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US aid caught up in Middle East crackdown on civil society

An analysis of the State Department budget request shows a drop in support for democracy and human rights.
Riot policemen travel in their vehicles as they release tear gas during clashes with protesters along a road leading to the U.S. embassy, near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 28, 2012. Hundreds of demonstrators were in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a sixth day on Wednesday to demand that President Mohamed Mursi rescind a decree they say gives him dictatorial powers, and two of Egypt's top courts stopped work in protest. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh  (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3AZL8

President Barack Obama has all but given up on reforming the Middle East in the final year of a presidency that started off with grand hopes for democracy in the region, according to a new analysis of US aid priorities.

The promotion of democracy and human rights has taken a back seat to military support for autocracies that are in the midst of an unprecedented crackdown on civil society, according to an analysis of the State Department's budget request for the 2017 fiscal year by the nonprofit Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED). The annual report was presented to congressional staffers on Capitol Hill on April 26 in hopes of impacting assistance priorities as the House and Senate spending panels put the final touches on foreign aid appropriations.

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