ‫اإلنفصال‪ ,‬ففي أبريل من العام‪ 1121‬شن الرئيس السوداني "عمر البشير" هجوماً عنيفاً على الحركة الشعبية للحزب‬

‫الحاكم في الجنوب وأعلن عزم الشمال على تحرير المواطنين من حكمها‪ ،‬وعلى إثر هذه التصريحات‪ ,‬استعادت القوات‬ ‫النظامية السودانية بلدة نفطية كانت قد احتلتها قوات الجيش الشعبي لجنوب السودان وذلك بعد معارك ضارية استمرت‬ ‫لسبعة أيام‪.‬‬

‫وعلى الصعيد االقتصادي‪ ,‬ظهر التعاون بين البلدين‪ ,‬ففي سبتمبر ‪1121‬م أكد محافظ بنك السودان المركزي السابق‬

‫أن االتفاقات الموقعة مع دولة الجنوب _ إذا تم اإللتزام بها _‪ ,‬فإنها ستجني على السودان الكثير من الفوائد في مجالي‬ ‫البترول والتجارة‪ ,‬وهذا وفقاً لما أفاد به نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء القومي السوداني‪ .‬كما أوضح النائب أهمية وضع أسس‬ ‫لهذه التجارة واالتفاق على فتح المعابر والتخلص من كافة العقبات التي تعترض تحقيق المصالح المشتركة بين الدولتين‪.‬‬ ‫جليا الدور الذي لعبته الواليات المتحدة في نشأة‬ ‫ثانياً‪ :‬عالقة جنوب السودان بالواليات المتحدة األمريكية‪ :‬يظهر ً‬ ‫جنوب السودان من خالل الحماية والدعم‪ ,‬األمر الذي َّ‬ ‫مكن أبناء الجنوب من تحقيق حلم االنفصال‪ ,‬لتسد الدولة الوليدة‬ ‫خانة هامة في االستراتيجية األمريكية تجاه إفريقيا‪ ،‬كما كانت الواليات المتحدة من أوائل الدول التي اعترفت رسمياً بجنوب‬ ‫السودان‪ ,‬وتعهدت بشراكة ثابتة وأصبحت من أكبر الدول التي تقدم مساعدات مالية لجوبا‪ ,‬ومن أهم األسباب التي أدت‬

‫إلى حصول جنوب السودان على هذه المكانة‪ ،‬موقعها الجغرافي والجيوسياسي ومواردها االقتصادية وعلى رأسها النفط‪.‬‬

‫‪346‬‬

‫و تسعى الواليات المتحدة األمريكية إلى تحقيق أهدافها اإلستراتيجية ومنع أي تهديد اقتصادي ينتج عن انخفاض‬

‫صادرات بترول جنوب السودان‪ ،‬لذلك عندما برزت أزمة جنوب السودان احتلت قمة األجندة األمريكية‪ ,‬وبناء على مطالب‬ ‫جماعات الضغط والمصالح‪َ ،‬فرضت عقوبات على أطراف النزاع‪ ،‬كما سعت الواليات المتحدة لفرض حظر األسلحة على‬ ‫جنوب السودان‪ ,‬و ذلك العتبار الصراع تهديداً لمصالحها في المنطقة‪ ،‬كما أعلنت إدانتها ورفضها للنزاع السياسي الداخلي‬

‫وطالبت بتغيير حقيقي ينهي الصراع ويسمح ببناء دولة جنوب السودان‪.‬‬

‫زادت عالقات البلدلين سوءاً بعد التصويت على مشروع قانون يقضي بتمديد الفترة الرئاسية الخاصة بسيلفاكير لعامين‬

‫آخرين‪ ,‬األمر الذي حاولت أن تمنعه الحكومة األمريكية من خالل مبعوثها الخاص في الجنوب‪ ,‬واصف ًة له – أي مشروع‬ ‫القانون ‪ -‬بالخطوة غير الصائبة وغير الدستورية‪ ،‬كما أعلن الرئيس األمريكي السابق باراك أوباما أن الوضع في جنوب‬ ‫برمتها‪.‬‬ ‫السودان بات يشكل تهديداً لألمن القومي األمريكي والمنطقة ّ‬ ‫في العام ‪ ,1122‬قامت إدارة الرئيس أوباما بإصدار قرار يقضي بتقديم المساعدات العسكرية لجنوب السودان‪،‬‬ ‫ورحبت الحكومة الجنوبية بهذه التغيرات ووصفتها بالخطوة السديدة التي كان من الضروري اتخاذها‪.‬‬

‫أما في عهد الرئيس دونالد ترامب؛ اعتقد الكثير من الساسة األمريكيين أن القضية السودانية الجنوبية لن تتصدر‬ ‫قائمة أولويات السياسية الخارجية األمريكية‪ ,‬حيث اكتفى ترامب بالتدخل في األزمة عن طريق المبعوثة األمريكية الدائمة‬ ‫لدى األمم المتحدة "نيكي هايلي"‪ ,‬حيث قامت بإجراء العديد من المقابالت مع سيلفاكير لدفع عملية السالم وبالتالي حل‬ ‫أزمة الالجئين‪.‬‬

‫‪347‬‬

‫حاليا‪ ,‬بحكم ما يحدث في الجنوب من حوادث‪ ,‬قامت الواليات المتحدة بتخصيص ما يقرب من ‪ 218‬مليون‬ ‫أما ً‬

‫‪346‬‬

‫‪Karen Allen, Why does South Sudan matter so much to The US?, 31/8/2015, www.bbc.com/en,‬‬ ‫‪28/2/2018.‬‬ ‫‪347‬‬ ‫محمود رضا الزاملي‪ ،‬السفيرة األمريكية في األمم المتحدة تلتقي رئيس جنوب الودان في جوبا‪ 25 ،‬أكتوبر ‪ ،2017‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 28 ،‬فبراير ‪www.youm7.com.2018‬‬

‫‪194‬‬

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‫دوالر من المساعدات اإلنسانية للمتضررين من انعدام األمن الغذائي في دول عديدة‪ ,348‬ومنها جنوب السودان‪.‬‬

‫يتضح مما سبق أن النزاع السياسي الناتج عن عزل نائب الرئيس تحول إلى صراع َقَبلي تطور إلى حرب أهلية‬ ‫حين‪ ،‬لذا فأزمة جنوب السودان‬ ‫وصلت في النهاية إلى كارثة إنسانية‪ ,‬وأسفرت عن أعداد كبيرة من الضحايا والالجئين والناز ً‬

‫يؤرق جماعات حقوق اإلنسان لما نتج عنها من إحصائيات‬ ‫اليوم تعدت كونها أزمة سياسية داخلية‪ ,‬بل أصبحت واقعاً مؤلماً ّ‬

‫مفزعة ألعمال القتل والتشريد والمجاعات‪.‬‬

‫ازدياد حدة انعدام األمن الغذائي وسط النزاعات األهلية والجفاف‪ ،‬تقرير منظمة األغذية والزراعة لألمم المتحدة"الفاو" ‪2017‬م‪31 ،‬‬ ‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪www.fao.org.‬يوليو ‪2017‬م‪،‬‬ ‫‪348‬‬

‫‪195‬‬

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‫ثانياً‪ :‬قضايا األقليات في ميانمار‬

‫‪ ‬ميانمار جغرافياً وديموغرافياً‪.‬‬

‫‪ ‬الخلفية السياسية‪...................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬األقليات في ميانمار‪...............................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬االنتهاكات ضد الروهينغا‪..........................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬جيش إنقاذ الروهينغا في أراكان‪....................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬أونغ سان سو تشي‪...............................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬أسباب التمييز ضد مسلمي الروهينغا‪..............................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬التعامل اإلقليمي مع الروهينغا‪....................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬المواقف الدولية وردود األفعال تجاه أزمة الروهينغا‪................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬دول جنوب شرق آسيا‪...........................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬إدانات شعبية‪...................................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬الموقف األمريكي من األزمة‪....................................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬أوضاع حقوق اإلنسان في بورما وفقاً لتقارير المنظمات الحقوقية الدولية‪..........‬‬ ‫‪ ‬النزاع العرقي وانتهاكات القوات المسلحة‪.........................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬حرية التعبير والتجمع في ميانمار‪...............................................‬‬ ‫‪ ‬حقوق النساء والفتيات في ميانمار‪...............................................‬‬

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‫ميانمار جغرافياً وديموغرافياً‪:‬‬

‫قضايا األقليات في ميانمار‬ ‫‪349‬‬

‫بورما أو ميانمار هي إحدى دول جنوب شرق آسيا‪ ،‬وتقع على امتداد خليج البنغال‪ ،‬كما تحدها من الشمال الشرقي‬

‫دولة الصين‪ ،‬ومن شمالها الغربي الهند وبنغالديش‪ ،‬وتشترك تايالند والوس معها في حدودها الشرقية‪ ,‬أما الحدود الجنوبية‬ ‫لبورما فهي عبارة عن سواحل تطل على ٍ‬ ‫كل من المحيط الهندي والخليج البنغالي‪ ،‬ويمتد جزء من بورما إلى أن يصل‬ ‫لشبه جزيرة الماليو‪.‬‬

‫قدر عدد سكان بورما بما يزيد على ستين مليون نسمة‪ ,‬غالبيتهم العظمى من البوذيين‪ ،‬كما يوجد بها أعداد من‬ ‫ُي ّ‬ ‫المسلمين والمسيحيين والوثنيين باإلضافة إلى تواجد ديانات أخرى مثل الديانة اإلحيائية والديانة الصينية الشعبية‪ ,‬العاصمة‬ ‫البورمية هي نايبيداو أما اللغة الرسمية فيها هي اللغة البورمية‪.‬‬

‫الخلفية السياسية‪:‬‬

‫استقلت جمهورية ميانمار عن المملكة المتحدة البريطانية عام ‪2809‬م وساد فيها الحكم العسكري الذي استمر إلى‬

‫وقت قريب‪ ,‬ومع حلول عام ‪ 2881‬تم إجراء انتخابات ُوصفت بأنها 'متعددة األحزاب' ألول مرة‪ ،‬والتي فاز بها حزب‬ ‫الرابطة الوطنية من أجل الديمقراطية‪ ,‬ولكن الجيش تجاهل نتيجة تلك اإلنتخابات‪ ،‬وعقب تاريخ طويل من نضال المدنيين‬ ‫البورميين _ وعلى رأسهم زعيمة المعارضة الشهيرة "أونغ سان سو تشي" _ ضد الحكومات العسكرية‪ ،‬مثَّل عام ‪1121‬‬ ‫بداي ًة لعملية تحول ديمقراطي تدريجي في البالد عندما وافق الجيش على تسليم السلطة لحكومة ي أرسها الجنرال اإلصالحي‬

‫ثين سين وتُّوج هذا التحرك في عام ‪ 1128‬بتولي حزب الرابطة الوطنية من أجل الديمقراطية الذي تتزعمه "أونج سان سو‬ ‫تشي" السلطة‪ ،‬والتي تم حرمانها دستورياً من خوض انتخابات الرئاسة ألن الدستور يحظر على أي شخص يحمل أوالده‬ ‫جنسية أجنبية تولي رئاسة البالد‪ ،‬وهو ما ينطبق على سوتشي التي يحمل نجالها الجنسية البريطانية‪ ،350‬إال أنها ّنبهت‬

‫إلى أن سلطتها ستكون "فوق" الرئيس "هتين كياو" الذي تولى الرئاسة في مارس ‪ 1122‬ليقود أول حكومة منتخبة ديمقراطياً‬

‫بعد عقود من الحكم العسكري‪.‬‬

‫وعلى خلفية خضوع ميانمار للحكم العسكري لهذه الفترة الطويلة منذ عام ‪ 2821‬وحتى ‪ ،1122‬فقد قام الجنراالت‬

‫الذين تولوا السلطة في ذلك الوقت _ وفقاً لمنظمات حقوقية _ بقمع جميع المعارضين وعلى رأسهم زعيمة المعارضة‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫حينئذ "أونج سان سو تشي"‪ ،‬األمر الذي ّأدى إلى اتهامهم بانتهاك حقوق اإلنسان‪ ،‬مما عرضها لمزيد من العقوبات‬ ‫اإلقتصادية‪.‬‬

‫أيضا على "اسم الدولة" التي‬ ‫الخالف السياسي بين النظام والمعارضة في "ميانمار" ‪ -‬بورما ً‬ ‫سابقا ‪ -‬أضحى خالًفا ً‬ ‫‪351‬‬ ‫قامت السلطات العسكرية هناك بتغيير اسمها عام ‪2898‬م من "بورما" إلى "ميانمار"‪ ،‬والتي تعني "جميع العرقيات"‪.‬‬ ‫ونظ اًر لتعدد العرقيات داخل بورما‪ ،‬تمسك كل طرف باالسم الذي يطلقه عليها والذي يتماشى مع مصالحه السياسية‬ ‫ويرتبط بتاريخ هذه الدولة‪ ،‬فلرغبة السلطات العسكرية في إطالق اسم يدل على تساوي ووحدة جميع العرقيات داخل الدولة‪،‬‬ ‫أطلقت اسم "ميانمار" والذي يعني الوحدة العرقية‪ ،‬أما زعيمة المعارضة "أونغ سان سو تشي" فهي تتمسك ومناصروها‬

‫باسم بورما نظ اًر لداللته التاريخية لعرقية البورمان التي ينتمون إليها‪.‬‬

‫‪ 4 ،‬مارس ‪ ar.actualitix.com.2018‬ميانمار‪ ،‬بورما‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 4،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ almasryalyoum.com.‬محمود عبد الوارث‪ ،‬قصة زعيمة بورما‪ 10 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪351‬‬ ‫‪ 4 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.rna-press.com/ar.‬خالف بين المعارضة والحكومة حول اسم الدولة‪ 13 ،‬يناير ‪2014‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪349‬‬ ‫‪350‬‬

‫‪197‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

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‫األقليات في ميانمار‪:‬‬

‫‪352‬‬

‫يهيمن في بورما عرق البورمان وهو العرق األكبر؛ حيث يمثل حوالي ‪ %01‬من عدد سكانها‪ ،‬إال أنها تحتوي على‬

‫عدة أقليات أخرى يدخل بعضها في مشكالت وأزمات سياسية مع الحكومة وأهمها‪:‬‬

‫‪ ‬الكاريني‪ :‬وهي أقلية يتمركز أفرادها بشكل أساسي في والية 'كايان' الفقيرة‪ ،‬والتي تعاني من هجمات من قبل‬ ‫الجيش في محاولة للسيطرة على تلك المنطقة الغنية بالموارد الطبيعية‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫الكاشين‪ :‬أقلية ُيعتقد أنها جاءت من التبت ويعتنق أفرادها المسيحية ولها فصيل مسلح هو 'جبهة تحرير‬ ‫كاشين' الذي توصل مؤخ اًر التفاق وقف إطالق نار مع الحكومة‪.‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫الوا‪:‬‬

‫يعيشون في والية 'شان' ذات الحكم الذاتي‪ ،‬ويرتبطون بشدة بالصين‪ ،‬حتى أنهم يستخدمون لغة الماندرين‬

‫الصينية كلغة ثانية‪ ،‬ويتوزعون بين الوثنية والمسيحية وينتمي لتلك األقلية فصيل مسلح هو جيش 'دولة وا‬ ‫المتحدة' وهي ميليشيا قوية تضم ‪ 11‬ألف مقاتل‪ ،‬وقد توصلت الحكومة لوقف إلطالق النار معها‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫الشان‪:‬‬

‫هي األقلية األكبر حجماً في ميانمار وتُ َّ‬ ‫قدر بحوالي "‪ 2‬ماليين نسمة"‪ ،‬وهم موزعون بين واليات شان‬

‫وكايان وكاشين ووسط إقليم ماندالي وأغلبهم يعتنقون البوذية ويرتبطون عرقياً بالتاي في جنوب غرب الصين‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫المون‪:‬‬

‫ُيعتقد أنهم من أقدم األعراق في بورما وأنهم من جلبوا البوذية للبالد‪ ،‬ويرتبطون عرقياً بالخمير في‬

‫كمبوديا‪ ,‬كما ينتمي لهم فصيل عسكري هو حزب والية مون الجديد‪ ،‬والذي توصل أيضاً التفاق بوقف إطالق‬ ‫النار مع السلطات‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫الروهينغا‪:‬‬

‫هي أكثر من تُ َّ‬ ‫سلط عليه األضواء نظ اًر لما يعانيه أفراد تلك األقلية من إضطهاد وتعذيب وتهجير‬

‫حسب تقارير المنظمات الحقوقية؛ وهي أقلية مسلمة عددها حوالي ‪ 2,2‬مليون نسمة‪ ،‬يعيشون في والية راخين‬ ‫الساحلية الغربية وهم محرومون من الجنسية ‪ -‬بموجب قانون الجنسية لعام ‪ -2891‬وملكية األ ارضي والتصويت‬ ‫والسفر‪ ،‬وعلى خلفية ما يتعرضون له من انتهاكات حقوقية وانسانية فر مئات اآلالف منهم إلى تايالند‬ ‫وبنغالديش‪.‬‬ ‫وبالتالي يتضح أن األزمة في بورما لم تكن خاصة فقط بمسلمي الروهينغا‪ ،‬بل هي أزمة أقليات وانعدام تعايش تعاني‬ ‫منها أغلب العرقيات غير البوذية في بورما‪.‬‬

‫ضد الروهينغا‪:‬‬ ‫االنتهاكات ّ‬

‫وفقاً لكافة التقارير الحقوقية والتابعة لألمم المتحدة‪ ،‬تعاني األقلية المسلمة في بورما من انتهاكات حقوقية واسعة‪،‬‬ ‫وكانت أقوى وآخر الحمالت العسكرية ضد الروهينغا المسلمين في ‪1122‬م‪ ،‬بعد هجمات استهدفت ‪ 1‬مراكز حدودية‬

‫وأسفرت عن مقتل ‪ 8‬من عناصر الشرطة البورمية‪ ،‬نسبت الحكومة ذلك الهجوم إلى مقاتلي جيش إنقاذ الروهينغا‪ ،‬وبدأت‬ ‫منذ حينها عمليات تطهير ممنهجة طالت أغلب عناصر الروهينغا‪ ،‬كما منعت الحكومة دخول أي وسائل إعالمية مستقلة‬

‫أو منظمات حقوقية لإلقليم‪.‬‬

‫‪ 4 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.bbc.com/ar.‬بورما‪ ،‬بلد األقليات المضطهدة‪ 4 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬

‫‪198‬‬

‫‪352‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫وتفيد تقارير تابعة لوكاالت أنباء مختلفة‪ ،‬أن العملية األمنية التي نفذتها الحكومة تخطت حدود القانون‪ ،‬وشملت‬

‫القتل والتعذيب والحرق وغيرها من أشكال العنف‪ ،‬فضالً عن االعتقاالت التعسفية دون توجيه ته م رسمية‪ ،‬كما أظهرت‬ ‫صور األقمار الصناعية دما اًر واسعاً نتج عن قصف قرى الروهينغا مما تسبب في مقتل ونزوح اآلالف‪.‬‬

‫‪353‬‬

‫أعادت تلك االنتهاكات إلى األذهان حملة التطهير العرقي التي ُنفذت بحق المسلمين في ‪1121‬م‪ ،‬والتي شابهت‬ ‫لحد كبير أحداث ‪1122‬م ولكنها كانت عقب ادعاءات حول اغتصاب فتاة بوذية من قبل شاب مسلم‪ ،‬حتى تسببت تلك‬ ‫األنباء في نشوب حرب طائفية شارك فيها البوذيون لجانب قوات الجيش ضد مسلمي اإلقليم‪ ،‬وما زالت أوضاع النازحين‬

‫حتى اليوم مزرية بسبب انعدام وجود مصادر الرزق أو الخدمات األساسية‪.‬‬

‫والروهينغا غير ُمعترف بهم كمواطنين بورميين وفقاً لقانون الجنسية الصادر عام ‪2891‬م‪ ،‬مما ساهم في انتهاك‬ ‫حقوقهم المختلفة وأدى الزدياد وتيرة العنف سواء من الروهينغا أو الحكومة‪ ،‬فخالل العقود الماضية لم يتم التعامل معهم‬ ‫كباقي المواطنين‪ ،‬وانما تم الحد من رعايتهم الطبية مما عمق األزمة الصحية الناتجة عن ظروف العيش المزرية التي‬

‫يعمل فيها المسلمون قس اًر وال يستطيعون الحصول على أجور رسمية من الدولة بسبب عدم االعتراف بهم كمواطنين‬ ‫رسميين‪.‬‬

‫ترفض الحكومة استخدام كلمة الروهينغا وتفضل تسميتهم بالبنغال والتي تشير لكونهم مهاجرين غير شرعيين توافدوا‬ ‫من بنغالديش‪ ،‬حتى أن سوتشي تستخدم عبارة " المجتمع المسلم في والية راخين " وتطلب من كافة الجهات الدولية عدم‬ ‫استخدام ذلك المسمى الذي يبرز داللة تاريخية تخص المسلمين الغير معترف بهم كمواطنين في بورما‪.‬‬

‫‪354‬‬

‫وبالتالي يصبح أهم الفاعلين في األزمة بين الحكومة البورمية والروهينغا حالياً طرفين أساسيين هما‪:‬‬

‫‪ )1‬جيش إنقاذ الروهينغا في أراكان‪:‬‬

‫ُيعرف هذا الجيش محلياً في أوساط الروهينغا باسم " حركة اليقين"‪ ،‬وهم مجموعة مسلحة اتجهت إلى حمل السالح‬ ‫تسليحا بدائياً‪ ،‬فهم مدعَّمون بالسواطير‬ ‫دفاعاً عن األقليات المسلمة المضطهدة في بورما‪ ،‬و يتسلح أفراد هذه الحركة‬ ‫ً‬ ‫والسكاكين‪ ،‬وقد إحترف أبناء الحركة إيصال رسالتهم للعالم عن طريق مواقع التواصل وحسابهم على موقع تويتر‪ ،‬والذي‬

‫ينشرون من خالله البيانات التي يردون فيها على اتهامات الحكومة البورمية‪.‬‬

‫وقد أشار تقرير لمنظمة "مجموعة األزمات الدولية" غير الحكومية إلى أن الحركة يتم تمويلها من ِقَبل بعض أثرياء‬ ‫الروهينغا في المملكة العربية السعودية‪ ،‬كما أشار التقرير إلى الصعود الملحوظ والمؤثر لحركة اليقين منذ بداية االضطرابات‬ ‫التي استهدفت المسلمين في ‪1121‬م‪.‬‬

‫‪355‬‬

‫ويعد " القائد عطا هللا" هو أهم شخصية في الجيش‪ ،‬وهو من يظهر في المقاطع المسجلة التي يعلن فيها الجيش عن‬ ‫ُ‬

‫عملياته‪ ،‬وتذهب معظم الظنون أنه ينتمي لعائلة مهاجرة إلى السعودية‪ ،‬وقد ساهمت المقاطع المصورة التي ينشرها التنظيم‬ ‫في إيضاح مدى العنف الذي يتعرض له الروهينغا للعالم‪.‬‬

‫‪ www.alaraby.co.uk 30 ،‬فرانس برس‪ ،‬االنتهاكات بحق الروهينغا قد ترقى إلى "جرائم ضد اإلنسانية"‪ 22 ،‬نوفمبر ‪2016‬م‪،‬‬ ‫مارس ‪2018‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪354‬‬ ‫نور بن جعفر‪ ،‬المسلمون في بورما‪ :‬التاريخ والتحديات‪ ،‬رابطة العالم االسالمي‪ 10 ،‬سبتمبر ‪ ،2017‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 1 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪www.waqfeya.com/book.‬‬ ‫‪355‬‬ ‫‪ 8 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.france24.com/ar.‬من هي أقلية الروهينغا‪ 13 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪353‬‬

‫‪199‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫‪ )2‬أونغ سان سو تشي‪:‬‬ ‫ُولدت سوتشي في ‪ 28‬يونيو ‪ ،2808‬وهي ابنة الجنرال سان سوكي الذي ُيعتبر من أهم الشخصيات البورمية خالل‬

