Another One Sided Hearing
by Amanda Adams*, 7/29/2008
On Thursday, July 31, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade will hold a hearing titled "Foreign Aid and the Fight Against Terrorism and Proliferation: Leveraging Foreign Aid to Achieve U.S. Policy Goals." The hearing's title seems to suggest that nongovernmental organizations will be addressed, yet there is no such representative. There should be a witness that can discuss the positive role played by civil society organizations.
The witnesses include terrorism "expert" Steven Emerson. The Muslim Public Affairs Council has released an action alert stating that "Emerson has a proven track record of anti-Muslim bigotry and is not a credible expert on foreign aid and non-proliferation."
"MPAC is concerned that testimony from Emerson will lead to reckless policy-making. This will undermine U.S. interests of achieving peace and stability in the Muslim world. MPAC calls upon all Americans to act now and urge Congressman Sherman to ensure that the hearing include qualified experts who can balance the bias of Emerson, or cancel the panel."
