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The Turkish Democracy Project, a political advocacy group launched this summer with the stated goal of promoting democracy in Turkey, has the surprising characteristic of having no Turkish members on its leadership board. In a press release announcing its creation, the organization said that it was committed to encouraging Turkey to adopt more democratic policies. The two Turkish people publicly involved with the project former Turkish politician Aykan Erdemir and academic Suleyman Ozeren were removed from its websites list of advisory council members not long after its launch.

The Turkish Democracy Project boasts a roster heavy with hawkish former U.S. public officials and diplomats with close ties to Israel and the Gulf Arab states.

Despite having no actual Turks publicly affiliated with the group, the Turkish Democracy Project boasts a roster heavy with hawkish former U.S. public officials and diplomats with close ties to Israel and the Gulf Arab states, including former Bush administration counterterrorism official Frances Townsend, former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, and former President Donald Trumps famously aggressive national security adviser John Bolton. Its time to sound the alarm on Turkey, Bolton, best known for his advocacy of U.S. confrontation with Iran, said on Twitter at the time of the Turkey Democracy Projects launch.

Under its heavy-handed ruling AK Party, democracy in Turkey has faced serious setbacks in recent years, but what the Turkish Democracy Project specifically does to address that problem is unclear. The organization does, however, have links to a network of well-funded dark-money groups promoting U.S. foreign policy positions in the Middle East that dovetail with Saudi, Emirati, and Israeli security interests.

At the center of it all is Mark Wallace, a former George W. Bush administration ambassador to the United Nations. Wallace is presently the head not just of the Turkish Democracy Project, but also the anti-Iran organization United Against Nuclear Iran, or UANI; the counterterrorism advocacy group Counter Extremism Project, or CEP; and even an arts-based nonprofit focused on human rights in Iran called PaykanArtCar. Eight out of11 of the Turkish Democracy Projects senior leadership and advisory board members hold positions with UANI, CEP, or both.

UANI and CEP have had questions raised about their aims and sources of funding,including whether they receive financial support from foreign governments and political figures. The Turkish Democracy Project did not respond to a request for comment about its own funding and sources of support.

The Turkish Democracy Project has yet to publicly file information about its funding. But the closely linked organizations UANI and CEP both fall under an umbrella organization known as Counter Extremism Project United. While never disclosing any of its funding sources, this network of organizations brought in over $101 million between 2009 and 2019, according to a review of tax filings, making it one of the biggest dark-money U.S. foreign policy pressure networks in operation today.

A July 2021 article on the corporate and government news site Intelligence Online about the creation of the Turkish Democracy Project noted Wallaces extensive ties with Thomas Kaplan, a billionaire investor who is known to be a funder and vocal supporter of Wallaces Iran-related advocacy groups.

Kaplan also employs Wallace as a senior adviser at his Electrum Group, a firm that invests in public equities in the metals and mining sector commodities that both Kaplan and Wallace have marketed to investors as retaining or appreciating in value if there is political instability in the Middle East.

The article in Intelligence Online also referred to Kaplans extensive ties to Gulf Arab royals, something he has referred to enthusiastically in past public appearances. In particular, Kaplan maintains extensive business and philanthropic ties to the United Arab Emirates.

Efforts to examine the finances behind the web of Kaplan-linked foreign policy pressure groups have found an unusual obstacle: the U.S. government, which quashed a 2013 lawsuit against Kaplan and UANI. The suit claimed that Kaplan and UANI were financed by undisclosed foreign interests. The government, in an unusual invocation of state secrets as a third-party intervenor in a civil suit, cryptically claimed that permitting the case to move forward would jeopardize U.S. national security.

Despite the availability of public filings providing total figures about the funding of this network of Wallace-led organizations, specific information about donors remains opaque. There have been periodic clues, however, pointing to a generous role for Kaplan in bankrolling these activities. UANI donor rolls published in 2015 on the investigative news site LobeLog revealed that trusts controlled by Kaplan contributed $843,000 to UANI in 2013, accounting for roughly half of the organizations revenue that year.