‫فترة االستعمار البريطاني؛ حيث قام بالمفاوضات التي أدت الستقالل البالد عام ‪2800‬م‪ ،‬ثم اغتيل على أيدي منافسيه‬ ‫في نفس العام‪.‬‬

‫عاشت سوتشي فترة ليست بالقليلة في الهند والواليات المتحدة بسبب عمل والدتها كسفيرة في الهند‪ ،‬باإلضافة‬

‫الستكمال تعليمها في الواليات المتحدة األمريكية‪ ،‬ومن أهم إنجازاتها حصولها على جائزة نوبل للنضال الالعنفي بسبب‬ ‫تاريخها النضالي‪.‬‬ ‫إال أن موقفها من أقلية الروهينغا المسلمة في بورما ساهم في ازدياد المطالبات بسحب الجائزة منها‪ ،‬حيث وجهت‬

‫عدة دول ومنظمات حقوقية انتقادات حادة لها على خلفية أوضاع المسلمين في ظل حكومتها‪ ،‬كما طالبت منظمة‬ ‫"إيسيسكو" وهي المنظمة اإلسالمية للتربية والعلوم والثقافة‪ ،356‬لجنة نوبل بسحب الجائزة من سوتشي بشكل فوري‪ ،‬وقالت‬ ‫المنظمة أن ما تقوم به سلطات ميانمار من جرائم بشعة ضد أقلية الروهينغا المسلمة _بمعرفة رئيسة وزرائها وتأييدها_‪،‬‬ ‫عمل يتناقض مع أهداف جائزة نوبل‪ ،‬ومع القانون الدولي وحقوق اإلنسان"‪.‬‬

‫أسباب التمييز ضد مسلمي الروهينجا‪:‬‬

‫‪357‬‬

‫‪358‬‬

‫ترجع أصول االضطهاد للسياسات االستعمارية البريطانية التي اعتمدت على التفرقة بين الشعب البورمي‪ ،‬إال أن‬

‫ذلك العداء يظهر جلياً في راخين حيث يعتقد البورميون أن الروهينغا مهاجرون غير شرعيين هاجروا إلى بورما من‬ ‫تعمق اتهامات الحكومة للروهينغا بأنهم يمثلون تهديداً ألمنها القومي وأنهم‬ ‫بنغالديش وبالتالي ال يحق لهم العيش بها‪ ،‬كما ّ‬ ‫عناصر إرهابية هذه النظرة العنصرية لدى الشعب البورمي‪ ،‬وأخي اًر فالعداء الديني البوذي لمسلمي بورما ٌيعتبر أحد أهم‬ ‫أسباب التمييز ضد المسلمين في إقليم أراكان ذات األغلبية البوذية‪.‬‬

‫ولم تسلط الوسائل اإلعالمية الضوء على إقليم أراكان إال في الفترة األخيرة بسبب ازدياد التنديدات الدولية بما يحدث‬

‫لمسلمي بورما‪ ،‬فقد كان التعتيم اإلعالمي هو المسيطر على األوضاع فيما يخص األقليات المسلمة في بورما لفترة قريبة‪،‬‬ ‫فباإلضافة إلى منع كافة المنظمات الحقوقية والصحافيين واإلعالميين من الوصول للمناطق المنكوبة‪ ،‬كانت الدول المجاورة‬ ‫لبورما مثل بنجالديش وتايالند حريصة على إبقاء عالقات جيدة مع بورما التي ترتبط معها بأواصر ثقافية وتجارية‪،‬‬ ‫وبالرغم من تقييد الحكومة إال أن التطور الكبير في وسائل التواصل وشبكات المعلومات باإلضافة لدور المنظومة‬

‫اإلعالمية البسيطة لجيش إنقاذ الروهينجا أدوا لوصول هذه القضية إلى العالم‪.‬‬

‫التعامل اإلقليمي مع الروهينغا‪:‬‬ ‫تتحفظ الدول المجاورة لميانمار على استقبال أي من المهاجرين الروهينغا‪ ،‬وترفض إمدادهم بالمعونة والمأوى‪ ،‬و لكن‬ ‫دوالً مثل ماليزيا واندونيسيا بذلت بعض الجهود إلمداد المهاجرين بالطعام والشراب‪ ،‬إال أنه ما زال عليها بذل مزيد من‬ ‫كثير منهم يغرق في المياه اإلقليمية لهذه‬ ‫الجهد في إنقاذ المهاجرين الذين يواجهون شبح الغرق أثناء الهجرة‪ ،‬السيما أن اً‬

‫الدول‪.‬‬

‫‪ www.isesco.org.ma/ar.‬المنظمة اإلسالمية للتربية والعلوم والثقافة‪/ ،‬‬ ‫‪ 8 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.france24.com.‬دعوات بسحب جائزة نوبل من سوتشي‪ 6 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪358‬‬ ‫‪02 ,‬سكتوبر‪ www.bbc.com 0222/‬لماذا انفجرت سزمة مسلمي الروهينجا؟‪ ,‬بي بي سي‪ 21 ,‬مايو ‪,0222‬‬ ‫‪356‬‬ ‫‪357‬‬

‫‪200‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫المواقف الدولية وردود األفعال تجاه أزمة الروهينغا‪:‬‬ ‫فيما يتعلق باالنتقال السياسي والتحول الديمقراطي في بورما‪ ،‬فقد استجابت األطراف الدولية بحماس لهذا االنتقال‬

‫السياسي ودعمته بشدة‪ ،‬فخففت الواليات المتحدة "على سبيل المثال" عقوباتها لتسهل االستثمارات والمعامالت المالية مع‬ ‫الحكومة المدنية الجديدة لبورما‪.‬‬

‫و تستمر حكومة جمهورية الصين الشعبية وهي الشريك العسكري واإلقتصادي األكبر لبورما في دعم الحكومة‬

‫البورمية عن طريق المشاريع التنموية الضخمة‪ ،‬من أجل تعزيز مكانتها الجيوسياسية واستغالل موارد بورما الطبيعية‪،‬‬ ‫وبالرغم من اعتراف األمم المتحدة بأن ما يحدث هو " تطهير عرقي" إال أن الصين لم تتردد لحظة في استمرار الدعم‬

‫الذي يكسبها حليفاً إقليمياً‪ ،‬حتي وان كان ذلك الدعم يمثل ظهي اًر مهماً إلنتهاكات بورما تجاه السكان المحليين‪ ،‬حيث‬

‫تُعتبر الصين الدولة الوحيدة التي تؤيد ما تقوم به الحكومة البورمية تجاه مسلمي الروهينجا وتصنفه كمقاومة لجماعات‬ ‫‪359‬‬ ‫إرهابية‪.‬‬

‫‪ ‬دول جنوب شرق آسيا‪:‬‬

‫عقدت دول جنوب شرق آسيا اجتماعاً في مدينة "رانغون" البورمية لبحث األزمة في بورما إزاء تصاعد أعمال العنف‬

‫التي تهدد بنزوح عدد من الالجئين من بورما إلى بعض هذه الدول المجاورة لها‪ ،‬وقد قامت قلة من بلدان رابطة دول‬

‫جنوب شرق آسيا بمهاجمة الحكومة في بورما بشكل مباشر‪ ،‬كما توترت العالقة بين ماليزيا وبورما مؤخ اًر حين ندد رئيس‬ ‫الوزراء الماليزي "نجيب رزاق" بعمليات اإلبادة التي ترتكبها حكومة "سوتشي"‪.‬‬

‫كما زارت رئيسة وزراء بنغالديش "شيخة جسينة" مخيماً للروهينغا‪ ،‬وقالت أن حل األزمة يظل في يد السلطات‬

‫البورمية‪ ،‬ففي زيارتها "لكوكس بازار" وهي المنطقة التي يعيش بها نازحو الروهينغا في بنغالديش‪ ،‬قالت "سنطلب من‬ ‫حكومة بورما فو اًر وقف اضطهاد األبرياء"‪.‬‬ ‫وعلى الصعيد اآلسيوي األكبر‪ ،‬ندد رجب طيب أردوغان الرئيس التركي بالصمت العالمي تجاه االنتهاكات ضد‬ ‫‪360‬‬

‫الروهينغا‪ ،‬وكذلك قام وزير خارجية كازاخستان باإلعالن أن حكومة بالده تدعو حكومة ميانمار إلى التعاون مع األمم‬

‫المتحدة ومنظمة التعاون اإلسالمي للوصول لحل لمسلمي أراكان‪ ،‬كما أبدى المرشد األعلى اإليراني علي خامنئي رفضه‬ ‫لما يحدث في بورما ورأى أن جائزة نوبل للسالم قد ماتت بحصول أونغ سان سوتشي عليها‪.‬‬

‫وحذر الرئيسان المصري والروسي من تصاعد عمليات العنف في بورما على هامش قمة مجموعة البريكس؛ حيث‬

‫يرى الرئيسان أن استمرارها يؤدي لتغذية اإلرهاب‪.‬‬

‫‪361‬‬

‫وأخي اًر تصنف األمم المتحدة رسمياً أقلية الروهينجا المسلمة أكثر األقليات العرقية اضطهاداً في العالم وتطالب‬

‫السلطات البورمية بوقف العنف ضد مسلمي أ اركان‪.‬‬

‫‪362‬‬

‫‪ mc‬الصين تدعو لتفهم حاجة بورما لـ"صون استيرارها" في مواجهة سزمة الروهينغا‪ ,‬مونت كارلو الدولية‪ 02 ,‬سبتمبر ‪,0222‬‬‫‪ 02 ,‬نوفمبر ‪doualiya.com 0222‬‬ ‫‪360‬‬ ‫‪ www.elwatannews.com 30 ،‬أزمة الروهينغا تنذر بانقسامات دولية مع إعالن الصين دعم الجيش البورمي‪ 12 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪،‬‬ ‫مارس ‪2018‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪361‬‬ ‫‪ www.elwatannews.com 30 ،‬مأساة مسلمي الروهينغا تتصاعد‪ ..‬انتهاكات ترقى إلى جرائم ضد اإلنسانية‪ 5 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪،‬‬ ‫مارس ‪2018‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪362‬‬ ‫‪ www.skynewsarabia.com 02 ,‬األمم المتحدة تطالب ميانمار بوقف العنف ضد الروهينغا‪ ,‬سكاي نيوز عربية‪ 02 ,‬سبتمبر ‪,0222‬‬ ‫نوفمبر ‪0222‬‬ ‫‪ 20 ,02 www.france24 02 ,‬سبتمبر ‪s ,0222‬انيسامات دولية بسبب ازمة الروهينغا مع إعالن الصين دعم عملية الجيش البورمي‪ ,‬فرانس‬ ‫سكتوبر ‪0222‬‬ ‫‪359‬‬

‫‪201‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫إدانات شعبية‪:‬‬ ‫علي الصعيد الشعبي أدانت عدة حركات شعبية االنتهاكات في بورما‪ ،‬و قد كانت أبرزها حركة حماس التي قال‬

‫عضو المكتب السياسي للحركة "عزت الرشق" "ندين بشدة استمرار الجرائم ضد مسلمي الروهينغا‪ ،‬حيث إننا نتابع بألم‬

‫واستنكار ما يتعرضون له من قتل وتهجير وابادة جماعية وسط صمت دولي وتقاعس عربي واسالمي"‪.‬‬

‫‪363‬‬

‫وقد قام العديد من أنصار الجماعات اإلسالمية في بنجالديش بالتظاهر في البالد ومطالبة حكومة بالدهم بإعالن‬ ‫الحرب على حكومة ميانمار التي ترتكب جرائم في حق الروهينغا‪.‬‬

‫وفي الشيشان قامت تظاهرة حاشدة وسط حضور الرئيس "رمضان قديروف" للمطالبة بوقف المجازر التي طالت‬

‫أبناء الروهينجا المسلمين في بورما‪.‬‬

‫الموقف األمريكي من األزمة‪:‬‬

‫‪364‬‬

‫‪365‬‬

‫قالت و ازرة الخارجية األمريكية أن هدفها األول من األزمة في بورما هو إيصال المساعدات اإلنسانية للمتضررين‬

‫طل‬ ‫من الصراع‪ ،‬وذلك بالتعاون مع الحكومة البورمية ومنظمات حقوقية دولية‪ ،‬فالواليات المتحدة ترى أن الصراع لم ي ُ‬ ‫المسلمين فقط‪ ،‬لكن هناك أقليات أخرى متضررة وهي أيضاً تستحق المساعدة‪.‬‬

‫و قد أدان "باتريك ميرفي" نائب مساعد وزير الخارجية لشئون جنوب شرق آسيا الهجمات كلها في بورما سواء كانت‬

‫ضد قوات األمن أو المدنيين‪ ،‬ويري "ميرفي" أن الوضع في بورما معقد في ظل الدستور الذي يعطي القوات المسلحة‬ ‫هناك سلطات واسعة خاصة في والية "راخين" شمال البالد؛ حيث تمتلك قوات الجيش زمام األمور‪ ،‬وأكد دعم بالده للمسار‬ ‫الديمقراطي في بورما الذي يعطي الشعب الفرصة ألول مرة للمضي قدماً في الطريق الصحيح‪.‬‬

‫وعلي نفس المنوال قالت "هذير نويرت"‪ ،‬الناطقة باسم و ازرة الخارجية‪ ،‬للصحفيين إن «الواليات المتحدة تبدي بالغ‬

‫قلقها حيال الوضع المقلق في إقليم راخين في شمال شرق بورما»‪ ,‬وأضافت "لقد حدث نزوح كبير للسكان المحليين إثر‬ ‫حدوث انتهاكات خطيرة مزعومة لحقوق اإلنسان من بينها حرق لقرى الروهينجا وممارسة عنف من طرف قوات األمن‬ ‫ومن جانب المدنيين المسلحين أيضا"‪.‬‬

‫وأخي اًر يرى بعض الخبراء أن التمادي في أعمال العنف هو بشكل أو بآخر نتيجة إخفاق دولي واقليمي خاصة من‬ ‫دول جنوب شرق آسيا؛ فهذه الدول التي تجاهلت األزمة اإلنسانية وهي في مهدها على مدار سنوات طويلة‪ ،‬هي التي‬ ‫وضعت رأسها أمام فوهة المدفع وهي اآلن تواجه خطر الالجئين والنازحين هرًبا من حمالت اإلبادة العرقية‪ ،‬كما أن خوف‬ ‫تلك الدول من مناقشة األمر في المؤتمرات اإلقليمية تجنباً الستياء ميانمار هو ما أدى إلى تجاهل الحكومة الحالية أي‬ ‫إتهامات توجه إليها‪.‬‬

‫‪ 8 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.felesteen.ps.‬حماس تدين االنتهاكات بحق الروهينغا‪ 4 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪ 8 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ arabic.rt.com.‬قاديروف؛ لو أيدت روسيا هؤالء الشياطين لعارضتها‪ 4 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪365‬‬ ‫الخارجية األمريكية ‪ :‬األزمة في بورما لم تيتصر على مسلمي “الروهينغا”‪ ,‬جريدة اللواء الدولية‪ 02 ,‬يونيو‬ ‫‪ 02 ,‬سكتوبر ‪,0222alewaanewspaper.com 0222‬‬ ‫‪ 2 ،‬مارس ‪0222‬م ‪www.youm7.com‬واشنطن‪ ،‬سنركز على إيصال المساعدات اإلنسانية إلقليم راخين‪ 2 ،‬سبتمبر ‪ ،0222‬متاح على‬ ‫‪363‬‬ ‫‪364‬‬

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‫أوضاع حقوق اإلنسان في بورما وفقاً لتقارير المنظمات الحقوقية الدولية‪:‬‬

‫‪366‬‬

‫ورثت الحكومة البورمية الجديدة تحديات عميقة‪ ،‬منها السلطة التي يمنحها الدستور للجيش‪ ،‬والتشريعات القمعية‪،‬‬

‫وضعف سيادة القانون‪.‬‬

‫بداية االنتقال السياسي كانت واعدة‪ ،‬حيث تم اإلفراج عن أكثر من ‪ 111‬سجين ومعتقل سياسي في أبريل‪ ,‬ولكن‬ ‫األولي للسير بالبالد نحو إصالحات جوهرية أو إنشاء مؤسسات ديمقراطية‪،‬‬ ‫حكومة الرابطة الوطنية لم تستثمر هذا الزخم َّ‬

‫ضد‬ ‫وتوسع في العديد من الجهات‪ ،‬ما تسبب في انتهاكات ّ‬ ‫فقد ّ‬ ‫اشتد القتال بين الجيش البورمي وجماعات عرقية مسلحة‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫المدنيين وموجة نزوح عارمة من البالد‪.‬‬ ‫بموجب الدستور القديم‪ ،‬ال يخضع الجيش للرقابة المدنية‪ ،‬وله سلطة واسعة على الحكومة‪ ،‬ويستأثر وحده بو ازرات‬

‫الدفاع‪ ،‬والشئون الداخلية‪ ،‬وشئون الحدود‪ ،‬كما أنه يضمن ‪ 18‬مقعداً في البرلمان _هذه النسبة قابلة للزيادة حسب نتائج‬ ‫االنتخابات إال أنها غير قابلة للنقصان تحت أي ظرف_‪ ،‬ما يجعل الجيش قاد اًر على رفع الفيتو في وجه أي تعديل‬

‫دستوري‪.‬‬

‫‪ )1‬النزاع العرقي وانتهاكات القوات المسلحة‪:‬‬ ‫اشتد القتال بين قوات بورما المسلحة والمعروفة باسم التاتماداو‪ ،‬وبين الجماعات العرقية المختلفة والمسلحة بدرجات‬

‫متفاوتة في واليات كاشين وراخين وشان الشمالية وكارن‪ ،‬فكل هذه الواليات تحتوي على أقليات تختلف فيما بينها من‬

‫الممنهج من قبل الحكومة البورمية التي ارتكبت انتهاكات كبيرة‬ ‫حيث الديانة أو األصل‪ ،‬لكن يجمعها االضطهاد العرقي ُ‬ ‫بحسب تقارير منظمات حقوقية من قتل وتعذيب وهدم لممتلكات‪ ،‬ناهيك عن العنف الجنسي الذي يتصدر مشهد انتهاكات‬ ‫الجيش البورمي‪.‬‬

‫وابَّان فترة "ثين سين" وهو آخر رئيس عسكري لبورما‪ ،‬توصلت األطراف المتنازعة التفاق وقف إطالق النار في‬

‫أكتوبر ‪1128‬م لم توقع عليه سوى ‪ 9‬جماعات مسلحة "وهو رقم ضئيل من حيث عدد الجماعات المتنازعة"‪ ،‬ليتجدد‬ ‫الصراع بين الحكومة وتلك الجماعات مما تسبب في موجات نزوح جديدة‪.‬‬ ‫تصدرت والية راخين وفقاً للمنظمات الحقوقية المختلفة حمالت االضطهاد والتطهير العرقي البورمية؛ لتسجل وحدها‬

‫أكثر من نصف عدد النازحين البورميين‪ ،‬كما امتد األمر لتمنع الحكومة البورمية وكاالت اإلغاثة اإلنسانية من الوصول‬

‫لإلقليم‪ ،‬وزادت من قيودها على واليات كاشين وشان في أواخر ‪1122‬م‪.‬‬

‫‪367‬‬

‫‪ )2‬حرية التعبير والتجمع في ميانمار‪:‬‬ ‫بسبب انتشار القوانين التي تنتهك حقوق اإلنسان في بورما منذ فترات الحكم العسكري‪ ،‬استمرت مع الحكومة المدنية‬ ‫الجديدة كافة أشكال القيود المفروضة على الحق في التعبير أو حرية التجمع والتظاهر‪ ،‬والتي استمرت لتالحق كافة‬ ‫معارضيها‪ ،‬وبالرغم من تعهد حكومة "ثين سين" _آخر الحكومات العسكرية_ في عام ‪1121‬م باإلفراج عن السجناء‬ ‫السياسيين‪ ،‬إال أنها استمرت في اعتقال المعارضين موجه ًة لهم اتهامات سياسية بتشكيل خطر على أمن بورما القومي‪.‬‬ ‫بالرغم من بداية االنفراج في ملف المعتقلين السياسيين مع بدايات الحكم المدني الجديد‪ ،‬إال أن الحكومة استمرت‬ ‫تضمن‬ ‫في استخدام تشريعات تقيد حرية التعبير‪ ،‬واقترح البرلمان قانوناً جديداً للتجمعات والتظاهرات السلمية والذي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫‪ 19 ,‬أكتوبر ‪ www.hrw.org/ar.1120‬التيرير العالمي لبورما ‪ ,0222‬هيومان رايتس ووتش‪ 02 ,‬سكتوبر ‪,0222‬‬ ‫‪ 02 ,‬نوفمبر ‪ arabic.rt.com‬نتاليا عبد هللا‪ ,‬منظمة حيوقية‪ :‬االضطهاد يتزايد ضد المسلمين في ميانمار‪ ,‬روسيا اليوم‪ 2 ,‬سبتمبر ‪,0222‬‬ ‫‪0222‬‬

‫‪366‬‬

‫‪367‬‬

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‫تحسينات طفيفة‪ ،‬لكن التعديالت المقترحة مازالت تسمح بقمع االحتجاجات السلمية‪ ،‬وتفرض حظ اًر شامالً على بعض‬ ‫أي من قيوده‪.‬‬ ‫عبارات االحتجاج‪ ،‬وعقوبات جنائية على خرق ّ‬ ‫وفي ظل الحكومة الجديدة‪ ،‬استمرت المحاكمات السياسية القائمة على اتهامات تتعلق بالمشاركة في التجمعات‬ ‫والتظاهرات‪ ،‬واعتقلت الشرطة نشطاء سياسيين في مسيرات سلمية‪ ،‬كما اعتُقل المئات من المسلمين بتهمة صلتهم بجماعات‬ ‫إرهابية وبجيش إنقاذ الروهينغا‪.‬‬

‫وُيعتبر التعتيم اإلعالمي على أزمات األقليات في بورما سبباً أساسياً في ازدياد حمالت التطهير العرقي دون مقاومة‬ ‫دولية أو شعبية قوية‪ ،‬ففي والية راخين منعت السلطات الصحافيين المستقلين من دخول المنطقة‪ ،‬وألقت السلطات القبض‬

‫على صحافي بورمي حاول إلقاء الضوء على حادثة اغتصاب نفذها عناصر من الجيش البورمي‪.‬‬ ‫وفيما يتعلق بحرية الصحافة‪ ،‬فبالرغم من تأكيد الحكومة الجديدة على تخفيف الرقابة لتصبح السمة المميزة لمرحلة‬ ‫التحول الديمقراطي‪ ،‬إال أن الرقابة الحكومية ظلت موجودة في اإلطار التشريعي لبورما‪ ،‬تستغلها الحكومة للتضييق على‬

‫حرية اإلعالم‪.‬‬

‫‪ )3‬حقوق النساء والفتيات في ميانمار‪:‬‬

‫تصدر العنف الجنسي المشهد الحقوقي الغائب عن بورما‪ ،‬فقد سجلت منظمات حقوقية أرقاماً هائلة لمحاوالت‬ ‫اغتصاب بحق فتيات بورميات من قبل الجيش البورمي والجماعات األخرى المسلحة‪ ،‬وما يسهل انتشار هذه الجرائم هو‬ ‫غياب المحاكمة بشكل كبير؛ حيث تندر حاالت المحاكمة بتهم اغتصاب في القضاء البورمي‪ ،‬كما تغيب اآللية المناسبة‬ ‫والرسمية للتظلم‪ ،‬ويتسبب تعتيم الجيش في منع إجراء تحقيقات مستقلة في تلك التظلمات‪ ،‬وتُعد النساء المحاصرات في‬ ‫مناطق النزاع أو النازحات وعديمات الجنسية أكثر عرضة لالختطاف واإلخفاء القسري والعنف الجنسي واالستغالل‪.‬‬ ‫وبالرغم من أن النساء هن العنصر األساسي الذي عانى ويالت الحروب بين الجيش والجماعات المسلحة‪ ،‬لم تشغل‬