Billionaire investor Thomas Kaplan speaks onstage during the 2018 Concordia Annual Summit on Sept. 24, 2018 in New York City.

Photo: Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

In 2015, Wallace filed a truth in testimony disclosure with the House Foreign Affairs Committee before serving as a witness in his capacity as head of the Counter Extremism Project. Wallace wrote: We have only received to date individual and private contributions. CEP has received no monies from foreign governments. We have discussed funding of CEP with both the U.S. government (Dept. of State) and various foreign governments in the future.

A trove of leaked emails released several years ago believed to be from theaccount of UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef al Otaiba appeared to show the networks pursuit of foreign funding, particularly from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. An email from Wallace to Otaiba from September 3, 2014, referenced cost estimates for an upcoming forum, though it was unclear the event being referenced was a UANI event or the launch of CEP, which took place later that month.

Another leaked email exchange from January 2015 mentioned UAE support for CEP, with Townsend soliciting Otaibas assistance in arranging meetings with Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Townsend concluded her email by thanking Otaiba for his support of the CEP effort!

Again in August 2016, former Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, now a Saudi lobbyist, wrote to Otaiba at the direction of Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir to provide CEPs tax status. As Coleman wrote to the UAE ambassador: Foreign Minister Al Jubeir recommended that I follow up with you on the attached matter. The Counter Extremism Project is a 501c4. Let me know if you have any questions.

You can do all these types of work if youre a U.S. citizen and funded by U.S. citizens, but FARA comes into play if youre funded or taking actions at the behest of a foreign government or entity.

If CEP and UANI receive foreign funding, their activities may require registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, a law requiring registration for entities within the United States engaging in political activities.

None of the groups have registered under FARA, though, despite the suggestions, no hard evidence has emerged of foreign funding.

These groups all engage in activities that would qualify under FARAs definition of political activities, Ben Freeman, director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy, said of UANI, CEP, and the Turkish Democracy Project. They have very explicit aims related to U.S. foreign policy, and they are actively trying to influence sections of the public and in some cases policymakers themselves towards these policy objectives.

You can do all these types of work if youre a U.S. citizen and funded by U.S. citizens, but FARA comes into play if youre funded or taking actions at the behest of a foreign government or entity, Freeman added.

The launch of the Turkish Democracy Project this summer predictably infuriated pro-government media in Turkey, which have characterized the organization as part of a plot by an array of the countrys enemies to undermine its stability.

Over the past decade, Turkey has been locked in an internal struggle between supporters of the ruling AK Party and the Glen Movement, a banned political network that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accuses of masterminding a 2016 coup attempt. Turkey also has had hostile ties in recent years with Gulf Arab nations like theUAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel.

For their part, Wallace and Kaplan remain at the center of a growing network of well-funded organizations whose foreign policy objectives coincide with the stated security interests of governments in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. Despite the high-minded words contained in its mission statements, observers said that the launch of the Turkish Democracy Project seems to be more about furthering the interests of Turkeys regional rivals than defending liberal democracy.

Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, also known as DAWN, a Middle East-focused, Washington-based think tank created in the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, said that the background of those behind the organization points to a political purpose rather than a humanitarian one.

To target a flawed democracy in the Middle East, Whitson said, while its board members defend and promote the absolute monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the apartheid state of Israel, and the dictatorship in Egypt suggests that this groups focus is political rather than based on values.

Read more here:
Turkish Democracy Project Linked to Anti-Iran, Pro-Israel Network - The Intercept

How dare we, Ohio voters, vote to end gerrymandering, and expect our Republican elected officials to end gerrymandering that assures their election and would assure their reelection.

How dare we expect that elected officials will not undermine the fairness of American elections, will not suppress the vote of citizen groups who might now reelect incumbent Republicans.

How dare we expect Republican officials in Ohio, in every state, to finally tell the truth about our 2020 presidential election.

How dare we prefer democracy, the peaceful transfer of power and hassle-free elections to violent, gun-toting intimidation of political candidates and elected officials by Red Coats, power-crazed, wealthy, dictatorial king-wishers who would follow their vindictive defeated leader, still storming around dressed in naked lies and misinformation.

Do we have to ring the liberty bell again?

How dare we expect news mediaand social mediato report verifiable factual news.How dare we expect the executive, legislative and judicial branches of our democracy to hold politicians and regular citizens accountable for lies, for misinformation, for cheating American citizen voters of their rightful representation in democracy, in local and federal legislative bodies.

Dare we vote like Paula and Paul Reveres?

Carol McFall, Washington Township

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Letter to the editor: How dare we prefer democracy and truth? - Canton Repository

United States President Joe Biden has invited around 110 countries to a virtual summit on democracy in December, including major Western allies and also Iraq, India and Pakistan, according to a list posted on the State Department website recently. But why Pakistan? No doubt, it is called a parliamentary democracy. But is it really?

The conference was a campaign pledge by the US president, who has placed the struggle between democracies and "autocratic governments" at the heart of his foreign policy. The "Summit for Democracy" will take place online on December 9 and 10 ahead of an in-person meeting at its second edition next year. It is aimed at "galvanising commitments and initiatives across three principal themes: defending against authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights".

Pakistan has failed on all these counts. And repeatedly. After independence in 1947, Pakistan was established as a parliamentary system based on elected forms of governance. However, the military has ruled for over three decades (1958-1971, 1977-1988, 1999-2008) and it has been difficult for democracy to take root because of governing conflicts.

The first five-year term of an elected government started in 2013 and 2018 signifies the first democratic transfer of power, record proves. In Pakistan, civilian governments are subject to military influence and pragmatically accommodate the army in order to reduce the chances of a coup. The Pakistani army is the de facto ruler of the country abetted by the ISI. We all know the fate suffered by Nawaz Sharif who sought to strengthen the civilian government.

It could safely be averred that Pakistani governments' survive at the mercy of its Army and this in turn draws its strength from citing the "Indian threat". How did Imran Khan become the head of the government? Is it not due to the Army's intervention in the election process? "Yeh jo dehsat gardi hai, is ke peechey wardi hai" (terror is backed by the military) was a popular chant during the 2018 elections and cast aspersions on democracy taking root in Pakistan.

There is evidence to suggest the military ran a campaign of intimidation and threats to secure Imran Khan's position by suppressing his political opponents, the judiciary, media, and activists. Firstly, the media was subjected to unprecedented pressure, raising concerns that the army was carrying out a silent coup. There were widespread abductions of journalists, censorship, and financial ruin of establishments that refused to toe the official line do not cover or praise the PML-N, focus on the winning image of PTI and Imran Khan.

Geo TV, the country's largest broadcaster, was forced off air for weeks. Dawn, the oldest newspaper, was threatened for interviewing Sharif where he suggested Pakistani militants were responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The brazen suppression of two of the largest media houses was a warning to the rest to fall in line.

The suspension of media and press rights highlighted the excess of military influence on the electoral process. Then the vote banks systematically broke down. It was an election under the shadow of threat and 'democracy' won again in Pakistan. It is a shame that Biden treats countries like Pakistan as democratic even!

Excerpt from:
Democracy and Pakistan, an oxymoron - The Hans India

A survey commissioned by a Boise-based institute has found that a sizable minority of Mountain West residents think violence is justified when the government fails its people.

Meanwhile, a large share of those surveyed believe the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, and are concerned about the health of American democracy.

The findings are part of new research released this month by the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University.

The report says that 20% of people surveyed this fall in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana said they believe political violence is justified when things have gotten to the point that the government is not acting in the best interest of the people. The survey found 58% of respondents believe political violence is not justified in a democracy, and the remainder were unsure.

It was (a surprise) for me perhaps, Garry V. Wenske, executive director of the Frank Church Institute, said in a telephone interview. I think it reflects a lot of other surveys done around the country, where you read about people who are unhappy and taking it out as they did on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. It is something to be concerned about in the future, in that many people responding to a poll believe it is acceptable.