‫ط المشاركة النسائية نسبة ‪ 21‬بالمائة من مجموع المشاركين‬ ‫النساء حي اًز ّيذكر في مبادرات السالم الحكومية‪ ،‬حيث لم تتخ َ‬ ‫في عملية السالم‪ ،‬كما لم تتجاوز نسبة ‪ 21‬بالمائة في البرلمان الجديد‪ ،‬وبالرغم من أن سوتشي هي أهم شخصية سياسية‬ ‫في البالد‪ ،‬إال أنه ال توجد سوى امرأة واحدة في الحكومة المكونة من ‪ 29‬وزي اًر‪.‬‬

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‫ثالثاً‪ :‬األكراد‬

‫‪‬‬

‫األكراد‪ ،‬من هم؟‪ ،‬وأين يتوزعون؟‪ ،‬وما هي طموحاتهم؟‪......................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫أصول األكراد‪.............................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫أهم محاوالت بناء الدولة الكردية‪............................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫أهم القوات المسلحة الكردية‪................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫األكراد في تركيا وايران‪....................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫مشكلة إقليمية‪.............................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫حزب العمال كحاضنة شعبية‪..............................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫مواقف الحكومة وسيناريوهات الحل‪........................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫حزب المجتمع "الشعوب" الديمقراطي‪.......................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫األكراد عقب محاولة االنقالب الفاشلة في تركيا‪.............................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫وضع األكراد في إيران‪.....................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫جمهورية كردستان أو جمهورية مهاباد‪......................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫شرق كردستان ما بعد الثورة اإلسالمية‪......................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫التأثير العراقي‪.............................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫األكراد في سوريا والعراق‪..................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫تاريخ معامالت النظام السوري لألكراد‪ ،‬وموقع األكراد في الخارطة السورية‪...................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫أهم التيارات الحزبية الكردية‪................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫إعالن النظام الفيدرالي شمالي سوريا من قبل األكراد‪........................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫التدخل التركي في عفرين‪ ،‬والقوات الحدودية األمريكية الكردية شمالي سوريا‪..................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫صدام حسين واألكراد‪......................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫األوضاع عقب ‪2882‬م‪...................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫أكراد العراق‪ :‬من الحكم الذاتي الستفتاء تقرير المصير‪.....................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫استفتاء االنفصال‪.........................................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫كركوك‪ ،‬النقطة الساخنة في عالقة األكراد بالحكومة العراقية‪................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫المواقف الدولية وموقف الواليات المتحدة األمريكية من إجراء استفتاء االنفصال‪..............‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫التفاعل في ظل حكم البعث‪...............................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫االحتالل األمريكي للعراق وآثاره على تطور القضية الكردية‪.................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫الموقف األمريكي من األكراد‪..............................................................‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫موقف اإلدارة األمريكية الجديدة "دونالد ترامب" من األكراد‪..................................‬‬ ‫‪205‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫األكراد‬ ‫المقدمة‪:‬‬

‫األكراد‪ ,‬من هم؟‪ ,‬وأين يتوزعون؟‪ ,‬وما هي طموحاتهم؟‪:‬‬ ‫األكراد هم شعوب مشتتة‪ ,‬ليس لها دولة موحدة بالرغم من محاوالتهم المتتالية لبناء تلك الدولة التي تجمع شمل كافة‬

‫األكراد‪ ,‬إال أنهم منقسمون ومشتتون داخل أربع دول رئيسية "إيران وتركيا وسوريا والعراق"‪ ,‬يتراوح تعدادهم لما يقترب من‬

‫السني اإلسالمي‪ ،‬كما نجحوا‬ ‫ال ‪ 11‬مليون نسمة‪ ,‬وهم ينحدرون من أصول هندو أوروبية‪ ،‬ويعتنق أغلب األكراد المذهب ّ‬ ‫‪368‬‬ ‫في تشكيل عدة أحزاب سياسية أغلبها علمانية ومنقسمة داخلياً خاصة في المسألة العراقية والسورية‪.‬‬ ‫وال تتفق األدبيات والمصادر المختلفة حول الرقم األقرب للتعداد الكردي في هذه الدول األربعه‪ ،‬ولكن تختلف المصادر‬

‫حول التعداد الخاص باألكراد بين ‪ 18‬و ‪ 18‬مليون نسمة‪ ،‬يشكلون أغلبية في تركيا؛ حيث تؤوي وحدها حوالي ‪ 21‬مليون‬

‫كردياً‪ ,‬تليها إيران بحوالي ‪ 2‬ماليين كردياً‪ ,‬وبهذا يشكل األكراد نسبة كبيرة في كل من النسيج التركي واإليراني حيث‬ ‫يمثلون ما يقرب من ‪ %11‬داخل تركيا‪ ،‬وحوالي ‪ %2‬في الجمهورية اإلسالمية اإليرانية‪ ,‬ورغم ذلك فإن أوضاع األكراد‬ ‫داخل كلتا الدولتين ال تتعدى كونها أقلية مهمشة من قبل النظام التركي واإليراني على عكس الدولتين السورية والعراقية‬

‫واللتان استطاع بداخلهما األكراد أن يحصلوا على مقومات لحياة سياسية جيدة يحصل فيها األكراد على الكثير من الحقوق‬

‫رغم تضييقات األنظمة الحاكمة بهما بحسب التقارير الحقوقية المختلفة‪ ,‬ولكن مقارن ًة بالوضع التركي واإليراني‪ ،‬فأكراد‬ ‫سوريا والعراق هم األكثر تواجداً ولهم بصمة أكبر داخل الدولتين رغم أنهم يمثلون في العراق نسبة ‪ %28‬من تعداد السكان‬

‫اء على العنصر الكردي بحوالي مليوني نسمة فقط أي بنسبة‬ ‫بحوالي ‪ 8‬ماليين نسمة‪ ,‬وسوريا أقل الدول األربعة إحتو ً‬ ‫‪ %21‬من سكان سوريا‪.‬‬ ‫تميزت مناطق األكراد بطبيعتها الجبلية والواقعة داخل تلك الدول بشكل شبه منسجم وساهمت في الحفاظ على‬

‫سهل "االحتفاظ بمقوماتهم" رغم تشتتهم بأكثر من دولة‪ ,‬وهي أهم ميزة أضفت على‬ ‫عاداتهم وتقاليدهم ولغتهم الكردية‪ ,‬مما ّ‬ ‫األكراد طابعاً قومياً قوياً يقودها ألن تكون ضمن أقوى األقليات تأثي اًر على الواقع السياسي الدولي‪ ،‬كما يتواجد العنصر‬ ‫الكردي في دول أخرى بشكل مشتت في كل من أذريبجان ولبنان وأرمينيا باإلضافة لتواجد العنصر الكردي بأعداد قليلة‬

‫داخل القارة األوربية‪ ,‬إال أن الواقع الكردي القوي في كل من سوريا والعراق وايران وتركيا وأهميتهم في لعب دور إقليمي‬

‫هام يجعل أكراد هذه الدول هم من يسيطرون على الصورة السياسية لألكراد‪.‬‬

‫كما ُيعد األكراد رابع مجموعة عرقية في الشرق األوسط من حيث الحجم‪ ,‬إال أنهم ورغم ذلك العدد الكبير لم تكن لهم‬ ‫دولة مستقلة إال مرة واحدة في إيران‪ ،‬وهي "جمهورية مهاباد" التي لم تستمر إال عاماً واحداً ثم سقطت‪ ,‬لذا فتاريخ األكراد‬

‫يحفل بالنضال من أجل تحقيق حلم الدولة المستقلة التي تجمع أكراد كل من سوريا والعراق وايران وتركيا وغيرهم من‬ ‫األكراد المشتتين حول العالم‪ ,‬وفي اآلونة األخيرة لعب األكراد دو اًر هاماً في أغلب الصراعات الموجودة على الساحة الشرق‬

‫أوسطية خاصة في األزمة السورية الحالية‪ ,‬وفي نسيج الدولة العراقية‪ ,‬ولعبت دو اًر ال يمكن إغفاله في محاربة تنظيم ما‬

‫ُيعرف بالدولة اإلسالمية‪ ,‬وذلك من خالل الدعم الدولي الذي ُقّدم للمقاتلين األكراد في كل من سوريا والعراق مما ساهم‬ ‫في إزدياد وارتفاع حدة مطالبهم خاصة في فترة ما بعد التطورات األخيرة منذ عام ‪1122‬م التي جابت المنطقة العربية‬ ‫بأكملها‪.‬‬

‫‪ 18 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/arabic.2018‬من هم األكراد‪ 22 ،‬أكتوبر ‪ ،2014‬متاح على الرابط‬

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‫أصول األكراد‪:‬‬

‫‪369‬‬

‫عاش األكراد قديماً حياة تعتمد فقط على الرعي بشكل أساسي في سهول ما بين النهرين‪ ,‬وباألخص المنطقة الواقعة‬

‫في جنوب تركيا‪ ,‬وشمال شرقي سوريا وهي المنطقة المشتعلة اآلن والتي من ضمنها عفرين‪ ،‬وهي أهم معاقل قوات حماية‬

‫الشعب الكردية _أقوى العناصر المسلحة الكردية السورية_‪ ،‬وشمالي العراق‪ ،‬وأخي اًر شمال غربي إيران وجنوب غربي‬ ‫أرمينيا‪ ,‬حتى أصبح األكراد يجمعهم نفس العرق والثقافة واللغة ويعتنقون ديانات مختلفة‪ ,‬وأكثرهم من المسلمين السنة‪.‬‬ ‫وال تتفق األدبيات والمصادر حول أصول األكراد‪ ,‬لكن غالبية الباحثين في الشئون الكردية تصنف األكراد ضمن‬

‫المجموعات الهندو أوروبية على أنهم من أحفاد القبائل الميدية‪ ،‬التي هاجرت منذ ‪ 1111‬ق‪.‬م‪ ,‬حتى استطاعت أن تشكل‬ ‫تركيبة سكانية مميزة تجمعها أصول واحدة سميت فيما بعد باألكراد‪ ,‬وبخصوص أصل التسمية فكلمة كرد ترجع باألساس‬ ‫لكلمة "كوتو" التي تعبر عن األقوام التي عاشت في مملكة جوتيام‪ ،‬الواقعة على الضفة الشرقية لنهر دجلة وبين نهر الزاب‬

‫ونهر ديالي‪ ,‬إال أن سبب التسمية واألصل الموثوق يظل غامضاً وتظل كل هذه المعلومات إجتهادات حاول الباحثون من‬ ‫خاللها معرفة أصل التسمية‪.‬‬

‫‪370‬‬

‫ومن حيث توزيعهم الجغرافي‪ ,‬فلم تكن كردستان مطلقاً دولة ذات حدود متعارف عليها‪ ،‬وذلك بالرغم من تجانس‬ ‫العنصر الكردي وحفاظه بشكل كبير على خصوصياته القومية والحضارية‪ ,‬كما ظهرت كلمة كردستان ألول مرة في القرن‬

‫الثاني عشر الميالدي وذلك إبان حكم السالجقة وباألخص السلطان سنجار حينما قام بفصل القسم الغربي من إقليم كان‬ ‫يعرف بإقليم الجبال وجعل واليته تحت حكم أحد أقربائه وهو سليمان شاه والذي أطلق على ذلك الجزء اسم كردستان‪,‬‬ ‫لتصبح بذلك المرة األولى التي ُيستخدم فيها ذلك اإلسم المتداول حتى اليوم‪ ,‬إال أنه ال يمكن تحديد مالمح كردستان بشكل‬ ‫دقيق بسبب عمليات التهجير الواسعة والتنقالت السكانية التي حدثت منذ ذلك الحين‪.‬‬ ‫أما اليوم فيعيش األكراد في حوالي ‪ 28‬والية من إجمالي ‪ 81‬والية تركية‪ ,‬وفي إيران يقطن األكراد الجزء الشمالي‬

‫الغربي‪ ,‬وفي سوريا يقطنون األجزاء الشمالية الشرقية‪ ,‬كما يتواجدون في العراق داخل معظم المناطق الشمالية والشمالية‬ ‫الشرقية وباألخص داخل مناطق الحكم الذاتي إلقليم كردستان العراق وأهم محافظاتهم هي السليمانية ودهوك وأربيل‪.‬‬

‫أما من حيث اللغة والدين‪ُ :‬فيدرج الباحثون اللغة الكردية ضمن مجموعة اللغات اإليرانية التي تمثل فرعاً من‬ ‫أسرة اللغات الهندو أوروبية وذلك سبب رئيسي في إرجاع األصل الكردي لهذه القوميات‪ ,‬فهي لغة تقترب من الفروع‬

‫الشرقية الخاصة بتلك اللغات كالفارسية والهندية‪ ,‬كما تنتمي إلى الفروع الغربية كاللغات اإلنجليزية والفرنسية‪ ,‬كما تضم‬ ‫تلك اللغة الكردية كلمات كثيرة من اللغات العربية والفارسية والتركية‪ ,‬وتنقسم هذه اللغة الكردية للهجتين رئيسيتين وهما‬

‫الكرمانجية والبهلوانية واللتان يتفرع منهما لهجات أخرى كثيرة تتأثر بلغة الدولة األم التي يعيش األكراد بداخلها‪ ,‬وأخي اًر‬ ‫فاإلسالم هو دين األغلبية من األكراد وهم سنة شوافع‪ ,‬يوجد فيهم القليل من الشيعة وباألخص في جنوب كردستان‪ ,‬إال‬

‫أن المسيحية في العنصر الكردي تعتنقها قلة بسيطة جداً‪.‬‬

‫أهم محاوالت بناء الدولة الكردية‪:‬‬

‫‪371‬‬

‫‪372‬‬

‫عقب إنهيار وفناء الدولة العثمانية‪ ,‬ظن األكراد أنها بداية تحقيق الحلم الكردي بوجود دولة مستقلة ذات سيادة يقطنها‬

‫أغلب األكراد‪ ,‬خاصة بعدما منحت معاهدة "سيفر" عام ‪2811‬م لألكراد حق تقرير المصير‪ ,‬إال أن هذا الحلم لم يتحقق‬ ‫بسبب وصول "مصطفى كمال أتاتورك" للسلطة في تركيا واستبدال حلفائه لمعاهدة "سيفر" بمعاهدة "لوزان" ‪2811‬م‪ ,‬لتضع‬ ‫‪ 18 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.france24.com.2018‬األكراد شعب بال وطن موزعون على أربع دول‪ 25 ،‬سبتمبر ‪ ،2017‬متاح عل الرابط‬ ‫‪ 4 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ 12 ،www.diwanalarab.com.‬يناير ‪2004‬م‪ ،‬متاح على حنان أخميس‪ ،‬أصل األكراد‪ ،‬الجزء األول‬ ‫‪371‬‬ ‫‪ 4 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.nrlsonline.org.‬عبد الباري أحمه‪ ،‬اللغة الكردية‪ 15 ،‬مايو ‪2016‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪372‬‬ ‫‪ 20 ،‬فبراير ‪ arabic.rt.com‬صفوان أبو حال‪ ،‬الدولة الكردية فشلت سبعا ً فهل تنجح الثامنة؟‪ 20 ،‬سبتمبر ‪ ،2017‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪.2018‬‬ ‫‪369‬‬ ‫‪370‬‬

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‫"لوزان" األكراد تحت سيطرة تركيا وايران باإلضافة لدولتي فرنسا وبريطانيا كدول إنتداب على كل من سوريا والعراق‪.‬‬

‫السمة الرئيسية لألكراد في شتى المجتمعات هي "عالقة الصراع أو النزاعات مع الحكومات المركزية بسبب هذه‬

‫النزعة اإلنفصالية التي يرجع تاريخها منذ وجود األكراد"‪ ،‬والتي توضح أن هذا الحلم الكردي لبناء دولة موحدة لم ولن‬ ‫ينتهي؛ فالسبب في ذلك هو شعورهم باإلضطهاد داخل كيان تلك الحكومات وشعورهم باإلنتماء الكردي الذي يتخطى كافة‬ ‫اإلعتبارات القومية األخرى؛ لذا وبسبب تلك النزعة اإلنفصالية المستمرة‪ ,‬وجد األكراد أنفسهم دائماً وأبداً في صراع مع‬ ‫حكومات وسلطات الدول التي يقطنونها وباألخص في تركيا وايران وسوريا والعراق‪ ,‬حيث رأت تلك الحكومات أن األكراد‬

‫يمثلون الخطر األكبر على وحدة دولهم‪.‬‬

‫هذه العالقة الصراعية التي ال تنتهي‪ ,‬تتضح بشدة في تركيا التي ال يهدأ فيها النزاع المسلح بين القوات الحكومية‬ ‫وحزب العمال الكردستاني‪ ,‬ذلك الصراع الذي َّ‬ ‫كلف الطرفين ما ال يقل عن ‪ 01‬ألف شخص منذ ‪2890‬م‪ ,‬كما أن األمر‬ ‫ذاته يتضح في إيران‪ ،‬حيث تدور على فترات اشتباكات دامية بين متمردي حزب الحياة الحرة الكردستاني والمعروف‬

‫"ببيجاك" وبين قوات األمن اإليرانية‪ ,‬وقد شهدت إيران محاوالت وانتفاضات كردية عدة خاصة بعد الثورة اإلسالمية في‬ ‫إيران عام ‪2808‬م‪ ,‬إال أن قوات األمن اإليرانية إستطاعت وفق تقارير مختلفة أن تقمع مثل هذه اإلنتفاضات بمساعدة‬

‫قوات الحرس الثوري اإليراني وهي القوات التي لربما تُعتبر أقوى كيان عسكري إيراني عقب الثورة اإلسالمية‪.‬‬ ‫طهد األكراد _ حسب التقارير الحقوقية المختلفة _ بشدة في عهد‬ ‫وفي العراق فاألمر غني عن التعريف حيث اض ُ‬

‫"صدام حسين" مما جعلهم يستغلون فترة ضعفه عقب ما حل بنظامه إثر غزوه لدولة الكويت وما تاله من تكتل دولي‬ ‫ضده ساهم في إنهاكه عسكرياً واجباره على الخروج من الكويت‪ ,‬وقاموا ضده بانتفاضة كردية هي األقوى في تاريخ األكراد‬

‫عام ‪2882‬م‪ ,‬كما نجحوا في إقامة حكم ذاتي أُقر رسمياً عام ‪1118‬م بموجب دستور العراق اإلتحادي وهو ما سنعرضه‬ ‫بالتفصيل في الجزء الخاص بأكراد العراق‪ ,‬وفي سوريا أيضاً لم تنته معاناة األكراد على مدى عقود بسبب عالقتهم‬ ‫المضطربة مع النظام الحاكم‪ ،‬حتى استغلوا ضعفه بعد ‪1122‬م‪ ،‬ليتمركز األكراد في الكثير من المناطق السورية ويعلنون‬

‫نظاماً فيدرالياً لم يلق الدعم واإلعتراف الدولي الكافي‪ ,‬وبالتالي يتضح دورهم الكبير في الخارطة السورية الجديدة‪ ,‬كما‬

‫يحصل أكراد سوريا على الكثير من أشكال الدعم المادي والحربي بسبب محاربتهم لتنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية في المناطق‬ ‫السورية والتي تسيطر على كثير من هذه األراضي اآلن قوات سوريا الديمقراطية المعروفة ب "قسد" وهي القوات التي‬ ‫يشكل األكراد غالبية مقاتليها‪ ,‬لذا فالنزاعات دائمة مع الحكومات المركزية لهذه الدول التي يتوزع فيها األكراد مما يبدد‬ ‫أحالم الدولة الكردية الموحدة حتى ولو داخل دولة واحدة من هذه الدول األربع‪ ,‬ولعل مثال كردستان العراق يوضح هذه‬

‫النزاعات القوية بين الحكومة المركزية والقوات الكردية المطالبة باالنفصال‪.‬‬ ‫ويعد أحد أهم عثرات بناء الدولة الكردية الموحدة‪ ,‬اإلنقسامات الداخلية‬ ‫إال أن ما يعيق أيضاً القضية الكردية ُ‬ ‫في الصفوف الكردية‪ 373‬حيث ينقسم األكراد ألعداد كبيرة من األحزاب والتنظيمات الداخلية والتي ال تتفق فيما بينها حول‬

‫نقاط محددة‪ ,‬وطالما أظهرت العداء لبعضها البعض‪ ,‬ففي العراق طالما سمعنا عن الصراعات الكردية بين أهم حزبين‬ ‫كرديين وهما حزب اإلتحاد الوطني الكردستاني‪ ,‬والحزب الديمقراطي الكردستاني؛ حيث خاضا حرباً أوقعت نحو ‪1111‬‬

‫قتيالً بين ‪2880‬م و‪2889‬م حتى تصالحا عام ‪1111‬م‪ ,‬ولكن تطورات األحداث األخيرة أبرزت مجدداً ذلك الخالف‬

‫الكردي بخصوص مسألة انفصال إقليم كردستان العراق‪ ،‬ليتخلى األكراد عن ذلك الحلم المشترك وتسيطر عليهم االنقسامات‬

‫الداخلية التي كانت سبباً رئيسياً في فشل المشروع الكردي داخل العراق‪ ,‬وسيطرة النظام العراقي على كل مكاسب األكراد‬ ‫عقب ‪ 1120‬م‪ ,‬فنالحظ اختالف مواقف األحزاب الكردية حول قضية إجراء استفتاء استقالل اإلقليم والذي تم في ‪18‬‬ ‫انشقاقات األحزاب الكردية‪ ،‬صدوع أولي في جدران العمل السياسي‪ 11 ،‬يونيو ‪2017‬م‪ ،‬متاح على الرابط التالي‬ ‫‪ 20 ،‬فبراير ‪2018‬م‪www.enabbaladi.net..‬‬ ‫‪373‬‬

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‫سبتمبر ‪ ،1120‬وكان ذلك اإلنقسام أقوى العوامل التي أدت إلى إفشال المشروع الكردي العراقي‪ ،‬بل وعودته لما قبل‬ ‫تزود األكراد بقوة تفاوضية عالية‬ ‫حدود إقليم كردستان العراق بخسارة محافظة "كركوك"؛ أحد أهم المحافظات النفطية التي ّ‬ ‫قبل إجراء االستفتاء‪ ,‬إال أن هذه اإلنقسامات كانت عامالً واضحاً في سقوط هذه المحافظة الهامة بالنسبة لألكراد في‬

‫العراق حتى دون قتال ُيذكر بسبب انقسام القوات المسلحة الكردية المعروفة باسم "البيشمركة" خالل الصراع‪.‬‬ ‫وقبل الدخول في تفاصيل عنصر األكراد داخل كل دولة‪ ،‬ال بد من النظر للدور الكردي الذي يجلب الدعم الدولي‬ ‫‪374‬‬

‫من فترة ألخرى لهذه القومية الموحدة في حربها ضد الجهاديين‪ ,‬ففي سوريا على سبيل المثال يشكل األكراد النسبة األكبر‬

‫من مقاتلي قوات سوريا الديمقراطية المعروفة ب "قسد" والتي تتلقى دعماً أمريكياً واضحاً للقضاء على ما ُيعرف بتنظيم‬ ‫الدولة اإلسالمية في المناطق السورية وذلك بدعم من التحالف الدولي‪ ,‬كما كان لهم دو اًر رئيسياً في قتال التنظيم في‬ ‫العديد من األراضي العراقية؛ حيث تعتبر "البيشمركة" حليفاً أساسياً في الحرب ضد التنظيم في العراق‪.‬‬ ‫أما فيما يخص بتاريخ محاوالت إقامة الدولة الكردية‪ ،‬فقد شهد القرن العشرين عدة محاوالت إلقامة دولة كردية لم‬