About 85% of adults in Mountain West states are concerned about the health of democracy in the United States, according to the survey. That includes 50% of survey respondents who said they are very concerned and 35% of respondents who told researchers they are somewhat concerned.

Digging deeper, the survey found that 83% of adults are worried about misrepresentation of facts and misinformation.

Signs of optimism or hope are hard to detect in this extensive new research from the Rocky Mountain states. Fear, alienation and mistrust characterize the minds of these Americans, said Peter Fenn, a Frank Church Institute board member and political analyst, in a statement.

The worry barometer is elevated so high that one of the worlds most successful democracies is vulnerable to political hyper-partisanship, disinformation and dysfunction, Fenn wrote. The good news is that people expect elected officials to work together to repair the damage.

Two-thirds of respondents, or 66%, said they want their elected officials to work together and find common ground when it comes to solutions. Nearly 30% said term limits or holding politicians accountable for unethical or illegal behavior are most likely to strengthen a democracy.

The survey also found just 51% of respondents believe President Joe Biden legitimately beat former President Donald J. Trump in the November 2020 election.

Other findings of the survey include:

80% of respondents believe Americans with different political viewpoints have a hard time talking with each other.

71% of Mountain West respondents believe the country is headed down the wrong track; in Idaho, 76% of respondents said they believe that.

47% of Mountain West respondents said they believe their own state is headed down the wrong track.

Despite thinking the country is on the wrong track, 62% of people said they have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of the United States:

35% have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of the presidency.

61% have a lot or some confidence in their local government.

59% believe Americans living in rural areas do not have enough influence in national politics.

31% said they watch Fox News at least once a week, the highest rate among any of the 16 news and information sources asked about in the survey.

Now that the survey results are in, Wenske said the Frank Church Institute plans to share the findings with some of its peer organizations across the Mountain West, convene conferences and discuss the findings in greater detail.

The Washington, D.C.-based research and polling firm Morning Consult conducted the survey of 1,899 adults in Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada from Sept. 24 through Oct. 26.

The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. The full findings of the survey are available online.

This is the first time the Frank Church Institute has partnered with a survey firm to ask these questions, Wenske said, so there was no previous baseline research to compare this survey with to determine how residents views have changed over time. However, this survey could be used as a baseline to compare with future surveys.

The Frank Church Institute is a nonpartisan institute based at Boise State University. It was named after the late U.S. Sen. Frank Church, a Democrat from Idaho. The institute was established in 1982 to promote civic engagement and an understanding of public policy, with an emphasis on foreign policy. The institute sponsors the annual Frank Church Conference, the Frank and Bethine Church chair of public affairs and awards scholarships at Boise State.

Excerpt from:
Idaho study finds widespread concern about the health of government, democracy - The Spokesman-Review

BEIJING, November 26. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities support Russias stance on the unacceptability of Washingtons manipulation of the concept of democratic values, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian reported on Friday commenting on Washingtons plans to hold the Summit for Democracy.

"We believe that the recent statement by Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov regarding the US Summit for Democracy is perfectly correct. This US ploy to create new dividing lines threatens to step up ideological confrontation," he told a briefing. "What right does Washington have to proclaim itself a model of democracy?" the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman asked.

The Chinese diplomat specified that the US "distorts the term of democracy." "Why would the US hold a leader-level event devoted to democracy?" Zhao Lijian said.

On Wednesday, Peskov branded the forthcoming Summit for Democracy, scheduled for December, as a gimmick by Washington to whip up more discord and stressed Russias negative attitude to this event. As the US State Department reported, 110 countries and territories have been invited to attend this event broadcast via video conference on December 9-10. The list includes Taiwan, but it does not include China or Russia.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Washington-led Summit for Democracy was aimed at "dividing people and countries into democratic and not democratic [ones]." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova chastised the Summit for Democracy as a "chimera, expected to show that the collective West has some constructive, unifying agenda."

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Beijing backs Moscow on condemnation of Washingtons distortion of democracy - TASS