‫ُيكتب لها النجاح وهي‪:‬‬ ‫‪ ‬مملكة كردستان‪ :‬وهي الكيان الذي أُقيم في مدينة السليمانية الموجودة في كردستان عام ‪2811‬م بقيادة‬ ‫الشيخ البرزنجي أحد أهم القيادات الكردية في تلك اآلونة‪ ,‬إال أنها لم تستمر سوى عامين دون وجود إعتراف‬ ‫دولي أو تأثير ُيذكر‪ ،‬حتى تحركت القوات العراقية بمساعدة قوات بريطانية ليسيط ار سوياً على السليمانية‬ ‫لتنتهي سيطرة الشيخ البرزنجي‪.‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫كردستان الحمراء‪ :‬حاولت كل من روسيا‪ ،‬أذريبجان‪ ،‬وأرمينيا استخدام الورقة الكردية لتحقق من خاللها‬ ‫كافة مصالحها‪ ,‬مما دفع األذريون لحث األكراد على إعالن قيام جمهورية كردستان الحمراء والتي امتدت‬ ‫منذ عام ‪2811‬م وحتى عام ‪2818‬م في منطقة ناغورنو كاراباخ الواقعة بين أرمينيا وأذريبجان الستخدامهم‬ ‫كورقة ضغط على الدول المجاورة خاصة وأن المثلث الروسي‪ ،‬األذري‪ ،‬األرميني لم يشكل فيه التواجد‬ ‫الكردي قوة يمكن اإلعتماد عليها‪.‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫جمهورية أ اررات‪ :‬حاول األكراد من خالل ثورة "أغري" وهي الثورة التي تبعت سلسلة مواجهات كردية تركية‬ ‫في منطقة جبال أ اررات عام ‪2811‬م‪ ,‬والتي كانت بقيادة إحسان نوري باشا‪ ،‬ذلك الرجل الذي أعلن ثورة‬ ‫عارمة في مواجهة السلطات التركية ليعلن بعدها استقالل مناطق جبال أ اررات تحت مسمى الدولة الكردية‪،‬‬ ‫لكنها هي األخرى لم تدم طويالً حيث انتهت بسقوطها وفنائها‪.‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫جمهورية مهاباد‪ :‬هي المحاولة األهم في التاريخ الكردي‪ ,‬فعقب الحرب العالمية الثانية‪ ,‬أعلن األكراد في‬ ‫إيران جمهورية ُعرفت باسم مهاباد‪ ,‬وكانت تحصل على دعم سوفيتي وقتها‪ ,‬إال أنها سقطت بعد عام واحد‬ ‫فقط نظ اًر لغياب الدعم العشائري ومناهضة اإلقطاعيين لها في تلك الفترة‪.‬‬

‫‪‬‬

‫جمهورية الجين‪ :‬هي أحد التجارب الكردية الواقعة بين أذريبجان وأرمينيا والتي لم تتوقف خالل تسعينيات‬ ‫القرن الماضي‪َ ,‬ليصدر عام ‪2881‬م إعالن جديد عن إقامة دولة كردية برئاسة "وكيل مصطفاييف" الذي‬ ‫لم يستطع الحفاظ هو اآلخر على كيان الدولة التي انهارت سريعاً‪.‬‬

‫عمار عباس محمود‪ ,‬القومية الكردية وإشكالية بناء الدولة القومية الكردية‪ ,‬رسالة دكتوراة غير منشورة‪ ,‬القاهرة‪ ,‬معهد البحوث‬ ‫والدراسات العربية‪.2016 ,‬‬ ‫‪374‬‬

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‫‪‬‬

‫كردستان العراق‪ :‬تقوم محاوالت الستقالل إقليم كردستان العراق عن طريق تنظيم استفتاء يحدد مصير اإلقليم‬ ‫من التبعية للدولة العراقية أو اإلنفصال الكامل وتكوين دولة موحدة باسم كردستان العراق‪ ,‬إال أن هذه‬ ‫المحاوالت أيضاً كان مصيرها الفشل الذريع واعتراف الحكومة المركزية إلقليم كردستان نفسها بحكم المحكمة‬ ‫العراقية بتعليق نتائج استفتاء سبتمبر ‪1120‬م الذي وافق عليه أغلب األكراد المشاركين فيه‪.‬‬

‫لذا فهذه المحاوالت التي رصدتها األدبيات المختلفة‪ ,‬يجمع بينها عنصر الفشل في إقامة دولة موحدة تجمع األكراد‬

‫تحت لواء واحد‪ ,‬حتى بعضها الذي استطاع أن يعلن قيام الدولة لم يلبث وأن وجد نزاعاً قوياً وعوائق ال حصر لها قامت‬

‫بتعليق تجاربه وافشالها‪.‬‬

‫وفي الوقت الحالي تُعتبر "أربيل" هي المسمى األقوى المعبر عن األكراد‪ ,‬فكثير من األدبيات ترجع العالقات‬ ‫بين الدول المختلفة وبين العنصر الكردي بمحادثات مثالً بغداد‪ ،‬أربيل أو موسكو‪ ،‬أربيل‪ ,‬تعبي اًر عن مكانة هذه العاصمة‬

‫المعترف به دولياً‪ ،‬وهي مقر حكومة‬ ‫الكردية العراقية‪ ,‬حيث تُعد "أربيل" عاصمة إقليم كردستان العراق ذات الحكم الذاتي ُ‬ ‫اإلقليم الكردي العراقي‪ ،‬وتعتبر مركز للحضارة والثقافة في كردستان العراق‪ ,‬حيث يوجد بها الكثير من اآلثار الحضارية‬ ‫التي يرجع تاريخها منذ العصر الحجري وحتى الفتح اإلسالمي‪ ,‬وتعتبر اآلن أهم محافظة في يد األكراد العراقيين؛ فهي‬

‫عاصمة مركز اإلقليم‪.‬‬

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‫قوة األكراد العسكرية تُعد من أهم عوامل تأثيرهم على مجال السياسة الدولية‪ ,‬فتنظيمهم المسلح القوي والمدعوم‬ ‫من قوى خارجية واقليمية يزيد من تأثير ق ارراتهم ومحاوالتهم لإلنفصال‪ ,‬فنرى القضية الكردية تشغل جميع السياسيين بالرغم‬ ‫من أنها أقلية في النهاية _شأنها في ذلك شأن أقليات أخرى ال تلق مثل هذا التأييد والدعم الدولي الصريحين واإلهتمام‬

‫من قبل الباحثين_‪ ,‬وذ لك مرجعه األساسي القوة العسكرية التي يتمتع بها ذلك العنصر الكردي‪.‬‬

‫أهم القوات المسلحة الكردية‪:‬‬

‫‪ )2‬البيشمركة (الفدائيون) في العراق‪:‬‬

‫تعد قوات "البيشمركة" األقدم واألهم بين المليشيات في العراق وهي تنقسم بين الحزبين الكرديين الرئيسيين في العراق‪،‬‬ ‫"الديمقراطي الكردستاني" و"اإلتحاد الوطني الكردستاني"‪ ،‬ويمتد عمرها لعشرات السنين‪ ،‬وكانت في بداياتها تخضع لسلطة‬ ‫القبائل في المناطق الشمالية‪ ،‬كما تمتلك خبرة واسعة في حرب العصابات‪ ،‬مستفيدة من الطبيعة الجبلية في مناطق شمالي‬

‫العراق‪ ,‬ويمتلك البيشمركة مختلف أنواع األسلحة‪ ،‬وهم قوات مدربة وتتوزع على اختصاصات عديدة ومختلفة‪ ،‬وقد يمتد‬

‫دفاعهم العسكري لقضايا األكراد حتى خارج األراضي العراقية‪.‬‬ ‫‪ )1‬قوات حزب العمال الكردستاني في تركيا‪:‬‬

‫هي الجناح العسكري لحزب العمال الكردستاني والذي تصنفه تركيا كأحد المنظمات اإلرهابية‪ ,‬حيث تطور الحزب‬

‫ليصبح تنظيماً شبه عسكري ُيعرف باسم "قوة الدفاع الشعبي"‪ ,‬والذي اعتبر المنطقة الجنوبية الشرقية داخل تركيا ساحة‬ ‫للحرب مع النظام الحاكم بداية من ثمانينيات وتسعينيات القرن الماضي‪ ,‬كما يبرر الحزب استخدام العنف والسالح نظير‬ ‫ما يعتبره قمعاً ثقافياً للهوية الكردية‪ ,‬إال أن هذه القوة العسكرية قد أوقفت نشاطها عقب إعتقال زعيمها عبد هللا أوجالن‬

‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.bbc.com/ar.‬حقائق عن إقليم كردستان‪ 7 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪،‬‬

‫‪210‬‬

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‫عام ‪2888‬م‪ ,‬وتتواجد بشدة اليوم على الحدود التركية العراقية واإليرانية‪ ،‬وعاد نشاطها المسلح مرة أخرى منذ ‪1110‬م‪.‬‬

‫‪376‬‬

‫‪ )1‬وأخي اًر قوات سوريا الديمقراطية "قسد"‪:‬‬

‫وهي التحالف الذي تم تكوينه في أكتوبر ‪1128‬م‪ ,‬بمحافظة الحسكة السورية‪ ,‬وقد تم تشكيل تلك القوة العسكرية‬ ‫بطلب من الواليات المتحدة األمريكية بهدف طرد تنظيم ما ُيعرف بالدولة اإلسالمية من األراضي السورية والشريط الحدودي‬

‫مع تركيا‪ ,‬كما أنها تُعتبر اآلن الكيان األقوى في المعادلة السورية خاصة مع إعالن واشنطن تشكيل قوة من ‪ 11‬ألف‬ ‫عنصر شمالي سوريا من العناصر الكردية وباألخص قوات حماية الشعب الكردية "‪ ,"YPG‬وهي التابعة لحزب اإلتحاد‬ ‫الديمقراطي "‪ " PYD‬الحزب الكردي األكبر في سوريا‪ ,‬وتحاول هذه القوات الحفاظ على المكتسبات الكردية عقب الثورة‬ ‫السورية وعقب طرد تنتظيم داعش من أهم معاقله داخل سوريا‪ ,‬إال أنه من المهم معرفة أن تلك القوات تتألف من عدة‬

‫ميليشيات كردية وعربية وسريانية وأرمينية وتركمانية‪ ،‬لكن العديد من الباحثين والقوى الدولية يتعامل معها على أنها القوات‬ ‫المسلحة الكردية داخل الدولة السورية نظ اًر لغلبة المقاتلين األكراد على تنظيمها‪.‬‬

‫كما يساهم متطوعون غربيون في القتال في صفوف األكراد إيماناً منهم بهذه القضية‪ ،‬خاصة أنه ال يوجد ما‬ ‫يمنع ب قوانين بالدهم من التطوع في القتال لجانب الصفوف الكردية لدحض تنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية في سوريا والعراق‪,‬‬ ‫فهناك أعداد متزايدة من الشباب الغربيين يتركون أعمالهم ومنازلهم ليتطوعوا للقتال مع المجموعات الكردية في العراق‬

‫وسوريا‪ ,‬كما أن بعض هؤالء الشباب يساريون على مستوى عال من التدريب العسكري‪ ،‬وبعضهم مهنيون جاؤوا ألسباب‬ ‫إنسانية‪.‬‬

‫وفي سوريا‪ ،‬حيث ينضم الشباب إلى وحدات حماية الشعب دفاعاً منهم عن "روجآفا"‪_ ،‬ذلك االسم الذي أصبح لديهم‬

‫مرادفاً للثورة االشتراكية والذي يعبر عن الفيدرالية الكردية التي أقامها األكراد في سوريا ولم تلق الدعم الدولي الكافي_‪,‬‬ ‫ويبقى السؤال هنا متعلقاً بعودة هؤالء الشباب إلى أراضيهم مرة أخرى مع هذه الخبرة الحربية الثقيلة‪ ,‬فكيف ستتعامل معهم‬ ‫دولهم عقب عودتهم؟‪.‬‬

‫عقب التعريف بالعنصر الكردي بشكل مختصر‪ ،‬تنبغي اإلشارة إلى أن القضية الكردية تتمايز وتختلف باختالف‬

‫الدولة التي يقطنونها‪ ،‬فالوضع الكردي في سوريا يختلف تماماً عن النموذج اإليراني على سبيل المثال‪ ،‬لذا يتعين علينا‬

‫أن نتناول القضية الكردية تفصيالً في كل دولة على حدة‪ ،‬عن طريق تناول القضية الكردية في كل من تركيا وايران ثم‬ ‫في كل من سوريا والعراق‪.‬‬

‫أوالً‪ :‬األكراد في تركيا وايران‬ ‫‪ )2‬األكراد في تركيا‪:‬‬ ‫يمتد الصراع بين األكراد والحكومة التركية لقرون كثيرة مضت‪ ،‬و هذا رغم ما يمثله األكراد من نسبة غير ضئيلة من‬ ‫سكان تركيا (ما يقرب من ‪ )%11‬من السكان‪.‬‬ ‫مثَّل ظهور حزب العمال الكردستاني في ‪2809‬م بداية للنضال الكردي ضد الدولة التركية‪ ،‬فبعدما أسس "عبدهللا‬ ‫ودمر‬ ‫أوجالن " الحزب بست سنوات ‪ ،‬أي في عام ‪2890‬م ‪ ،‬بدأ الصراع المسلح الذي خّلف أكثر من أربعين ألف قتيالً َّ‬

‫أكثر من ثالث آالف قرية‪ ،‬وتم تهجير سكان القرى إلي غرب تركيا‪ ,‬لكن مطالب الحزب باالستقالل لم تدم طويالً حيث‬ ‫تراجع الحزب عنها في بداية التسعينيات وطالب حينها فقط باالستقالل الثقافي والسياسي‪ ،‬لكن التراجع في المطالب لم‬

‫يكن كافياً لوقف القتال الذي استمر بعدها‪.‬‬

‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.bbc.com/ar.‬ماذا تعرف عن حزب العمال الكردستاني‪ 11 ،‬أغسطس ‪2016‬م‪،‬‬

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‫في عام ‪2888‬م كانت الضربة التركية للحزب شديدة األثر‪ ،‬حيث وقع "عبدهللا أوجالن" رهن االعتقال في تركيا وتم‬

‫إتهامه بالخيانة‪ ,377‬و قد حاول حزب العدالة والتنمية‪ -‬الحاكم اآلن‪ -‬طرح بعض الحلول ألزمات األكراد؛ فمنها محاوالت‬ ‫لفك االرتباط بين حزب العمال وبين أكراد تركيا‪ ،‬ذلك لما تراه أنقرة من تهديد يمثله حزب العمال على مصالحها‪ ،‬وقد‬ ‫نددت أنقرة بالدعم اللوجستي الموجه من واشنطن لقوات حزب العمال‪ ,‬غير أن حزب العمال استأنف حملته المسلحة عام‬ ‫‪ 1110‬والتي استمرت حتى عام ‪1118‬م عندما بدأت مفاوضات سالم سرية أعلن الحزب بعدها عن وقف إلطالق النار‪.‬‬

‫و باعتبار الحزب منظمة إرهابية‪ ،‬فإن العديد من أعضائه والناشطين األكراد قد حوكموا بموجب قوانين مكافحة‬

‫اإلرهاب‪ ،‬وتم سجن الكثير منهم‪ ,‬كما تعرضت تركيا لكثير من االنتقادات األوروبية والمنظمات الحقوقية الداعمة لحقوق‬ ‫اإلنسان‪.‬‬

‫أجرى الحزب والحكومة بعد ذلك محادثات رفيعة المستوى في الفترة من ‪ 1118‬حتى ‪ ،1122‬وتم إجراء تلك‬

‫المحادثات في أوسلو عاصمة النرويج‪ ،‬ولكن االشتباكات التي وقعت بين حزب العمال والقوات التركية في يونيو ‪1122‬‬ ‫وأسفرت عن مقتل العديد من الجنود األتراك‪ ،378‬جبَّت ما قبلها من مفاوضات‪ .‬وبالرغم من أن الحزب أعلن أن رجاله‬ ‫كانوا في حالة دفاع عن النفس ضد هجوم للجيش التركي إال أن الحكومة لم تقبل تلك األعذار‪ ،‬وبعد فشل المحادثات‪،‬‬

‫تصاعد الصراع ووقعت بعض أعنف اإلشتباكات خالل ‪ 1‬عقود‪ ,‬و بعد ذلك تحرك السجناء األكراد في السجون التركية‬ ‫وقاموا باإلضراب عن الطعام منادين بمعاملة أفضل ألوجالن وبحقهم في استخدام لغتهم في التعليم‪ ،‬ولم ينقطع اإلضراب‬

‫إال بعد ‪ 09‬يوماً بعدما طالبهم أوجالن بذلك‪ ,‬كما أضرب مئات السجناء من السياسيين األكراد عن الطعام في أكتوبر‬ ‫عام ‪ ،1121‬مطالبين بظروف معيشية أفضل ألوجالن وبالحق في استخدام اللغة الكردية في القضاء والنظام التعليمي‪.‬‬

‫قرر أوجالن في ‪ 1121‬الموافقة بالجلوس على مائدة الحوار مع الحكومة التركية ورئيسها آنذاك "رجب طيب‬ ‫أردوغان" وتوصال التفاق يقضي بوقف إطالق النار لمدة سنة‪ ،‬ترتب على هذا القرار تراجع مقاتلي الحزب إلى شمالي‬ ‫العراق‪ ,‬لكن لم تستمر الهدنة طويالً‪ ،‬فقد تم نقضها حينما شنت القوات الجوية التركية غارات على معسكرات لقوات الحزب‬

‫شمال العراق‪ ،379‬و ال يبدو ذلك غريباً‪ ،‬حيث أفصح رئيس تركيا الحالي " رجب طيب أردوغان" أن المناداة بقيام دولة‬

‫كردي ة في جنوب تركيا وشمال سوريا هو "إهانة لألكراد"‪ .‬وقال أردوغان في كلمة خالل اجتماع مع مسؤولين محليين في‬ ‫أنقرة‪" :‬البعض يتحدث عن تأسيس دولة كردية‪ ،‬وأنا أعتبر هذا إهانة إلخوتي األكراد‪ ،‬ألني أؤمن بأن أشقائي األكراد لن‬ ‫يعطوا الفرصة إلنشاء مثل هذا الكيان سواء في شمال سوريا أو جنوب تركيا"‪.380‬‬

‫وال تغفل أنقرة عن دور األكراد البارز في مواجهة قوات ما ُيعرف بتنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية الذي تعتبره أنقرة عدواً‬ ‫مباش اًر لها‪ ،‬ولكنها لم تسمح لألكراد بالمرور إلى سوريا للقتال ضد قوات التنظيم‪ ،‬وربما ذلك مخافة أن يستطيع حزب‬ ‫العمال وذراعه العسكري المتمثل في قوات "حماية الشعب" اإلنتصار على تنظيم الدولة وتأسيس دولة مستقلة في شمال‬

‫سوريا‪.‬‬

‫كما أن حالة الطوارئ المعلنة حالياً في تركيا من أهم أهدافها قمع األكراد‪ ،‬أو _ما وصفهم أردوغان_ بالتنظيمات‬ ‫اإلرهابية التي يسعي إلخراجها من جحورها لتوفير األمن واإلستقرار للشعب التركي‪ ،‬ويرى أن حزب العمال أو من وصفهم‬

‫ألال يصوتوا لحزب غيرهم‪ ،‬وبالتالي فإن مواجهتهم هي إنتصار للديمقراطية‪.‬‬ ‫ب"اإلرهابيين" يحاولون تخويف السكان ّ‬

‫‪ 24 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/ar‬عبد الناصر سنكي‪ ،‬مرور ‪ 12‬عاما ً على اعتقال عبد هللا أوجالن‪ 14 ،‬فبراير ‪ ،2011‬متاخ على‬ ‫‪.2018‬‬ ‫‪378‬‬ ‫‪ 24 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/ar.2018‬ماذا تعرف عن حزب العمال الكردستاني‪ 11 ،‬أغسطس ‪ ،2016‬متاح على‬ ‫‪379‬‬ ‫‪ 24 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.aljazeera.net.2018‬محطات من صراع تركيا وحزب العمال الكردستاني‪ 26 ،‬أبريل ‪،2017‬‬ ‫‪380‬‬ ‫‪ 24 ،‬فبراير ‪ arabic.rt.com .2018‬علي جعفر‪ ,‬أردوغان‪ :‬تأسيس دولة كردية إهانة إلخوتي األكراد‪,2017/8/22 ,‬‬ ‫‪377‬‬

‫‪212‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫مشكلة إقليمية‪:‬‬

‫يمثل أكراد تركيا مشكلة إقليمية أيضاً‪ ،‬فإذا الحظنا عودة الحزب للصراع المسلح في ‪ ،1128‬نرى أنه جاء بعد‬

‫االنتخابات التي فقد فيها حزب العدالة والتنمية أغلبيته التي استمرت منذ ‪1111‬م‪ ،‬وبعد تطورات األزمة في سوريا وما‬ ‫حدث من أزمة بين تركيا وروسيا على إثر حادثة إسقاط الطائرة الروسية الشهيرة‪ ،‬فإن الحزب زاد من عملياته‪ ،‬مما يوضح‬ ‫وحيزها اإلقليمي‪.‬‬ ‫تأثير الحزب على الوضع السياسي في تركيا ّ‬ ‫كما انضم حزب العمال إلي ما يسمى بحركة الثورة المتحدة للشعوب‪ ،‬وهي حركة يسارية تضم – إلي جانب حزب‬ ‫العمال‪ -‬الحزب الشيوعي الماركسي‪ ،‬والحزب التركي الشيوعي اللينيني‪ ،‬وغيرهم من القوى اليسارية التي أعلنت أنها تهدف‬ ‫من الحركة إلي مواجهة نظام التسلط للجمهورية التركية وحزب العدالة والتنمية‪.‬‬ ‫ورأى حزب العمال في الثورة السورية التي أضعفت تأثير سيطرة الدولة المركزية على شمال البالد أنها فرصة ذهبية‬ ‫لتحقيق حلمهم بتكوين كيان سياسي ودولة مستقلة لهم في المنطقة‪ ،‬السيما في أثناء وجود نموذج مشابه لذلك في العراق‪,‬‬

‫ويحظى الحزب الكردي على دعم سياسي أو عسكري من عدة دول إقليمية ودولية أهمها روسيا وايران واسرائيل‪.‬‬

‫حزب العمال كحاضنة شعبية‪:‬‬

‫‪381‬‬

‫بالرغم من األسلوب العدواني الذي ينتهجه حزب العمال‪ ,‬فإن ذلك ال يلغي أبداً اإلعت ارف بمظلومية األكراد في تركيا‪،‬‬

‫تلك المظلومية التي لم تنجح أي من التعديالت السياسية بتركيا في عالجها‪ ،‬ولعل تلك المظلومية التي الزالت قائمة هي‬ ‫التي توفر "الحاضنة الشعبية" لحزب العمال في عموم الطائفة الكردية‪ ،‬تلك التي تجعل من حزب العمال كيانا مؤث ار في‬ ‫إطار أي حل لألزمة الكردية‪ ,‬لكن فَقد الحزب جزءاً من حاضنته الشعبية بعد تصعيده الغير مبرر وتحديداً داخل المدن‬ ‫واألحياء ذات الكثافة السكانية العالية‪ ،‬مما رفع كلفة المواجهة البشرية واالقتصادية‪.‬‬ ‫ولكن العائق ال يزال كبي اًر أمام حكومة تركيا لطرح أي حلول لألزمة الكردية اليوم‪ ،‬فأنقرة بين نارين‪ :‬األولى هي‬

‫مطرقة حزب العمال المدعوم من الخارج‪ ،‬والذي ال تجد الحكومة التركية منه أي ضمانات لتثق بالتزاماته بالحلول المقترحة‪،‬‬ ‫وعلى الجهة األخرى سندان عدم وجود شريك كردي آخر ينافسه في الشعبية بين أكراد تركيا‪ ,‬وعلى نفس السياق تؤكد‬

‫حكومة أنقرة دائماً على "الفصل بين الحزب والفصيل" ‪ ،‬فالحزب الذي تعتبره البالد منظمة إرهابية ال يعني أن الدولة‬ ‫تحمل أي عداء تجاه كافة المكونات الكردية‪ ،‬وقد ظهر ذلك في خطط الحكومة إلعادة تعمير المناطق المتضررة واعادة‬ ‫األكراد إليها‪.‬‬

‫مواقف الحكومة وسيناريوهات الحل‪:‬‬ ‫ال تستطيع الحكومة التركية وضع الثقة كاملة في حزب العمال خاصة بعد أفعاله التي تضمنت تخزين السالح لديها‬

‫حتى خالل فترة الهدنة وعملية التسوية‪ ،‬ولذا فعالقة الحكومة بالحزب تشوبها أزمة ثقة؛ فالحزب في رأيها غير جاد في‬ ‫مطالبه الحالية بالعودة للمفاوضات وهذه المطالب ليست –في رأيها‪ّ -‬إال لكسب الوقت فقط للتغطية على خسائره في‬ ‫المواجهات األخيرة‪ ،‬فالحكومة اآلن ِ‬ ‫مفضلة للحل العسكري مع الحزب وصارت بعيدة نسبياً عن الحل السياسي‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ولكن الحكومة في تركيا يتحتّم عليها إمتالك حلول إزاء مشكلة األكراد‪ ،‬ألن عكس ذلك يعني على المدى البعيد أن‬ ‫المشكلة ستتفاقم وسيصبح لدى الكرد ذريعة لتدويل المشكلة والمناداة باالنفصال‪ ،‬السيما بعد تبلور المشروع السياسي‬

‫الكردي في شمال سوريا والذي الزال ّبراقا في عيون األكراد‪.‬‬

‫‪ 22 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.alaraby.co.uk.‬هيوا كريم‪ ،‬حزب العمال الكردستاني‪ 28 ،‬فبراير ‪2016‬م‪،‬‬

‫‪213‬‬

‫‪381‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫حزب المجتمع "الشعوب" الديمقراطي‪:‬‬

‫‪382‬‬

‫هو حزب تركي تأسس في أكتوبر عام ‪ ،1121‬طالما أكد زعماؤه أنه يمثل كل األتراك وليس فقط الهوية الكردية‪،‬‬

‫إال أن الكثيرين يصنفونه كحزب كردي خالص‪ ،‬كما ينص قانون الحزب الداخلي على أنه "حزب يمثل المضطهدين‬ ‫والمهمشين"‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫التوجه األيديولوجي‪:‬‬

‫يؤكد الحزب دائما أنه يمثل كل مكونات وأطياف المجتمع التركي‪ ،‬فهو ال ينتمي لعرق وال يمثل هوية محددة لطائفة‬ ‫معينة‪ ،‬ولكن الكثير من المتابعين للشأن الكردي يعتبرونه حزباً كردياً تابعاً لحزب "السالم والديمقراطية" الكردي وامتدادا‬ ‫للتوجه اإلشتراكي في تركيا‪ ،‬ويزعم الكثيرون أنه القوة السياسية لتنفيذ قوانين حزب "العمال الكردستاني" المحظور‪.‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫أهداف الحزب‪:‬‬

‫في قانونه الداخلي يقول الحزب أنه يمثل "المهمشين والمضطهدين إلي جانب كل الفئات المكونة لنسيج المجتمع‬ ‫التركي باختالف معتقداتها الدينية وتوجهاتها السياسية والثقافية"‪ ,‬ويحارب الحزب التمييز بين أفراد الشعب ويهدف لتحقيق‬ ‫العدالة االجتماعية والحياة الكريمة والمساواة‪ ,‬ويملك الحزب تنوعاً كبي اًر في أعضائه حيث تشير أرقام متداولة على نطاق‬ ‫واسع الرتفاع تمثيلية النساء في الحزب‪ ,‬ويتقاسم رئاسة الحزب مناصفة‪" :‬صالح الدين دميرطاش" والكردية "فيغان يوكسيك‬ ‫داغ"‪ ,‬ويحصل الحزب على مباركة من عبدهللا أوجالن حيث شارك بالتعاون مع حزب السالم والديمق ارطية في إنتخابات‬

‫البلدية في ‪1120‬؛ حيث شارك حزب السالم في المناطق ذات األغلبية الكردية فيما شارك حزب ديمقراطية الشعوب في‬ ‫بقية المناطق‪.‬‬

‫األكراد عقب محاولة االنقالب الفاشلة في تركيا‪:‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫لماذا لم يدعم األكراد االنقالب في تركيا؟‬

‫‪383‬‬

‫االنقالب العسكري األخير الذي فشل في تركيا أثار الكثير من الجدل‪ ,‬ولم يدعم األكراد – على عكس المتوقع‪-‬‬ ‫انقالب تركيا األخير في ‪ ،1122‬فبالرغم من كراهية األكراد الشديدة للرئيس التركي الحالي "رجب أردوغان" ‪ ،‬إال أن‬

‫مخافتهم من عودة العسكريين للحكم تفوق كراهيتهم ألردوغان؛ حيث عانى األكراد في ظل الحكم العسكري بعد إنقالبي‬ ‫عام ‪2801‬م و ‪2891‬م من القرن الماضي‪.‬‬

‫‪ )2‬األكراد في إيران‪:‬‬

‫تضم أرض إيران إقليم شرق كردستان‪ ،‬الذي يبلغ عدد سكانه اآلن ما يقرب من أحد عشر مليون نسمة‪ ،‬وهم الذين‬

‫ويعد إقليم شرق كردستان ثاني األقاليم الكردية من حيث عدد السكان – بعد‬ ‫يمثلون ما يقرب من ‪ %22‬من سكان إيران‪ُ ،‬‬ ‫كردستان الشمالية الواقعة تحت السيادة التركية _‪ ،‬كما يوجد أيضاً ما يقرب من ثالثة ماليين من األكراد المهاجرين الذين‬ ‫يسكنون طهران وخراسان ومحافظات أخرى‪.‬‬

‫وضع األكراد في إيران‪:‬‬

‫‪384‬‬

‫‪ www.aljazeera.net.1129/1/10 ,‬الجزيرة‪ ,‬حزب الشعوب الديمقراطي‪,1128/2/8 ,‬‬

‫‪382‬‬

‫‪ www.france24.com/ar.1120/22/11 ,‬محجوبة كرم‪ ,‬لماذا لم يدعم األكراد االنقالب في تركيا‪1122/0/28 ,‬‬

‫‪383‬‬

‫‪ www.skynewsarabia.com.1120/22/10 ,‬سكاي نيوز عربية‪ ,‬أكراد إيران‪ :‬عقود من القمع والنضال‪,1128/9/1 ,‬‬

‫‪384‬‬

‫‪214‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫يتركز األكراد في محافظة كرماشان بتعداد يقارب الثالثة ماليين ثم أذربيجان الغربية‪ ،‬وكردستان وايالم‪ ،‬وهناك العديد‬

‫من المقومات العرقية والثقافية المميزة في شرق كردستان‪ ،‬حيث تشهد المنطقة تنوعاً عرقياً ودينياً ملحوظاً ويعتنق سكانها‬ ‫المسلمون المذهبين الشيعي والسني‪ ،‬ويشكل المسلمون الغالبية العظمى من السكان‪ ،‬وهناك أقليات قومية تسكن مدن‬ ‫كردستان الشرقية كاألتراك والفرس واألذريين‪.‬‬

‫هناك مكونات قومية ودينية وعرقية مختلفة في شرق كردستان‪ .‬مظلوميات كرد إيران!‬

‫لم يختلف تعامل األنظمة اإليرانية مع األكراد عن تعامل نظرائها من األنظمة في الدول األخرى التي يقطنها األكراد‪،‬‬

‫فقد سيطرت المناوشات والصراعات على عالقة النظام اإليراني باألكراد‪ ،‬ولم يعترف بحقوقهم في المواطنة وممارسة‬

‫الحقوق السياسية والمشاركة في الحياة الحزبية‪ ،‬كما تم منع الثقافة الكردية أو إنشاء أية مدارس خاصة باألكراد‪.‬‬

‫وبالرغم من نسبة الفرس في إيران – التي ال تتجاوز ال‪ %18‬من السكان‪ -‬و بالرغم من وجود قوميات أخرى مثل‬

‫العرب واألكراد والبلوشيين‪ ،‬إال أن النظام الحالي نجح في فرض ثقافته ولغته على جميع تلك القوميات والسيما األكراد‪.‬‬

‫‪385‬‬

‫جمهورية کردستان أو جمهورية مهاباد‪:‬‬

‫تأسست في ‪ 11‬يناير سنة ‪2802‬م في شرق کردستان برئاسة القائد الرمز قاضي محمد‪ ،‬كانت مدينة "مهاباد"‬

‫عاصمة لتلك الجمهورية التي لم ُيكتب لها الحياة ألكثر من إحدى عشر شه اًر‪ ،‬وقد تم القضاء عليها بتحالف تم بين‬ ‫الواليات المتحدة األمريكية ونظام الشاه في إي ارن‪ ،‬قام السوفييت على إثره بسحب قواتهم من األراضي اإليرانية‪ ,‬وخالل‬ ‫العمر القصير للجمهورية الفتية تأسست العديد من المنظمات الحكومية والمدنية وصدرت العديد من الصحف والمجالت‬

‫أيضا تحدد علم كردستان ونشيدها الوطني‪ ،‬وتُعد تلك الجمهورية أحد أهم محاوالت األكراد لتأسيس دولة‬ ‫باللغة الكردية‪ ،‬و ً‬ ‫‪386‬‬ ‫موحدة‪.‬‬

‫شرق کردستان ما بعد الثورة اإلسالمية‪:‬‬

‫بدأ الصدام الكردي مع النظام اإليراني الحالي منذ شروق شمس الجمهورية اإلسالمية بعد ثورة عام ‪2808‬م في‬

‫إيران‪ ،‬وبالرغم من مشاركة الكرد في الثورة‪ ،‬إال أن النظام الجديد حينها لم َير جدوى في اإلعتراف بخصوصيتهم القومية‪،‬‬ ‫ورأى أن المنهجية اإلسالمية الجديدة للجمهورية الناشئة حينها سوف تكون كفيلة لحفظ حقوق األكراد‪.‬‬ ‫وقد بدأ الصدام بتذمر األكراد نظ اًر لتهميشهم وعدم مشاركتهم في إعداد الدستور اإليراني الجديد‪ ،‬وتطور األمر في‬ ‫عام ‪2891‬م‪ ،‬حين قامت قوات الحرس الثوري اإليرانية بمهاجمة المناطق الكردية‪ ,‬ورغم مقاومة قوات "بيشمركة كردستان‬

‫متكافئا‪ ،‬وقد راح العديد من الشيوخ والنساء واألطفال في ذلك الهجوم‪ ،‬كما استمر‬ ‫الشرقية"‘ إال أن ميزان القوى لم يكن‬ ‫ً‬ ‫التمرد واستمرت مقاومة الكرد لمدة ثالث سنوات حتى أعادت القوات اإليرانية سيطرتها عن طريق اإلعدامات واالعتقاالت‬

‫وتدمير القرى الكردية‪.‬‬

‫‪387‬‬

‫وتحارب السلطات اإليرانية األكراد بما يخالف الدستور‪ ،‬فبالرغم مما ينص عليه البند ‪ 28‬من الفصل الثاني من "حق‬ ‫األقليات في إستخدام لغاتهم في العملية التعليمية"‪ ،388‬إال أن السلطة الحاكمة تحارب الكرد وتحظر عليهم تعليم اللغة‬

‫الكردية في المدارس ويواجهون تقييدات في نشر أدبهم‪ ،‬فكل ما يصدر من منشورات كردية يتم بإشراف المخابرات‪.‬‬

‫‪389‬‬

‫بالرغم من ديانة األكراد اإلسالمية وهي الرسمية للدولة‪ ،‬إال أن مذهبهم السني _ الذي يعتنقه أغلبهم _ يجعلهم على‬ ‫خالف مع النظام الذي يعتبر المذهب الشيعي مذهباً رسمياً للبالد‪ ,‬و لذا فإن قضايا الكرد في إيران –في غالب األمر‪-‬‬ ‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪ alarab.co.uk‬عرب وبلوش وأكراد وتركمان‪ ..‬أقليات إيران مجتمعة تفوق األغلبية الفارسية العددية‪ 8 ،‬مارس ‪2014‬م‪،‬‬ ‫‪2018‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪386‬‬ ‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.aljazeera.net/ar.‬نجدت عقراوي‪ ،‬تجارب الحكم الكردية‪..‬رؤية نقدية‪ 21 ،‬مايو ‪2006‬م‪،‬‬ ‫‪387‬‬ ‫أكراد إيران عقود من القمع والنضال‪ ،‬مرجع سبق ذكره‪.‬‬ ‫‪388‬‬ ‫‪ 25 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iran.2018‬قراءة في الدستور اإليراني‪،‬‬ ‫‪389‬‬ ‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.aljazeera.net/ar.‬شفيق شقير‪ ،‬كرد إيران‪ 11 ،‬يونيو ‪2006‬م‪،‬‬ ‫‪385‬‬

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‫يتم إظهارها في النطاق المذهبي ال العرقي‪ ،‬وبالرغم من أن ذلك يساهم في وصول القضية للعالم إال أنه يؤدي الختالط‬

‫مطالبهم مع مطالب القوميات األخرى من البلوش والعرب والتركمان السنة‪.‬‬

‫التأثير العراقي‪:‬‬

‫مؤخ اًر‪ ،‬تعالت أصوات مطالب األكراد في إيران والمناداة بتمايزهم العرقي‪ ،‬السيما بعد التطورات التي حدثت لألكراد‬

‫في العراق والتي أنتجت إقليماً كردياً متمتعاً بالحكم الذاتي تأتي تفاصيله في السطور القادمة‪ ،‬فالكرد على جانبي الحدود‬ ‫يتكلمون اللغة نفسها ويشتركون بالمذهب نفسه‪ ،‬وبينهما عالقة تزاوج‪ ،‬كما أن الفضائيات الكردية زادت من التواصل بينهم‬ ‫وخاصة تلك الموجودة فيما يسمى بكردستان العراق‪.‬‬

‫و قد زاد التبادل الثقافي والعلمي بين كرد العراق وكرد إيران بعد العام ‪2882‬م؛ فأصبح هناك أساتذة وعلماء من‬

‫الكرد اإليرانيين يدرسون في الجامعات العراقية الكردية‪ ,‬و قد خرج األكراد اإليرانيون في ‪1110‬م في مظاهرات لإلحتفال‬

‫باالعتراف الرسمي بحقوق أكراد العراق في الدستور الموضوع بعد الغزو‪.‬‬

‫وفي ظل التجاذب الغربي‪ -‬اإليراني بشأن المشروع النووي فإن مشكلة كرد إيران يمكن أن تظهر في واجهة األحداث‬

‫كورقة ضغط‪ ،‬خاصة بعد طموحات الشعب الكردي في إيران والتي ازدادت بعد تطورات كردستان العراق‪.‬‬

‫ثانياً‪ :‬األكراد في سوريا والعراق‬ ‫‪ )1‬األكراد في سوريا‪:‬‬

‫يمثل األكراد ما يقارب ال ‪ 21‬بالمائة من تعداد السوريين ويتركز معظمهم في حلب ودمشق واألغلب في‬

‫الحسكة "معقل قوات سوريا الديمقراطية"‪ ,‬إال أن األكراد في سوريا يحملون تاريخاً طويالً من اإلضطهاد حسب المنظمات‬ ‫الحقوقية‪ ،‬على عكس دول أخرى يحظى فيها األكراد بحقوق أوفر وأقوى‪ ,‬حيث تم تجريد بعض األكراد من الجنسية السورية‬

‫ووصل األمر إلى مصادرة أراضي لألكراد ومن ثَم إعادة توزيعها مرة أخرى على العرب في محاوالت لتعريب المناطق‬ ‫الكردية‪ ,‬إال أن األكراد ما زالوا يصمدون حتى اآلن في محاولة لتأسيس الدولة الخاصة بهم واقامة _على األقل_ مناطق‬ ‫للحكم الذاتي داخل سوريا‪.‬‬

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‫كان لألكراد موقفهم المحايد في بداية األزمة السورية ولم تتعال أصواتهم مطالبة باالنفصال عن كيان الدولة السورية‪,‬‬

‫بينما تركزت مطالباتهم بتكوين فيدرالي يعطيهم مزيداً من الحقوق في المناطق التي يسيطرون عليها‪ ,‬حتى أنه وفي‬ ‫منتصف عام ‪ ,1121‬انسحبت القوات السورية من المناطق الكردية لتركز على قتال المعارضة في مناطق أخرى‪،391‬‬ ‫فاستغلت القوات الكردية الفرصة لتبسط سيطرتها على المنطقة؛ حيث أقام حزب االتحاد الديمقراطي الكردي مناطق إدارات‬

‫ذاتية في كل من القامشلي وكوباني وعفرين عام ‪ ,1120‬وأكد الحزب أنه ال يسعى لإلستقالل بل إلى "إدارة محلية‬ ‫ديموقراطية"‪.‬‬

‫‪392‬‬

‫تاريخ معامالت النظام السوري لألكراد‪ ,‬وموقع األكراد في الخارطة السورية‪:‬‬

‫ُيمثل األكراد ثاني أكبر مجموعة عرقية داخل سوريا بعد العرب‪ ,‬وتصل التقديرات غير الرسمية لتعدادهم السكاني‬ ‫لمليوني كردي سوري‪ ,‬وبموجب اتفاقية "سايكس بيكو"‪ ،‬التي أُبرمت عام ‪2822‬م والتي أعادت تقسيم الوطن العربي من‬ ‫جوردي تيجيل‪ ،‬أكراد سورية بين ماض مضطرب ومستقبل غير مؤكد‪ ،‬مركز كارنيغي للشرق األوسط‪ 16 ،‬أكتوبر ‪2012‬م‪،‬‬ ‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪Carnegie-mec.org.‬‬ ‫‪391‬‬ ‫حسام عيسى عبد الرحمن‪ ،‬معضلة األكراد السوريين بين صيرورة االندماج وأسطورة االنفصال‪ ،‬مجلة المستقبل العربي‪ ،‬العدد ‪،463‬‬ ‫سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪392‬‬ ‫‪ www.aljazeera.net.2018/2/12 ،‬محمد موسى محمد‪ ،‬القضية الكردية في سوريا‪ 11 ،‬يونيو ‪ ،2006‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫عمار عباس محمود‪ ،‬مرجع سبق ذكره‪.‬‬ ‫‪390‬‬

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‫جديد‪ ,‬كان المكون الكردي أحد أهم المكونات السكانية للدولة السورية‪.‬‬

‫ويتركز األكراد داخل سوريا بشكل أساسي في المناطق الحدودية مع تركيا والعراق‪ ،‬والتي من أهمها محافظات‬

‫الحسكة‪ ،‬عفرين‪ ،‬وعين العرب المعروفة بمنطقة كوباني‪ ,‬وقد شهدت هذه المدن نسباً كبيرة من الهجرة إلى العاصمة دمشق‬

‫والى غيرها من المدن السورية الكبرى‪ ,‬كما شهدت سوريا حاالت من الهجرة الكردية إلى خارج حدودها بحثاً عن فرص‬ ‫أفضل في التعليم والعمل‪ ,‬واألكراد في سوريا يشبهون تماماً العنصر الكردي في الدول األخرى؛ فمعظمهم مسلمون سنة‬

‫وقعوا في مشكالت سياسية كبرى مع األنظمة الحاكمة‪ ,‬بل ويصنفهم البعض كأحد أهم مصادر الصراع الطائفي العرقي‬

‫داخل سوريا كما هو الحال في العراق‪.‬‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫الممنهج لألكراد السوريين‪ ,‬حيث كانت تسود العالقات‬ ‫َمثل ما ُيعرف بإحصاء الحسكة بداية ظهور مسألة االضطهاد ُ‬ ‫الودية بين األكراد وغيرهم من باقي القوميات المختلفة‪ ,‬إال أنه بمجرد إجراء إحصاء الحسكة بدأت العالقات الكردية تسوء‬

‫بغيرها من القوميات وبالنظام السوري‪ ,‬وقد تم ذلك اإلحصاء في عهد الرئيس السوري السابق ناظم القدسي وبالتحديد يوم‬ ‫‪ 8‬أكتوبر ‪2821‬م‪ ,‬ذلك اإلحصاء الذي نجم عنه تواجد أكراد يحملون الجنسية السورية‪ ,‬وأكراد آخرين ال يتمتعون بحق‬ ‫المواطنة ويتم تسجيلهم على أنهم أجانب غير سوريين‪ ,‬باإلضافة ألكراد مجردون من الجنسية وغير مقيدين في السجالت‬

‫الخاصة باألحوال المدنية الرسمية والذين أطلق عليهم النظام اسم مكتومي القيد‪" ,‬وهو مصطلح سوري قانوني يشير لعدم‬

‫جرد ما يقارب السبعين ألف كردي من الحصول على‬ ‫وجود الشخص المعني في السجالت الرسمية"‪ ,‬ذلك اإلحصاء ّ‬ ‫‪393‬‬ ‫الجنسية السورية‪ ,‬ذلك الرقم الذي تجاوز اآلن نحو ‪ 111‬ألف شخص يفتقدون لحقوق المواطنة السورية‪.‬‬ ‫ومنذ هذه الفترة لم تهدأ العالقة بين الحكومة السورية وبين العناصر الكردية حيث يشكو األكراد من "سوء‬ ‫معاملتهم‪ ،‬ومن اإلعتداء على هويتهم‪ ،‬ومحاولة طمس العناصر والثقافة الكردية على حد وصفهم"‪ ,‬وتمثلت النزاعات بين‬ ‫العنصر الكردي والحكومات المركزية السورية في أكثر من حادثة نذكر منها على سبيل المثال‪:‬‬ ‫‪‬‬

‫إضطرابات ‪ :1110‬وهي اإلضطرابات التي حدثت عقب تولي بشار األسد مقاليد الحكم في سوريا عام ‪1111‬م‪،‬‬ ‫والتي تجددت في بداية حكمه آمال األكراد واألحزاب الكردية في تقدم مصالحها والحصول على حقوقها الكاملة‪.‬‬ ‫وبالفعل ففي بدايات حكم بشار األسد أبدت حكومته الجديدة ليونة وتسامحاً في التعامل مع األنشطة الكردية‬ ‫وفعاليات األحزاب الكردية المختلفة‪ ,‬إال أنه بقدوم عام ‪ 1110‬تغيرت األمور جذرياً عقب مباراة كرة القدم التي‬ ‫أقيمت بمدينة "القامشلي" تحديداً في شهر مارس من نفس العام‪ ,‬لتندلع مواجهات عنيفة بين األكراد وبعض‬ ‫العناصر األخرى العربية لتتدخل فيها قوات األمن‪ ,‬إال أن النزاعات استمرت وتحولت لمناطق أخرى داخل سوريا‬ ‫سيطرت عليها النزعات العرقية‪ ،‬استمرت النزاعات ستة أيام وسجلت حصيلة قتلى خالل المواجهات تقارب‬ ‫األربعين قتيالً وفق المصادر الكردية‪ ,‬و‪ 18‬قتيالً وفق المصادر الرسمية السورية ومئات الجرحى والمعتقلين‪.‬‬

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‫إال أن األحزاب والقوى الكردية السورية تطورت مطالبها لكنها لم تصل لحد المطالبة باالنفصال عن كيان الدولة‬ ‫السورية‪ ,‬فأقصى المطالبات الكردية السورية "إقامة الحكم الذاتي والنظام الفيدرالي لألقاليم التي يشكل فيها األكراد األغلبية‬

‫العظمى من السكان"‪ ,‬ويطالب األكراد أيضاً بالمساواة السياسية والغاء القوانين االستثنائية التي ُيعد قانون الطوارئ من‬ ‫أهمها‪ ,‬واستمرت العالقات بين األكراد والنظام السوري حتى جاء عام ‪1118‬م لتطلق الجهات الرسمية في سوريا سلسلة‬ ‫من التعهدات بحل المشكلة الكردية وباألخص تلك المشكلة المتعلقة بغير المجنسين‪ ،‬والذين تضاعفت أعدادهم منذ إحصاء‬ ‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/arabic‬ضاحي حسن‪ ،‬أكراد سورية على أمل استعادة جنسيتهم‪ 1 ،‬أبريل ‪ ،2011‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪.2018‬‬ ‫‪394‬‬ ‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪2018‬م‪ www.alarabiya.net.‬أحداث القامشلي تحرك ورقة األكراد بوجه سوريا‪ 28 ،‬أكتوبر ‪ ،2010‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪393‬‬

‫‪217‬‬

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‫الحسكة‪ ,‬ليقرر حزب البعث في نفس العام إعادة فتح ملف غير المجنسين من األكراد‪ ,‬كما تحدث بشار األسد عن حرصه‬ ‫وحكومته لتسوية المشكلة الكردية في خطاباته عام ‪1110‬م‪ ,‬إال أن الواقع العملي ربما ناقض ذلك حتى مجئ الثورة‬

‫السورية التي وضعت إلى اآلن شأناً كردياً جديداً يسيطر على األحداث ولربما يكن له نصيب غير ضئيل في الخارطة‬ ‫السورية الجديدة‪.‬‬

‫‪395‬‬

‫أهم التيارات الحزبية الكردية السورية‪:‬‬ ‫أسس األكراد عدداً من األحزاب السياسية يأتي في مقدمتها من حيث األهمية "الحزب الديمقراطي الكردستاني" الذي‬ ‫تأسس عام ‪2880‬م "والحزب اليساري الكردي" الذي تأسس في أواخر خمسينيات القرن العشرين‪ ,‬وكالهما دعا في البداية‬ ‫لتوحيد األقاليم الكردية وانفصالها‪ ,‬إال أنهما أعادا النظر في خطاباتهما السياسية ليطالبا فقط بالمساواة والعدالة‪ ,‬وبالرغم‬

‫من تعدد األحزاب الكردية في الواقع السوري إال أنها لم تمثل _قبل الثورة السورية_ أي قوة تُذكر في مسار تأثيرها في‬ ‫واقع النظام السوري‪.‬‬ ‫فالحزب الديمقراطي المعروف باسم "بارتي" تأسس عام ‪2880‬م وانقسم بعد ذلك إلى جناحين بعد ست سنوات‪,‬‬

‫كما يوجد "حزب اإلتحاد الديمقراطي" أو "‪ "PYD‬وهو الحزب المقرب من العمال الكردستاني ويطالب باإلدارة الذاتية‬

‫لألكراد في سوريا‪ ،‬ليصبح الحزب األكثر "راديكالية" على األراضي السورية مما أكسبه مزيداً من الشعبية على أرض‬ ‫الواقع‪ ،‬وينبثق عن حزب "االتحاد الديمقراطي" الجناح العسكري األقوى ألكراد سوريا والمعروف بوحدات حماية الشعب‬ ‫الكردية وهي المكون األساسي لقوات سوريا الديمقراطية التي خاضت الحرب ضد تنظيم داعش على األراضي السورية‬

‫بدعم دولي أمريكي‬

‫‪396‬‬

‫إلى جانب هذه التيارات الحزبية هناك الكثير من األحزاب على األراضي السورية‪ ،‬وقد أعلنت عشرة أحزاب كردية‬ ‫وأكثر من ‪ 281‬شخصية مستقلة تأسيس "المجلس الوطني الكردي"‪ ،‬ليمثل مطالب األكراد السوريين في تكتالت المعارضة‬ ‫الوطنية‪ ،‬غير أن المجلس الوطني الكردي ال يمثل غالبية أكراد سوريا كما ُيفترض‪ ،‬حيث تستقل عنه ستة أحزاب كردية‬ ‫مع حزب االتحاد الديمقراطي وتنسيقيات الثورة بالمناطق ذات الغالبية الكردية مما يوضح اإلنقسام الداخلي الكردي حتى‬ ‫في سوريا وهو ما يؤثر على معادلة القوى الكردية في الشأن السوري‪ ،‬ولعل العراق مثال بارز لتأثير ذلك اإلنقسام على‬

‫قوة الوحدة الكردية‪.‬‬ ‫وكان العام ‪ 1121‬عاماً مؤث اًر في قضية األحزاب الكردية السورية‪ ،‬حيث شارك ‪ 22‬حزباً كردياً باإلضافة لشخصيات‬

‫كردية مشهورة لجانب منظمات المجتمع المدني في مؤتمر الجاليات الكردية السورية في الخارج‪ ,‬والذي انعقد في أربيل‬ ‫وخاطب فيه الزعيم السابق إلقليم كردستان العراق "مسعود برزاني" الحاضرين بقوله "شرطنا لدعمكم هو توحيد صفوفكم‬

‫في هذه الفترة الحساسة واالبتعاد عن الخالفات الداخلية"‪ ,‬إال أنه من الواضح أن ذلك الخطاب الشعبوي كان مليئاً‬ ‫بالشعارات التي لم يتم تطبيقها على أرض الواقع من القوى التابعة لبرزاني نفسه‪ ,‬حيث اتضح االنقسام الكردي والذي لم‬ ‫يستطع توحيد كلمته في لحظة كان يعتبرها األكراد تاريخية وفاصلة وهي الخاصة باستفتاء ‪ 18‬سبتمبر ‪.1120‬‬

‫قبل األكراد‪:‬‬ ‫إعالن النظام الفيدرالي شمالي سوريا من َ‬

‫للداللة على اللحظات الفارقة التي يعيشها األكراد في سوريا عقب الثورات العربية في ‪1122‬م‪ ,‬أعلن األكراد السوريون‬

‫النظام الفيدرالي رغم المعارضة وعدم اإلعتراف الدولي‪ ,‬وذلك خالل اجتماع تم عقده في محافظة الحسكة في مدينة رميالن‬ ‫السورية‪ ,‬ليقر األكراد نظاماً فيدرالياً في "روج آفا" شمال سوريا متفقين على تشكيل نظام رئاسي مشترك باإلضافة إلى‬ ‫حليمة بوزناد‪ ،‬تأثير األقليات على األمن اإلقليمي في منطقة الشرق األوسط‪ ،‬أكراد سوريا نموذجاً‪ ،‬رسالة ماجيستير‪ ،‬الجزائر‪ ،‬تبسة‪،‬‬ ‫‪www.univ-tebessa.dz.‬جامعة العربي التبسي ‪ ،2016‬ص‪ ،72‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪396‬‬ ‫‪ 12 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.skynewsarabia.com.2018‬القوى الكردية في سوريا حقائق ومعلومات‪ 23 ،‬أغسطس ‪ ،2016‬متاح عل الرابط‬ ‫‪395‬‬

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‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫مجلس تأسيسي إلدارة الشئون الكردية‪ ,‬إال أن ذلك اإلعالن لم تعترف به الحكومة المركزية وال حتى القوى اإلقليمية‪ ,‬حيث‬ ‫أعلنت الحكومة أنه "ال أساس قانوني إلعالن مثل هذا النظام الفيدرالي"‪.‬‬

‫أما بالنسبة للمقاطعات الكردية التي يضمها النظام الفيدرالي الكردي الغير معترف به دولياً‪ ,‬فهم منطقة كوباني عين‬

‫العرب والمتواجدة بريف حلب الشمالي‪ ,‬باإلضافة للجزيرة المتواجدة في محافظة الحسكة‪ ,‬فضالً عن أهم المناطق التي‬

‫سيطرت عليها قسد أو قوات سوريا الديمقراطية في اآلونة األخيرة‪ ,‬ليعلن األكراد نظاماً فيدرالياً في تلك المقاطعات أطلقوا‬ ‫عليها اسم "روج آفا" والتي تعني غرب كردستان‪.‬‬

‫وبرغم دعمها لألكراد األكثر فعالية في قتال تنظيم داعش‪ ،‬أعلنت الواليات المتحدة األمريكية أنها "لن نعترف‬

‫بمناطق الحكم الذاتي في سوريا"‪ ,‬كما لم تتم دعوة فصائل كردية إلى مفاوضات جنيف بجولتيها األولى والثانية برغم‬ ‫مطالبة روسيا بضرورة إشراك حزب اإلتحاد الديمقراطي _الحزب الكردي األبرز في سوريا_‪ ،‬كما رفضت تركيا أيضاً‬ ‫التحرك الكردي‪ ،‬قائل ًة إن وحدة سوريا أمر ضروري‪ ,‬فتخشى تركيا أن تُغذي سطوة أكراد سوريا على حدودها مطالب‬ ‫االنفصال لدى األقلية الكردية داخل حدودها وهو األمر المتعارف عليه من الموقف التركي تجاه القضية الكردية بشكل‬ ‫عام‪.‬‬ ‫إال أن مفاوضات سوتشي والرياض أشركت فصائل من المعارضة السورية في الحوار‪ ,‬ولم تخل من مناقشة أوضاع‬

‫األكراد في سوريا‪ ,‬ولكن دون التوصل إلى حلول‪ ،‬حيث تصر أنقرة على عدم الحديث عن حقوق األكراد في الداخل‬ ‫السوري فيما يخص إنشاء مناطق حكم ذاتي أو تقسيم فيدرالي مما يجعل القضية الكردية السورية موقعاً لصراع دولي تقف‬

‫أمامه القوى اإليرانية والتركية على النقيض من الكثير من الطموحات الكردية في الشأن السوري‪ ,‬وبذلك الضغط ال تُحل‬ ‫القضية الكردية في سوريا نظ اًر الختالف وجهات النظر المتعلقة بحل القضية على النسق الدولي‪ ,‬فإيران وتركيا أبرز‬

‫المعادين وروسيا تقف إلى جانب النظام السوري الرافض لهذه الخطوة الكردية بشدة‪ ،‬وواشنطن بين هذا وذاك تحاول تقربة‬

‫وتهدئة وجهات النظر لتركز بشكل أساسي على طرد تنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية من الداخل السوري عن طريق دعم قوات‬

‫سوريا الديمقراطية واألكراد بالذات بسبب قوتهم العسكرية وقدرتهم على طرد التنظيم من المدن السورية‪ ,‬لكن هذا الدعم‬ ‫هو دعم غير مشروط بتبني موقفاً مؤيداً للمشروع الفيدرالي الذي يطالب به األكراد‪.‬‬

‫‪397‬‬

‫ولكن مع هذه العالقة العدائية بين األكراد وتنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية‪ ,‬هل يوجد مقاتلون أكراد في صفوف داعش؟‪ ,‬وما‬

‫هي أبرز نقاط العالقة بين التنظيم وبين القوى الكردية؟‪.‬‬

‫عند مناقشة ما إذا كان هناك فصائل كردية تحارب لجانب صفوف داعش‪ ,‬فتقول مصادر مقربة من التنظيم أن‬

‫تواجد العنصر الكردي داخل الصفوف الداعشية هو أمر عار تماماً عن الصحة‪ ,‬فبرغم تواجد عدد قليل جداً ذات أصل‬ ‫كردي في صفوف التنظيم فهو ال يتعدى كونه انتماء فكري لعقيدة التنظيم‪ ،‬يمثل توجهاً فردياً وال يعكس الموقف الكردي‬ ‫المعادي للتنظيم‪ ,‬حتى أن تلك العناصر القليلة هي ليست من أكراد سوريا بل من أكراد تركيا والعراق‪ ,‬لذا فحتى وان ُوجد‬

‫مقاتلون أكراد في صفوف الدولة اإلسالمية فهو تعبير عن والءات شخصية ال تدحض العالقة الصراعية بين الطرفين‬ ‫_ولكن ليس على أساس عرقي أو طائفي_ بل على أساس حرب النفوذ والمصالح‪.‬‬

‫التدخل التركي في عفرين‪ ,‬والقوات الحدودية األمريكية الكردية شمالي سوريا‪:‬‬

‫أعلنت الواليات المتحدة األمريكية تشكيل قوة من ‪ 11‬ألف عنصر شمال سوريا يكون قوامها من قوات سوريا‬

‫الديمقراطية المعروفة ب "قسد"‪ ،‬والتي تمثل وحدات حماية الشعب الكردية في سوريا أغلب عناصرها‪ ,398‬وذلك لضمان‬ ‫رجائي فايد‪ ،‬مستقبل األكراد بين حلم الدولة وفكرة األمة الديمقراطية‪ ،‬ملحق تحوالت استراتيجية‪ ،‬مجلة السياسة الدولية‪ 6 ،‬أغسطس‬ ‫‪2017‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪398‬‬ ‫‪ 8 ،‬مارس ‪ www.skynewsarabia.com‬قوة حدودية بقيادة سوريا الديمقراطية وبدعم قوات التحالف‪ 14 ،‬يناير ‪2018‬م‪ ،‬متاح على‬ ‫‪2018‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪397‬‬

‫‪219‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫عدم عودة داعش لألراضي التي خسرها التنظيم في اآلونة األخيرة على أيدي األكراد المدعومين أمريكياً وعلى يد القوات‬ ‫النظامية‪ ,399‬إال أن ذلك القرار تزامن مع القرار التركي بالتدخل العسكري في "عفرين" لطرد العناصر اإلرهابية بالمنطقة‬ ‫على حد وصفها ‪ ,‬لتصبح المسألة الكردية السورية في غاية التعقيد‪ ,‬خاصة وأن التدخل التركي ضد أكراد "عفرين" لم يلق‬

‫أية إدانة دولية واضحة وحاسمة‪ ،‬مما يلفت األنظار إلمكانية تخلي القوى الغربية عن تأييد ومساعدة األكراد في سوريا‪.‬‬

‫ذلك التدخل التركي تتزامن معه الرغبة التركية في الوصول إلى "منبج" وهي أحد أهم المناطق التي يتركز فيها األكراد‬ ‫داخل سوريا‪ ,‬لتستطيع القوات التركية تقويض أقاليم التواجد الكردي المسلح التي تراها مهددة ألمنها القومي‪ ,‬لتمنع بذلك‬

‫أية محاولة إلنشاء دولة كردية على حدودها الجنوبية‪ ,‬والتي إن استمرت في التقدم لربما تلتقي بالقوات التي شكلتها الواليات‬ ‫المتحدة األمريكية والتي تذبذب موقفها من مسألة الدعم الموجه لألكراد في سوريا‪ ,‬فيظل الوضع غامضاً في الشأن الكردي‬

‫السوري‪ ,‬إال أن االختراق التركي في سوريا دون إدانة أو مواجهة دولية يتم تفسيره وفقاً لمقايضات ومساومات تمت مع‬ ‫الجانب التركي بشأن صمتها حيال مصير ومستقبل بشار األسد في سوريا نظير الصمت الدولي لما يحدث في عفرين‬

‫السورية‪ .‬إال أنها تظل في النهاية مجموعة من التوقعات والتحليالت وال يسعنا سوى ذكر التفسيرات الرسمية الصادرة من‬ ‫الجانب التركي بأنها تحارب وتواجه اإلرهابيين على حدودها وفق تصريحاتها‪.‬‬

‫‪ )2‬األكراد في العراق‪:‬‬ ‫يختلف وضع األكراد داخل العراق عن أوضاعهم في الدول األخرى‪ ,‬بحيث أن أكراد العراق استطاعوا منذ أواخر‬

‫القرن الماضي الحصول على حقوق سياسية واقتصادية واضحة لجانب النظام العراقي‪ ,‬ويمثل األكراد في العراق ما يقرب‬ ‫من ‪ %11‬من السكان‪ ,‬إال أنهم تعرضوا في بدايات حكم صدام حسين لحمالت من االضطهاد على حد وصفهم‪ ،‬أدت‬

‫مع مرور الوقت من خالل النضال الكردي ألن يصبح األكراد العراقيون أهم فصيل كردي من حيث القوة والتمتع بالحقوق‬ ‫واألكثر راديكالية من حيث مضمون المطالبات التي وصلت لحد المطالبة باالنفصال تماماً عن الكيان العراقي‪.‬‬

‫‪400‬‬

‫في البداية كان االحتالل البريطاني يسيطر على األوضاع في العراق‪ ,‬ثار األكراد في شمال العراق ضد ذلك الحكم‬

‫في فترة االنتداب لكن تم تهميش مطالبهم‪ ,‬حتى عام ‪2802‬م والذي ُيعد عاماً فاصالً في تاريخ القضية الكردية العراقية‬ ‫حيث أسس "المال مصطفى البارزاني" حزباً ُعرف باسم "الحزب الديمقراطي الكردستاني" وكانت أهم أهدافه الحصول على‬ ‫الحكم الذاتي في إقليم كردستان العراق‪.‬‬

‫‪401‬‬

‫وبعد ثورة عام ‪ 2889‬التي ُعرفت "بحركة تموز" والتي أطاحت بالملكية العراقية وأقامت الجمهورية"‪ ,‬اعترف الدستور‬

‫عنصر أساسياً وشريكاً في العملية السياسية إلى جانب‬ ‫المؤقت بالقومية الكردية قومي ًة رئيسية‪ ،‬وبالتالي اعتبار األكراد‬ ‫اً‬ ‫باقي األطياف الوطنية‪ ,‬إال أنه في عام ‪2822‬م ارتفع سقف الطموحات والمطالب االنفصالية الكردية؛ ليعلن الزعيم‬ ‫الكردي "مصطفى البارزاني" القتال المسلح‪ ,‬حتى عرضت الحكومة عام ‪2801‬م على األكراد في العراق إنهاء القتال‬

‫مقابل االعتراف بمناطق حكم ذاتي لألكراد‪ ,‬إال أن االتفاق لم يتم واستؤنف القتال عام ‪2800‬م لترتفع معها وتيرة المطالبات‬ ‫الكردية مرة أخرى‪.‬‬

‫‪402‬‬

‫لكن ذلك الحزب انقسم بعد فترة ليؤسس السياسي المعروف والرئيس السابق للعراق "جالل طالباني" حزب االتحاد‬ ‫الوطني الكردستاني‪ ,‬ومع ذلك االنقسام حاولت الحكومة العراقية تغيير التركيبة السكانية في المناطق الكردية خاصة حول‬

‫خالد عكاشة‪ ،‬ما بعد انحسار داعش؛ مسارات المقاتلين وإعادة انتشار الخطر‪ ،‬السياسة الدولية‪ ،‬عدد ‪ ،210‬أكتوبر ‪2017‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪ www.aljazeera.net.2018/2/12 ،‬تعرف على أعداد ومناطق توزع األكراد‪ 22 ،‬سبتمبر ‪ ،2017‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪401‬‬ ‫‪ 12 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.aljazeera.com.2018‬أمين شحاتة‪ ،‬األحزاب والتيارات السياسية الكردية‪ 23 ،‬مايو ‪2006‬م‪ ،‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪402‬‬ ‫خيرة والي‪ ،‬تطور القضية الكردية وأثرها على األمن اإلقليمي في منطقة الشرق األوسط‪ ،‬رسالة ماجيستير‪ ،‬الجزائر‪ ،‬جلفة‪ ،‬جامعة‬ ‫‪dspace.univ-djelfa.dz‬الجلفة‪2017 ،‬م ص ص ‪ ،63 -52‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪399‬‬ ‫‪400‬‬

‫‪220‬‬

‫‪The 17th Model of American Congress‬‬

‫‪Congressional Research Service Report‬‬

‫مدينة كركوك _وهي المدينة األغنى بالنفط_‪ ،‬وقامت الحكومة العراقية أيضاً بحمالت ُممنهجة إلعادة توطين األكراد من‬ ‫أجل إضعاف قوتهم البشرية‪.‬‬ ‫وكان عام ‪2899‬م عاماً سيئاً على األكراد فعقب انتهاء الحرب العراقية اإليرانية تعرضت مدينة حلبجة لغارات‬ ‫بالسالح الكيماوي حيث أطلق صدام حسين الرئيس األسبق للعراق حملة ضد األكراد ُعرفت بحملة األنفال‪ 403‬والتي‬ ‫ساهمت في نمو الشعور الكردي المعادي للحكومات العراقية المتتالية‪ ,‬حتى أنه بعد حرب الخليج ‪2882‬م اشتعلت‬

‫االنتفاضات الواسعة في أجزاء كثيرة داخل مناطق تركز األكراد العراقيين وباألخص في جنوب العراق واقليم كردستان‪ ,‬إال‬

‫أن الدولة قامت بقمع هذه االنتفاضات بشدة مما حث الواليات المتحدة وحلفاءها على إقامة منطقة حظر جوي‪ ،‬مما أعطى‬ ‫لألكراد حكماً ذاتياً اتفق فيه الحزبان على تقاسم السلطة‪ ,‬إال أن ذلك التوافق الكردي الداخلي لم يستمر حتى اشتعلت‬ ‫النزاعات الداخلية مرة أخرى لتشهد أحداث دامية بين الطرفين استمرت منذ ‪2880‬م وحتى ‪2889‬م‪.‬‬ ‫عام ‪1111‬م وفي فترة الغزو األمريكي للعراق‪ ،‬تحالف الحزبان الرئيسيان ألكراد العراق مع قوات الغزو‪ ,‬مما يثبت‬

‫أثر التحالفات الكردية على تاريخ ومستقبل المشروع الكردي؛ حيث شاركت في كافة الحكومات التي تشكلت منذ الغزو‬ ‫حتى وصل شخصان كرديان لمنصب رئيس الجمهورية العراقية _وان كان منصباً صورياً ال يحمل قوة ذات تأثير على‬ ‫القرار السياسي العراقي_ وهما جالل طالباني وفؤاد معصوم‪ ,‬كما يتشارك الحزبان في مؤسسات الحكم داخل منطقة إقليم‬

‫كردستان العراق الذي يتكون من ‪ 1‬محافظات رئيسية وهي دهوك وأربيل والسليمانية‪.‬‬

‫لذا ومنذ ذلك التاريخ ال يمكن التحدث عن اضطهاد أو إهدار لحقوق األكراد داخل العراق بعكس الحال في إيران‬

‫وتركيا على سبيل المثال‪ ,‬ليلعب األكراد منذ ذلك الحين دو اًر رئيسياً في المعادلة السياسية العراقية ليصلوا ألعلى المناصب‬ ‫الرئاسية والو ازرية‪.‬‬

‫فمنذ سقوط الملكية في العراق واقامة النظام الجمهوري في يوليو ‪2898‬م‪ُ ,‬فتحت آفاق الحرية لألكراد وظلت تتسع‬ ‫الكرد بالعودة للديار وممارسة حقوقهم السياسية‪ ,‬فباستثناء بعض‬ ‫وسمح لألكراد المهاجرين والقادة ُ‬ ‫حلقاتها حتى يومنا هذا‪ُ ,‬‬ ‫الحمالت المعادية لألكراد في عهد صدام حسين‪ ,‬استطاع األكراد أن يحيوا حياة هانئة دون مشكالت ترجع لجذور عرقية‬

‫ُممنهجة ضد األكراد‪ ,‬بل على النقيض؛ فالدستور العراقي نص وألول مرة على شراكة العرب واألكراد في الوطن العراقي‪,‬‬ ‫إال أن الشغف الكردي االنفصالي لم يهدأ وتجدد مرات متتالية لتصل العالقة بين السلطة المركزية العراقية وبين الكيانات‬ ‫يخون فيها كل عنصر اآلخر ويستنجد بالقوى الدولية ضده‪,‬‬ ‫الكردية واألحزاب األساسية في كردستان العراق لمرحلة سيئة ّ‬ ‫وكان السبب الرئيسي في وصول العالقة لهذه المرحلة هو تزايد حدة مطالب األكراد لتصل لحد المطالبة علناً باالنفصال‬ ‫عن جسد الدولة العراقية‪.‬‬

‫ومن أبرز المراحل التاريخية لتوتر العالقات الكردية مع الحكومة المركزية العراقية ما ُيعرف بثورة ‪2822‬م الكردية‬ ‫التي تعتبر تمرداً عشائرياً ضد تطبيق قانون "اإلصالح الزراعي" الذي أعلنته الحكومة الجمهورية والذي كان موجهاً ضد‬ ‫اإلقطاعيين األكراد‪ ,‬والذي واجهته الحكومة المركزية وقتها للقضاء على الحركة الكردية العراقية‪ ,‬وذلك بإجراءات مختلفة‬ ‫بدأت بحل الحزب ا لديمقراطي الكردستاني ومالحقة قادته وانتهت باستخدام القوة المسلحة لضرب جميع عناصر الحركة‬ ‫القومية الكردية المتمثلة بالعشائر وعلى رأسها العشيرة البرزانية‪ ،‬ومن هنا بدأت األزمة تتزايد بين الطرفين‪ ,‬وقد أدى هذا‬ ‫الرد الرسمي العراقي على هذه االضطرابات إلى تضامن جميع هذه العناصر ضد السلطة المركزية مستفيدين من الطبيعة‬ ‫الجغرافية الوعرة والجبال التي شكلت حماية طبيعية لهم وعامل تشجيع على حمل السالح‪ ،‬ليبدأ تاريخاً نضالياً واسعاً‬ ‫للقوات الكردية في سبيل الحصول على الحقوق الكاملة للقومية الكردية‪.‬‬

‫إال أن هذه الحركة الكردية المسلحة استطاعت أن تقوي نفوذها في العراق بداية من عام ‪2822‬م لتشكل قوة‬

‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪ news.bbc.co.uk /arabic.2018‬حملة األنفال ضد األكراد إبادة جماعية‪ 24 ،‬يونيو ‪2007‬م‪ ،‬متاح على الرابط‬

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‫عسكرية ضخمة‪ ,‬وذلك ألسباب تتراوح بين "الداخلي" المتمثل في عدم االستقرار السياسي في العراق و"الخارجي" الذي‬

‫تمثل في دعم دولي لهذه الحركة في مواجهة قمع الحكومة المركزية العراقية‪ ,‬أضف لذلك المشكالت المتعلقة بالحروب‬ ‫العراقية سواء مع إيران أو الحرب الشهيرة مع الكويت والتي أضعفت من قوة الدولة العراقية‪ ,‬لتستغل القوات الكردية تلك‬

‫األوضاع ليشتد ساعدها وتصبح منذ بدايات التسعينيات قوة عسكرية ال ُيستهان بها تستطيع اإلستئثار بأقاليم ومناطق‬ ‫‪404‬‬ ‫معينة لتكون كردية خالصة‪.‬‬

‫صدام حسين واألكراد‪:‬‬

‫كان للحرب اإليرانية العراقية وقعاً أساسياً على مسار العالقات الكردية مع نظام صدام حسين‪ ,‬حيث قاتل الكثير من‬

‫األكراد خالل الحرب لجانب القوات اإليرانية _نظ اًر للتحالف الكردي اإليراني وقتها_ إيماناً منهم بإمكانية االستئثار بمناطق‬

‫في كردستان العراقية بمساعدة إيران‪ ,‬ليقوم بعدها صدام حسين ونظامه بما ُعرف بحملة األنفال التي تضمنت عمليات‬ ‫تهجير واعتقاالت‪ ,‬كما قصفت القوات العراقية منطقة حلبجة عام ‪2899‬م بالسالح الكيماوي ليصل عدد ضحايا الهجوم‬ ‫إلى ‪ 8111‬شخص‪ ,‬وكانت هذه الحوادث من أكثر العوامل التي أشعلت غضب القومية الكردية ضد حكومات بغداد‬ ‫المتوالية‪ ,‬حيث أنتجت شعو اًر باالضطهاد لم يسبق له مثيل‪ ,‬وبهذا الشعور تنامى الحقد والكره الكردي تجاه الدولة والحكومة‬ ‫المطالب باالنفصال ورفض العيش في َكنف الدولة الع ارقية‪.‬‬ ‫العراقية مما سبب ذلك المشهد ُ‬ ‫ومنذ ذلك الحين واصلت قوات "البيشمركة الكردية" نزاعاتها المسلحة مع قوات صدام حسين حتى فرضت القوى‬ ‫الدولية منطقة حظر جوي داخل العراق تمتع فيها األكراد بمناطق حكم ذاتي كردية‪ ,‬إال أن التوترات استمرت بين الفصائل‬

‫الكردية نفسها ليحارب "الحزب الديمقراطي الكردستاني" بزعامة مسعود برزاني الحزب المنافس وهو "االتحاد الوطني‬

‫الكردستاني"‪ ،‬والذي أصبح زعيمه جالل طالباني وقتها‪ ,‬وهو ما وصل بالحالة الكردية لنتائج أقل من التوقعات واالحتماالت؛‬ ‫حيث شكلت الحرب بين هذين الحزبين نواة الختالف وجهات النظر وعدم توحيد الصف بين الجانبين حتى في أكثر‬ ‫القضايا حساسية للقومية والمصير الكردي‪.‬‬ ‫ولكن سرعان ما تم إبرام مصالحة كردية برعاية أمريكية من خالل "اتفاقية واشنطن" عام ‪2889‬م لتبدأ القوات‬

‫األمريكية تحالفاً قوياً مع عناصر "البيشمركة الكردية"‪ ،‬حتى تُعينها على مقاومة سياسات صدام حسين؛ حيث يعارض‬ ‫كال الطرفين الحكومة العراقية المركزية‪ ,‬حتى عقب غزو الواليات المتحدة للعراق استمر دعمها العسكري لقوات البيشمركة‬ ‫في مجاالت مختلفة تتعلق في األساس بتدريب المقاتلين األكراد‪ ,‬ومجدداً فوقت انتخاب جالل طالباني رئيساً للعراق‪,‬‬

‫انتُخب مسعود برزاني أحد أبرز القيادات الكردية العراقية رئيساً إلقليم كردستان العراق الذي تمتع بالحكم الذاتي ونص‬ ‫على ذلك صراحة الدستور العراقي الصادر عام ‪1118‬م ليتنامى األمل الكردي مجدداً من أجل تقرير مصيره واالنفصال‬ ‫عن الدولة العراقية‪.‬‬

‫‪405‬‬

‫المهم أنه وفي ظل هذه األوضاع المتدهورة والمأساوية التي سبقت الحل‪ ،‬ظلت كل األطراف متمسكة بمبدأ‬

‫الحكم الذاتي‪ ,‬فلم تقدم السلطة المركزية على إلغاء نص دستوري أو مادة قانونية تتعلق بالحقوق القومية الكردية‪ .‬كما أن‬

‫األحزاب الكردية المعارضة لم تتحدث في أي مرحلة من المراحل عن االنفصال عن العراق أو عن تأسيس دولة كردية‬

‫ويعد ذلك التمسك بمبدأ الحكم الذاتي هو النقطة األقوى التي استطاعت أن‬ ‫خاصة بها‪ ,‬إال بالطبع في اآلونة األخيرة‪ُ ,‬‬ ‫تمكن األكراد من عدة مناطق في الداخل العراقي‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬

‫‪Jan Knappert , The Kurds: a brief history, International Journal on World Peace , JUNE 1993,‬‬ ‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ 10 www.arab48.com.‬محطات مفصلية بتاريخ أكراد العراق قبل االستفتاء‪ 26 ،‬سبتمبر ‪2017‬م‪،‬‬

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‫األوضاع عقب ‪1991‬م‪:‬‬ ‫ُيعتبر عام ‪2882‬م عاماً فاصالً بكل ما تحمله الكلمة من معنى في تاريخ القضية الكردية العراقية‪ ,‬فعقب الضربة‬ ‫القاسمة التي وجهتها قوات التحالف ضد صدام حسين فيما ُعرف بعملية عاصفة الصحراء‪ ,‬شهد العراق فترة من عدم‬

‫االستقرار الداخلي حتى ارتأت القوات النظامية أنه ال مجال للدخول في صراعات جديدة مع العناصر الكردية ومن ثم‬

‫سحب القوات العراقية الموجودة في منطقة كردستان العراق حتى ال يتم الزج بها مرة أخرى في معركة تُدمر ما تبقى منها‪,‬‬ ‫وهنا قامت الواليات المتحدة وبريطانيا وبدون اللجوء لألمم المتحدة بإعالن بعض المناطق كمناطق محمية وتم منع الطيران‬ ‫العراقي من التحليق فوقها‪ ,‬وكانت كل من أربيل ودهوك والسليمانية هي تلك المناطق المحمية والتي تقع بذلك القرار خارج‬

‫نطاق السيطرة المركزية لقوات النظام العراقي‪ ,‬وأصبح واضحاً أن الحزبين الكرديين الرئيسيين في المنطقة أمام فرصة غير‬

‫مسبوقة‪ ،‬وبالفعل استطاعا أن يسيط ار على المنطقة بأكملها وأن يقيما حكماً ذاتياً استمر حتى يومنا هذا‪.‬‬

‫‪406‬‬

‫وتعد البيشمركة هي أهم قوة عسكرية كردية عراقية‪:‬‬

‫فهي القوة العسكرية األكبر حالياً والتي دخلت في حروب نضالية مع الحكومات العراقية المتوالية لتصبح بعد ذلك‬ ‫جزءاً من مؤسسات حكومة اإلقليم‪ ,‬كما انشق الكثير من المقاتلين األكراد عن الجيش العراقي إبان حكم صدام حسين‬ ‫وانضموا إليها‪ ,‬حتى أصبح هذا الكيان العسكري أحد أهم المقومات الكردية التي تضفي طابعاً قوياً لألكراد العراقيين‪.‬‬

‫أكراد العراق‪ :‬من الحكم الذاتي الستفتاء تقرير المصير‪:‬‬

‫لم تهدأ المطالب الكردية التي استطاعت أن تصل للحكم الذاتي داخل إقليم كردستان العراق بعد مشاورات ومفاوضات‬

‫ونضال دام ألعوام وأعوام‪ ,‬حتى زادت هذه المطالب مرة أخرى لتصل باألكراد للمطالبة باالنفصال عن كيان الدولة العراقية‬ ‫وتكوين دولة موحدة مستقلة‪ ,‬ولعل في هذا الصدد ينبغي القول بأن أكراد العراق يتميزون دون غيرهم من األكراد بتصاعد‬

‫وحدة المطالب القومية‪ ،‬وبالتالي ينصب الجهد الدولي وبقوة للحالة الكردية الموجودة في العراق بسبب قوة هذا‬ ‫وتيرة ّ‬ ‫نصب نفسه مثاالً يتوقف مصير حلم بناء الدولة الكردية على مصيره‪ ,‬ليحمل في‬ ‫العنصر واتساع حلقة مطالبه حتى ّ‬ ‫طياته _إذا نجح_ ش اررة تكوين مثل هذا النموذج في باقي الدول التي يسكن فيها األكراد‪.‬‬

‫‪407‬‬

‫فالمطالبات االنفصالية الحالية جاءت بعد تاريخ طويل من النضال مرو اًر بسلسلة من الثورات خالل القرن العشرين‪,‬‬

‫حيث َّ‬ ‫وقع األكراد والحكومة العراقية عام ‪2808‬م اتفاقية الحكم الذاتي حتى حصل اإلقليم على اعتراف قانوني رسمي‬

‫بموجب دستور ‪1118‬م‪ ,‬إال أنه في أعقاب حرب الخليج الثانية عام ‪ ،2882‬وانشاء منطقة الحظر الجوي لم يعد لبغداد‬ ‫تأثير ُيذكر على منطقة الحكم الذاتي الكردية‪ ,‬و بعد سقوط نظام صدام حسين إثر غزو العراق عام ‪ ،1111‬تحولت‬ ‫كردستان العراق إلى إقليم يتمتع بصالحيات واسعة مقررة في دستور العراق‪ ،‬وترك تحديد مصيره للسنوات التالية‪.‬‬ ‫وجاء في المادة الرابعة من الدستور العراقي ‪" :‬نظام الحكم في العراق جمهوري اتحادي فيدرالي ديمقراطي‬

‫تعددي‪ ،‬ويجري تقاسم السلطات فيه بين الحكومة اإلتحادية والحكومات اإلقليمية والمحافظات والبلديات واإلدارات المحلية"‪,‬‬ ‫وأوردت المادة ‪ 81‬من الدستور العراقي أنه "يعترف بحكومة إقليم كردستان بصفتها الحكومة الرسمية لألراضي التي كانت‬ ‫تُدار من قبل الحكومة المذكورة في ‪ 28‬مارس ‪ 1111‬الواقعة في محافظات دهوك وأربيل والسليمانية وكركوك و ديالى‬ ‫ونينوى"‪ ,‬وبهذا يتسع نطاق المحافظات التي تسيطر عليها القوى الكردية في نطاق إقليم كردستان العراق‪ ,‬إال أنه حدثت‬ ‫بعض التعديالت على مناطق النفوذ عقب إجراء االستفتاء الخاص بحق تقرير المصير والذي تم إجراؤه ‪ 18‬سبتمبر‬ ‫‪.1120‬‬

‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪2018‬م‪ www.bbc.com/arabic.‬إقليم كردستان العراق تسلسل زمني‪ 28 ،‬أبريل ‪2014‬م‪ ،‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫أحمد طاهر‪ ،‬كردستان العراق وتجديد المطالبة بتقرير المصير‪ ،‬السياسة الدولية‪ ،‬عدد ‪ ،183‬يناير ‪2011‬م‪.‬‬

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‫استفتاء االنفصال‪:‬‬ ‫في ظل خالفات متراكمة مع حكومة بغداد ‪ ،‬أصر رئيس اإلقليم مسعود البارزاني على إجراء استفتاء في اإلقليم يقرر‬

‫من خالله الشعب مصير عالقاته مع بغداد‪ ,‬وهو القرار المصيري الذي اتخذه برزاني بالرغم من معارضة قوى إقليمية‬ ‫ودولية‪ ,‬فضالً عن االنقسامات الكردية الداخلية بشأن إجراء االستفتاء من عدمه‪.‬‬

‫‪408‬‬

‫فقد أقرت السلطات الحاكمة في إقليم كردستان العراق أول أبريل من العام ‪1120‬م العمل على تشكيل لجنة لتحديد‬

‫وقت وآلية إجراء استفتاء شعبي لتقرير مصير اإلقليم‪ ,‬وفي بيان صادر عن حكومة اإلقليم في يونيو ‪1120‬م قالت فيه "‬

‫اختير يوم ‪ 18‬سبتمبر لتنظيم االستفتاء حول االستقالل" وذكرت أنه سوف يتم إجراؤه في المناطق الخاضعة وبعض من‬ ‫المناطق غير الخاضعة لسيطرة اإلقليم‪ ,‬في إشارة لبعض مناطق بشمال العراق ومحافظة كركوك الغنية بالنفط التي‬ ‫أصبحت بعد ذلك نقطة الصراع بين الحكومة المركزية والقوات الكردية‪.‬‬ ‫في الجهة المقابلة‪ ،‬رفضت الحكومة العراقية خطة األكراد لالستفتاء‪ ،‬وحذر رئيس الوزراء العراقي حيدر العبادي‬ ‫القيادة الكردية من "اللعب بالنار" بإجراء االستفتاء‪ ،‬وقال إنه على استعداد للتدخل عسكرياً باإلقليم الكردي إذا أدى االستفتاء‬ ‫جديته عقب إجراء اإلستفتاء وتصاعد وتيرة التدخل‬ ‫على انفصاله إلى أعمال عنف‪ ,‬وهو األمر الذي حدث بالفعل وأثبت ّ‬ ‫العراقي في الشئون الكردية الداخلية حتى في بعض األقاليم الواقعه تحت سيطرة األكراد‪.‬‬

‫كركوك "النقطة الساخنة في عالقة األكراد بالحكومة العراقية"‪:‬‬

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‫"كركوك" هي مدينة غنية بالنفط يعيش فيها األكراد لجانب قوميات أخرى من العرب والتركمان وغيرهم‪ ,‬وهي واحدة‬

‫من ‪ 28‬منطقة مختلطة عرقياً شاركت في استفتاء االنفصال‪ ,‬وهي نقطة الصدام بين القوات الحكومية والكردية؛ حيث‬ ‫يطالب كل طرف بأحقيته فيها‪ ,‬لذا فكان االستفتاء محفوفاً بالمخاطر ال سيما في كركوك التي تتعدد فيها األعراق ويطالب‬ ‫العرب أيضا بأحقيتهم بها منذ اكتشاف النفط فيها في ثالثينات القرن العشرين‪.‬‬

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‫وتعتبر "كركوك" من أهم مناطق النزاع بين األكراد والحكومة العراقية المركزية‪ ,‬وهي التي دخلها األكراد عقب طرد‬ ‫تنظيم ما ُيعرف بالدولة اإلسالمية منها‪ ,‬ولكن عقب إجراء االستفتاء عادت الحكومة المركزية بق اررات حيدر العبادي‬ ‫لتستعيد إقليم كركوك وبذلك يخسر األكراد نقطة مركزية وهامة في صراعهم من أجل الدولة الموحدة‪ ,‬فكركوك هي أهم‬ ‫نقطة في المعادلة الكردية‪ ,‬حيث كانت تعطي األكراد الغلبة الساحقة في المفاوضات مع الحكومة المركزية‪ ,‬وكانت بال‬ ‫شك أهم مقومات الدعم الدولي الموجه للقضية الكردية‪ ,‬حيث من الممكن بإنتاج هذه المحافظة النفطي أن تنتقل القضية‬ ‫الكردية العراقية اقتصادياً إلى مراتب ترفع من شأنها بقوة في أى طاولة للمفاوضات بشأن المشروع القومي الكردي‪.‬‬ ‫وحدثت مناوشات واشتباكات عدة داخل كركوك عقب مرور موكب ألكراد يحتفلون باالستفتاء أمام مقر لحزب سياسي‬

‫"تركماني"‪ ,‬وسقط ضحية المناوشات قتيل كردي‪ ,‬إال أنه وبعد فترة من إجراء االستفتاء حدثت مناوشات بين كل من‬ ‫الحكومة المركزية العراقية والقوات الكردية في اإلقليم‪ ,‬لكن الحكومة العراقية والقوات الموالية لها استطاعت أن تدخل إقليم‬

‫كركوك وتستعيد السيطرة عليه دون قتال ُيذكر!!‪ ,‬ويرجع الباحثون ذلك األمر للفرقة واالنقسام الذي أصاب قوات البيشمركة‬ ‫أنفسهم‪ ,‬وانقسام الفصائل الكردية حول مطالبهم الخاصة بإجراء االستفتاء‪ ,‬حتى وصل األمر ببعض األكراد ليصف‬

‫محاوالت "البرزاني" واص ارره على إجراء االستفتاء أنها محاولة فردية أحادية الجانب لتعزيز سلطاته وبحثاً منه عن منصب‬ ‫سياسي ضخم‪.‬‬

‫وفي مطلع شهر نوفمبر ‪ ،1120‬استقال "مسعود برزاني" رئيس اإلقليم وآلت األمور إلى "نيجرفان برزاني" وذلك‬ ‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.bbc.com/ar.2018‬بارزاني يصر على االستفتاء ويطالب دول الجوار بالحولر‪ 22 ،‬سبتمبر ‪،2017‬‬ ‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪ ara.reuters.com/article‬راية الجلبي‪ ،‬كركوك نقطة ساخنة قبل استفتاء االستقالل في كردستان‪ 20 ،‬سبتمبر ‪،2017‬‬ ‫‪.2018‬‬ ‫‪410‬‬ ‫المجموعة الدولية لألزمات‪ ،‬العراق واألكراد؛ مواجهة مخاوف االنسحاب‪ ،‬المستقبل العربي‪ ،‬عدد ‪ ،387‬مايو ‪2011‬م‪.‬‬ ‫‪408‬‬ ‫‪409‬‬

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‫تنحيه بداية من شهر نوفمبر ‪ 1120‬وهو ما حدث بالفعل‪,‬‬ ‫عقب إعالن مسعود برزاني ّ‬ ‫الكردي المنادي باالستفتاء حيث أصدرت "المحكمة االتحادية العليا" في العراق ق ار ار يقضي بعدم دستورية استفتاء إقليم‬ ‫‪411‬‬

‫وبعدها توالت الهزائم للمعسكر‬

‫ستفتاء الذي أجرته سلطات إقليم كردستان يتعارض‬ ‫كردستان والغاء النتائج المترتبة عليه‪ ,‬وأكدت المحكمة في قرِارها أن اال‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫وحدة أراضي العراق‪ ,‬وبالطبع رحبت الحكومة العراقية بقرار‬ ‫المادة األولى من الدستور العراقي والتي تنص على‬ ‫مع‬ ‫المحكمة االتحادية مؤكدة ضرورة احترام الدستور والعمل ضمن إطاره‪ ,‬باإلضافة للموقف الكردي الرسمي حيث أعلنت‬ ‫وشددت‬ ‫حكومة إقليم كردستان العراق احترامها لقرار المحكمة االتحادية العليا الذي يحظر انفصال اإلقليم عن العراق‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫على أن يؤسس حكم المحكمة لحوار وطني يحل الخالفات عن طريق الدستور‪ ,‬وبهذا يتضح ضعف الموقف الكردي‬

‫وخضوعه الواضح لرغبة الحكومة المركزية العراقية في بغداد وخسارة قوة وضعها السابق في المفاوضات‪ ,‬كما تعالت‬ ‫األصوات النادمة على إجراء االستفتاء الذي لم يأت بالنفع للقومية الكردية بل زادها ضعفاً وهشاشة وأوضح اإلنقسام‬ ‫الداخلي الكردي الذي خسر أهم مناطقه النفطية‪ ,‬مما يطرح أسئلة عدة تتعلق بمصير المشروع الكردي بين الفناء أو القبول‬

‫باال ندماج القائم مع الحكومة العراقية‪ ,‬أو العودة للنضال من جديد لتكوين الدولة الكردية الموحدة وتحقيق الحلم الكردي‪.‬‬

‫المواقف الدولية وموقف الواليات المتحدة األمريكية من إجراء استفتاء االنفصال‪:‬‬

‫اتفقت غالبية القوى اإلقليمية والدولية في رفضها إلجراء االستفاء المتعلق بتقرير المصير‪ ,‬ولكن تباينت من حيث‬

‫رفضها القاطع إلج ارئه وبين رفضها لموعد إجرائه‪ ,‬فعلى سبيل المثال ترفض كل من تركيا وايران فكرة الدولة الكردية جمل ًة‬ ‫وتفصيالً‪ ,‬وتقف ضد أي مشروع كردي محتمل نظ اًر لحجم الفصائل الكردية التي تقطن أراضيها وبالتالي خوفها الشديد‬ ‫من تنامي ذلك الشعور الكردي لديهم ومن ثم المطالبة باالنفصال‪.‬‬

‫إال أن الموقف األمريكي لم يكن رافضاً للمبدأ نفسه‪ ,‬ولكن "تحّفظ بشده على موعد إجراء االستفتاء الذي يزعزع‬ ‫استقرار الدولة العراقية في وقت احتد فيه قتال تنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية"‪ ,‬لذا كانت تطالب الواليات المتحدة الفصائل الكردية‬ ‫تلق آذاناً صاغية من القائمين على اإلقليم ومن ثم خسر "مسعود برزاني" حتى الدعم‬ ‫بإرجاء موعد االستفتاء‪ ,‬ولكن لم َ‬ ‫الدولي الذي كان أقوى نقطة يرتكز عليها في مفاوضاته مع الحكومة العراقية؛ فالواليات المتحدة األمريكية كان من الطبيعي‬ ‫أن ترفض ذلك الوقت نظ اًر لشاغلها األساسي وهو محاربة تنظيم ما ُيعرف بالدولة اإلسالمية الذي تعتمد في حريها ضده‬ ‫على الوحدة العراقية‪ ،‬والتي يمثل الفصيل الكردي أحد أهم أركانها األساسية‪.‬‬

‫وقالت و ازرة الخارجية األمريكية في بيان أن "كل جيران العراق‪ ،‬ونظرياً المجتمع الدولي بأسره‪ ،‬يعارضون أيضاً هذا‬ ‫االستفتاء"‪ ,‬وهو األمر الذي اتضح من خالل المواقف الدولية األخرى سواء من القوى الغربية أو العربية إضافة إلى تركيا‬

‫وايران الرافضتين بشدة أي محاوالت إلنشاء دولة كردية‪.‬‬

‫وأضافت الخارجية األمريكية في بيانها أن "الواليات المتحدة تحض القادة األكراد العراقيين على القبول بالبديل وهو‬ ‫حوار جاد ودائم مع الحكومة المركزية تتولى تسهيله الواليات المتحدة واألمم المتحدة إضافة الى شركاء آخرين‪ ،‬ويتناول‬

‫كل المسائل العالقة بما في ذلك مستقبل العالقة بين بغداد وأربيل"‪ ,412‬وحذرت الو ازرة من أنه "إذا جرى هذا اإلستفتاء فإن‬

‫ملوحة بخطر توقف الدعم الدولي لهذه المفاوضات‪ ,‬وهو ما‬ ‫فرص حصول مفاوضات مع بغداد ستكون ضئيلة للغاية"‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫ُثبت بالفعل‪ ,‬حيث كان في قراءة "مسعود برزاني" للموقف أن إجراء االستفتاء لن يقود لالنفصال مرة واحدة عن النسيج‬

‫العراقي‪ ,‬ولكن هو فق ط لدعم موقفه في المفاوضات القائمة مع بغداد‪ ,‬وهو ما لم يحدث حيث استقال "برزاني" وضعف‬ ‫الموقف الكردي في المفاوضات عقب خسارته لكركوك والكثير من حقوقه التي طالما استمتع بها ودعمت موقفه في‬ ‫المفاوضات قبل إجراء االستفتاء‪ ,‬إال أن إصرار وعند البرزاني على إجراء االستفتاء في ذلك الوقت _والذي يرجعه بعض‬ ‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.dw.com/ar.2018‬مسعود برزاني يتنحى بعد فشل حلم استقالل كردستان‪ 22 ،‬أكتوبر ‪،2017‬‬ ‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪2018‬م‪ www.elwatannews.com.‬واشنطن ترفض بقوة االستفتاء على استقالل كردستان‪ 21 ،‬سبتمبر ‪،2017‬‬

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‫الباحثين ربما لتسجيل موقفاً قومياً تاريخياً_ أبعده عن المسار السياسي حتى كحاكم لإلقليم‪ ,‬وبالتالي انقلبت الطاولة عليه‬ ‫تنحى عن منصبه كرئيس لإلقليم‬ ‫_بعد أن كانت طموحاته االستئثار بمنصب أضخم في أن يكون رئيساً لدولة مستقلة_‪َّ ،‬‬

‫وخسر كافة المناصب والمكاسب‪.‬‬

‫وسط كل هذه األحداث السياسية المؤثرة في المشروع الكردي‪ ،‬يمكن تلخيص التفاعالت الكردية مع األنظمة الحاكمة‬ ‫من خالل نقطتين أساسيتين‪ ،‬وهما تفاعل األكراد في ظل حكم البعث؛ ذلك الحزب الذي سيطر على مقاليد األمور في‬ ‫سوريا والعراق حتى عام ‪ 1111‬م‪ ،‬لننتقل للحدث الثاني وهو االحتالل األمريكي للعراق الذي ساهم في تغير القضية‬ ‫الكردية تغي اًر جذرياً من حيث تمكين األكراد في إقليم كردستان العراق والذي ألقى بظالله على أكراد سوريا‪.‬‬ ‫‪ )1‬التفاعل في ظل حكم البعث‪:‬‬

‫مرت العالقات الكردية العراقية في فترة حكم حزب البعث العراقي بفترات تدريجية‪ ،‬اختلفت فيها درجات التقارب أو‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الصراع مع النظام الحاكم‪ ،‬ففي بداية حكم الحزب أصر على حل المشكلة الكردية‪ ،‬وكانت التصريحات السياسية معظمها‬ ‫يدل على نية الحكومة البعثية في التسامح مع األكراد واالعتراف بحقوقهم السياسية رغب ًة من الحزب في تسوية المشكلة‬ ‫الكردية‪ ،‬حتى ذكرت البيانات األولى للحزب اعترافات بإهمال األنظمة السابقة للعناصر الكردية‪ ،‬وأن الحكومات البعثية‬ ‫عازمة على تسوية المشكلة وضمان أمن ورفاهية المناطق ذات األغلبية الكردية في العراق‪.‬‬

‫صدر الدستور المؤقت عام ‪2829‬م لينص على تساوي جميع العراقيين في الحقوق والواجبات دون تمييز بين‬

‫الكيانات الوطنية التي يشكل األكراد جزءاً أساسياً منها‪ ،413‬واستمرت العالقات بين األكراد والحكومة البعثية في وضع ال‬

‫يمكن وصفه بالمستقر حتى صدر بيان عام ‪2801‬م أو ما ُيعرف باتفاقية الحكم الذاتي ألكراد العراق‪ ،‬ليشمل البيان العديد‬

‫من اإلجراءات اإلصالحية‪ ،‬منها أن تكون اللغة الكردية لغة رسمية للبالد لجانب العربية‪ ،‬وأن يشارك األكراد في الحكم‬ ‫وفي الوظائف العامة دون تمييز‪ ،‬وأن ُيعيَّن المسؤولون في المناطق ذات األغلبية الكردية من األكراد العراقيين‪.‬‬ ‫توترت العالقات مرة أخرى بين حكومة البعث وبين العناصر الكردية لعدة أسباب منها اعتقاد العناصر الكردية عدم‬ ‫جدية الحكومة البعثية في تطبيق بنود اتفاقية الحكم الذاتي واستمرار االضطهاد الكردي‪ ،‬باإلضافة لرغبة "المال مصطفى‬

‫البارزاني" في أن يكون إقليم كردستان العراق إقليماً مستقالً عن الدولة العراقية‪ ،‬فضالً عن التحالف الكردي اإليراني في‬ ‫الحرب العراقية اإليرانية ‪2899-2891‬م‪ ،‬لتصل بذلك العالقات الكردية مع الحكومة المركزية ألقصى درجات التصادم‬ ‫والتي تبناها صدام حسين عقب الحرب اإليرانية في صورة تصفية حسابات‪.‬‬

‫كان الرد الحكومي قاسياً إلى أبعد الحدود وساعياً إلنهاء المشكلة الكردية من جذورها لتتحول المناطق الكردية‬ ‫لساحات دمار شامل فيما ُعرف بحملة األنفال ‪2899‬م وسط اتهامات باستخدام قوات صدام حسين للسالح الكيماوي في‬ ‫إبادة العناصر الكردية بالعراق‪.414‬‬

‫بينما كانت عالقات األكراد مع الحكومات المركزية العراقية توصف على أنها عالقات متوترة‪ ،‬كانت األوضاع في‬

‫سوريا هادئة‪ ،‬فلم يكن المشروع الكردي قوياً أو ذات مالمح قبل عام ‪1110‬م حيث أبرزت أحداث "القامشلي" تواجد‬ ‫العنصر الكردي المتمايز عن القوميات السورية األخرى‪ ،‬فظل األكراد "يعانون من االضطهاد من قبل الحكومات البعثية‬ ‫حسب التقارير الحقوقية المختلفة" حتى مجئ نظام بشار األسد الذي تجددت معه آمال األكراد في االعتراف بحقوقهم‪،‬‬ ‫ومع مرور بضع سنوات اتضح المشروع الكردي في العراق وأصبح إقليم كردستان العراق يمثل مهداً جديداً للحلم الكردي‪،‬‬ ‫لتتصاعد معه وتيرة المطالب الكردية السورية وتُرفع للمرة األولى شعارات تحمل اسم كردستان‪ ،‬مما لفت االنتباه بقوة‬ ‫لتنامي المشاعر الكردية كمردود طبيعي للتطورات في أوضاع كردستان العراق‪" ،‬فالبارحة بغداد واليوم دمشق"‪.‬‬

‫‪ 21 ،‬فبراير ‪2018‬م‪ irq/constitutionnet.org.‬العراق‪ ،‬الدستور المؤقت لعام ‪1268‬م‪ ،‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫حملة األنفال قمع تمرد أم إبادة جماعية‪ ،‬مرجع سبق ذكره‪.‬‬

‫‪413‬‬ ‫‪414‬‬

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‫ما زال حزب البعث يحكم سوريا حتى اليوم‪ ،‬إال أن االحتالل األمريكي للعراق مثّل نهاية حكمه في األراضي العراقية‪،‬‬

‫ومع القضاء على صدام حسين واثر الغزو األمريكي للعراق تغيرت مالمح القضية الكردية وألقت بظاللها على تطور‬

‫مطالب األكراد في سوريا‪ ،‬وبذلك يكون عام ‪1111‬م عاماً مشتركاً في تطورات القضية الكردية بين الحالتين السورية‬

‫والعراقية‪.‬‬

‫‪ )2‬االحتالل األمريكي للعراق وآثاره على تطور القضية الكردية‪:‬‬ ‫المعَلن والمعارض لالحتالل األمريكي قبل مجيئه‪ ،‬إال أن عدم التوافق السياسي مع نظام‬ ‫بالرغم من الموقف الكردي ُ‬ ‫صدام حسين وضع أكراد العراق في مقدمة القوى التي يمكن استقطابها لدعم الحملة األمريكية ضد العراق‪ ،‬كما أن اإلدراك‬ ‫الكردي لمشروطية الدعم األمريكي جعل التيار الكردي يتبنى الخيار الفيدرالي باعتباره أفضل الحلول التي يمكن أن توافق‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫‪415‬‬ ‫عليها السلطات األمريكية في ظل عالقاتها الدولية‪.‬‬ ‫قام تحالف ُكردي أمريكي لإلطاحة بنظام صدام حسين‪ ،‬مقابل تقديم الواليات المتحدة ضمانات لحماية أكراد العراق‬

‫واشراكهم في النظام العراقي الجديد دون المساس بالوضع الذي يعيشه اإلقليم منذ سنوات‪ ،‬وملخص القول أن األكراد قد‬ ‫الكردي في العراق حتى ولو كان ذلك على‬ ‫وجدوا في الواليات المتحدة األمريكية شريكاً وداعماً أساسياً لتطور المشروع ُ‬ ‫توجه "كولن‬ ‫حساب الدولة العراقية‪ ،‬وكانت الرسائل األمريكية للقيادات الكردية في العراق أقوى مثاالً على ذلك‪ ،‬حيث ّ‬

‫باول" وزير الخارجية األمريكي األسبق برسالة نصها أنه "فخور بشراكة األكراد للواليات المتحدة في معركتها ضد اإلرهاب‬ ‫وبأنهم الشريك األساسي في رؤية دولته المستقبلية في العراق"‪.‬‬

‫‪416‬‬

‫كانت األولوية الكبرى ألكراد العراق عقب االحتالل‪ ،‬تأمين شبه دولة مستقلة لهم‪ ،‬حتى اجتمعت قوى المعارضة‬

‫العراقية في لندن بحضور التمثيل األمريكي ليقرر االجتماع أن تكون الفيدرالية هي العالقة التي تربط اإلقليم الكردي‬

‫بالحكومة المركزية المستقبلية في العراق‪ ،‬كما اجتمعت القيادات ذاتها مرة أخرى في إقليم كردستان العراق ليتم اختيار‬

‫جماعة قيادية كردية تشكلت من ستة أعضاء من بينهم أهم شخصيتين كرديتين "مسعود البارزاني‪ ،‬وجالل طالباني" لتشكيل‬

‫حكومة عراقية في مرحلة ما بعد صدام حسين‪.‬‬

‫‪417‬‬

‫وفيما يتعلق بالدور الكردي في العملية العسكرية األمريكية الحتالل العراق‪ ،‬فقد كانت قوات البيشمركة المعاون‬

‫الرئيسي للهجمات األمريكية في شمال العراق‪ ،‬كما تولت جميع المهام األمنية في اإلقليم الكردي وجميع المناطق التي‬

‫وقعت تحت سيطرتها خالل الحرب‪.‬‬

‫منذ االحتالل األمريكي "أو بالتعبير األدق" منذ انهيار النظام العراقي السابق‪ ،‬بدأ حديث األكراد عن الفيدرالية بأوجه‬

‫مختلفة ينص عليها الدستور العراقي الجديد صراح ًة‪ ،‬وأصبح األكراد في مقدمة القوى المشاركة في النظام العراقي الجديد‬ ‫ليحظوا بأدوار مميزة في كافة المؤسسات التي تشكلت عقب االحتالل‪ ،‬ومنها مناصب هامة كرئاسة الجمهورية وو ازرة‬ ‫الخارجية‪ ،‬كما حصلت القيادات الكردية على مناصب داخل الحكومة االنتقالية‪.‬‬

‫تشكل مجلس الحكم االنتقالي بيوليو ‪1111‬م في خطوة نحو تمهيد األوضاع إلجراء انتخابات جديدة ووضع دستور‬

‫دائم للبالد‪ ،‬وقد حصل األكراد على خمسة مقاعد في ذلك المجلس‪ ،‬كما صدر قانون إدارة الدولة العراقية للمرحلة االنتقالية‬ ‫في مارس ‪1110‬م ليحدد ديسمبر ‪1118‬م موعداً أقصى إلنهاء المرحلة االنتقالية بعد إقرار الدستور الدائم للعراق والذي‬

‫اعترف بحكومة إقليم كردستان في المناطق التي كانت تُدار من جانبها قبل الحرب على العراق‪ ،‬وحددها في تلك المناطق‬ ‫شريف نسيم‪ ،‬أثر االحتالل األمريكي للعراق على السياسة التركية تجاه أكراد العراق في الفترة من ‪ ،2002-2003‬رسالة ماجيستير غير‬ ‫منشورة‪ ،‬القاهرة‪ ،‬كلية االقتصاد والعلوم السياسية‪ ،2011 ،‬ص ص ‪.77-74‬‬ ‫‪416‬‬ ‫‪ 25 ،‬فبراير ‪ www.albayan.ae ،2018‬برلمان كردستان يستأنف جلساته بعد توقف ‪ 6‬سنوات‪ 5 ،‬أكتوبر ‪2002‬م‪ ،‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪417‬‬ ‫شريف نسيم‪ ،‬مرجع سبق ذكره‪ ،‬ص ‪.77‬‬ ‫‪415‬‬

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‫الواقعة في محافظات دهوك وأربيل والسليمانية وديالي ونينوي‪ ،‬مما منح األكراد أرضية ومكاسب سياسية استمرت حتى‬

‫اآلن‪.‬‬

‫وباإلشارة للنقطة المشتعلة منذ المرحلة االنتقالية وحتى اليوم‪ ،‬أصبحت كركوك _ وهي أغنى المدن العراقية بالنفط _‬ ‫تحت سيطرة كردية إلى حد كبير‪ ،‬فقد استغل األكراد الفوضى ومشهد الفراغ السياسي في العراق وطالبوا م ار اًر وتك ار اًر‬ ‫بتوسيع إقليم الحكم الذاتي الكردستاني ليشمل محافظة كركوك‪ ،‬حتى نجحوا في الحصول على تعهد من لجنة صياغة‬

‫الدستور بإجراء استفتا ء عام في المدينة حول رغبة المواطنين بتبعيتها للحكومة في بغداد أو لحكومة كردستان العراق‪،‬‬

‫مما ُيعد إنجا اًز كبي اًر لألكراد حيث استطاعوا السيطرة على نظام اإلقليم بشكل فعلي رغم عدم إجراء االستفتاء وتأجيله مرات‬

‫عدة‪ ،‬لتمارس منذ ذلك الحين السلطات الكردية عمليات تكريد ُممنهجة لإلقليم من خالل إعادة األكراد المرَّحلين وتهجير‬ ‫أكراد جدد للمنطقة واحاطتها بقوات البيشمركة‪ ،‬مما حول اإلقليم لنقطة صراع أساسية بين كل من حكومتي بغداد وأربيل‬ ‫لم تزل خالفاتها في إطار العملية السياسية الداخلية في العراق حتى اليوم‪.‬‬

‫‪418‬‬

‫األكراد ومنذ انهيار النظام العراقي السابق تمكنوا من لعب دو اًر سياسياً قوياً مكنهم من تدشين شبه دولة مستقلة ظلت‬

‫مدنها أكثر مناطق العراق أمناً واستق ار اًر‪ ،‬وال شك في أن األوضاع الجديدة ألكراد العراق ساهمت في ازدياد مطالبهم‬

‫راديكالية‪ ،‬وصلت لحد المطالبة بانفصال اإلقليم عن الدولة العراقية والتي اعتبروها مسألة وقت ال أكثر‪ ،419‬ولكن على‬ ‫النقيض عانى أكراد سوريا في تلك الحقبة من تهميش النظام السياسي السوري لهم مما أنتج تلك المفارقة الصريحة بين‬

‫األوضاع الكردية في كل من سوريا والعراق‪ ،‬ولعل انهيار أو هشاشة األنظمة الحاكمة باإلضافة للدعم الخارجي هما‬

‫العنصران المفسران لتلك المفارقة‪.‬‬ ‫ال شك أن وضع إقليم كردستان العراق ألقى بظالله على القضية الكردية في سوريا‪ ،‬فمنذ ذلك الحين اتضح التمايز‬

‫ورفعت األعالم والشعارات الكردية للمرات األولى‪ ،‬إال أن تطورات المشهد الكردي السوري قوبلت بقمع‬ ‫الكردي في سوريا ُ‬ ‫من النظام السوري الحاكم‪ ،‬والذي لم يعط الفرصة ألن تقترب القضية الكردية في الداخل السوري من التجربة العراقية‪ ،‬فلم‬ ‫يكن األكراد في سوريا انفصاليين في أي يوم قبل ‪1122‬م واقتصرت مطالبهم على ضرورة قيد من أُهمل قيدهم على مر‬ ‫السنوات في مناطق التواجد الكردي بسوريا‪.‬‬

‫الموقف األمريكي من األكراد‪:‬‬

‫الموقف األمريكي من األكراد ال يمكن تأطيره إال كونه موقفاً داعماً للقضية الكردية بمختلف أطيافها‪ ,‬وال يؤثر الموقف‬

‫الرافض لال ستفتاء الخاص بانفصال إقليم كردستان عن العراق على الموقف األمريكي من القضية الكردية التي طالما‬ ‫دعمها ووقف إلى جانبها‪ ,‬فالمساعدات التي يتلقاها األكراد الذين اختارتهم واشنطن ليكونوا شركاءها في قتال تنظيم الدولة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫اإلسالمية ودعمها لتشكيل قوة عسكرية "تكون وحدات الشعب الكردية وقوات سوريا الديمقراطية أساسها في شمال سوريا"‪,‬‬ ‫كلها أدلة على الدعم األمريكي لألكراد‪ ،‬أو استخدامهم كورقة للتعبير عن مصالحها في المسألة السورية والعراقية‪.‬‬

‫لذا فالموقف األمريكي الداعم للقضية الكردية دائماً ما يعود لدورهم البارز والحاسم في قتال تنظيم ما ُيعرف‬ ‫بالدولة اإلسالمية في كل من األراضي العراقية والسورية‪ ,‬فهناك العديد من الباحثين الذين ُيرجعوا ذلك الدعم العسكري‬

‫والمادي لهذه النقطة‪ ,‬ومنهم من يؤيد فكرة أن الواليات المتحدة تتفق ومبادئ األكراد من حيث حق تقرير المصير والحفاظ‬

‫على حقوق األقليات بشكل عام‪ ,‬ومن هنا فالدعم األمريكي للقضية الكردية هو دعم قائم على اقتناع الواليات المتحدة‬ ‫بالقضية وليس العتبارات المصلحة‪.‬‬

‫شريف نسيم‪ ،‬مرجع سبق ذكره‪ ،‬ص ‪.106 ،105‬‬ ‫رضا محمد هالل‪ ،‬األكراد بين الفيدرالية واالنفصال‪ ،‬السياسة الدولية‪ 22 ،‬أغسطس ‪ ،2016‬متاح على الرابط‬ ‫‪ 25 ،‬فبراير ‪2018‬م‪www.siyassa.org.eg.‬‬ ‫‪418‬‬ ‫‪419‬‬

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‫أما فيما يتعلق بموقف اإلدارة األمريكية الجديدة من القوى الكردية‪ ,‬فيظل الموقف الداعم لألكراد هو المسيطر‪ ,‬حيث‬

‫وافق دونالد ترامب على تسليح قوات كردية لتصبح ذراعاً للواليات المتحدة في قتال تنظيم داعش في األراضي السورية‪,‬‬

‫‪420‬‬

‫وبالطبع فالواليات المتحدة تدرك تماماً المخاوف األمنية لتركيا _شريكتها في التحالف_‪ ،‬فتركيا تحاول دائماً منع األكراد‬ ‫من السيطرة على المزيد من األراضي في سوريا‪ ،‬ولعل هذه الشراكة التاريخية هي السبب األساسي في تذبذب الموقف‬ ‫األمريكي من القضية الكردية في اآلونة األخيرة‪.‬‬ ‫وبالتالي يتضح الموقف األمريكي الحالي الداعم للكرد في سوريا والرافض لفيدرالية "روجآفا" في سوريا ولالستفتاء‬

‫في إقليم كردستان العراق‪ ،‬إال أنه يتخّلله الغموض في الشأن التركي الذي طالما حاولت الواليات المتحدة أن تجعلها‬

‫شريكها األساسي في منطقة الشرق األوسط‪ ،‬باإلضافة لموقفها من األكراد في إيران الغير واضح نظ اًر للتركيز في عالقة‬ ‫البلدين على المشروع النووي باألساس‪ ،‬فضالً عن امتزاج األكراد في النسيج اإليراني والصبغة الديكتاتورية في الداخل‬ ‫اإليراني التي تفرض على األكراد عدم اللجوء في اآلونة األخيرة للمطالبة بحقوقهم وتسرب ش اررة االستقالل لدولتهم‪.‬‬

‫لكن الموقف األمريكي من القضية الكردية يصعب التنبؤ به في حالة تصاعدت المطالب الكردية في كل من سوريا‬

‫والعراق؛ فكما الحظنا‪ ،‬فالموقف األمريكي ُيعتبر داعماً أساسياً للقضية الكردية بشكل عام‪ ,‬لكن دون ضمانة التأييد المطلق‪,‬‬

‫فهنا ترفض الخارجية األمريكية تأييد مشروع االنفصال الكردي في العراق‪ ،‬وترفض اإلعتراف بالمناطق التي سيطر عليها‬ ‫األكراد في سوريا مطالبين بدولة فيدرالية‪ ,‬لذا فهذا الدعم األمريكي لألكراد هو دعم غير مشروط وغير دائم‪ ,‬تحكمه‬

‫المصلحة في كثير من األحيان من حيث استغالل هذه الجماعات المسلحة الكردية في قتال تنظيم الدولة اإلسالمية‪،‬‬ ‫لتصبح القوة األرضية التي تستعين بها الواليات المتحدة األمريكية على األرض السورية؛ فاألكراد هم األجدر بثقة اإلدارة‬ ‫األمريكية‪ ،‬وحتى في المؤسسات األمريكية؛ فالعديد من النواب داخل الكونجرس األمريكي طالما طالبوا بتأييد العناصر‬ ‫الكردية التي تضمن الواليات المتحدة والءها وعدم تطرفها على عكس باقي الجماعات المعارضة في الداخل السوري‪ ,‬كما‬

‫تستخدمها كورقة ضغط على قوى إقليمية بعينها تستطيع أن تمارس نفوذها في األزمة السورية من خاللهم في حرب‬ ‫الوكالة المستمرة منذ ‪.1122‬‬

‫‪ 30 ،‬مارس ‪2018‬م‪ www.alaraby.co.uk.‬ترامب يقرر تسليح الميليشيات الكردية بسورية قبل زيارة أردوغان‪ 10 ،‬مايو ‪2017‬م‪،‬‬

‫‪229‬‬

‫‪420‬‬

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