Middle East Partnership Initiative

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new scholarship program under the Middle East Partnership Initiative. This new scholarship is a four-year program that will provide ten scholarships for disadvantaged Palestinian students to attend Palestinian Universities with an additional twenty five “opportunity grants” for disadvantaged Palestinian students to attend institutions of higher education in the United States or in the Middle East.

The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article on this new scholarship of the Middle East Partnership Initiative on their News Blog. There was a strong reaction to this new scholarship and it seems the Chronicle capped the predominately negative comments at 325. I haven’t read most of the comments but most seem to criticize the Obama administration and Hilary Clinton for starting the Middle East Partnership Initiative in these challenging economic times. To be sure, criticism and concern directed towards President Obama and Secretary Clinton for funding this new scholarship given the current health of the U.S. economy may be warranted. My concern, however, is that many of the comments are directed at President Obama and Secretary Clinton for establishing the Middle East Partnership Initiative.
According to the Middle East Partnership Initiative website:

“The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), was established by then-Secretary Powell on December 12, 2002, to create educational opportunity at a grassroots level, promote economic opportunity and help foster private sector development, and to strengthen civil society and the rule of law throughout the region… Since 2002, MEPI has devoted more than $530 million to over 550 projects in 17 countries and territories through its offices in Washington, Tunis, and Abu Dhabi. MEPI investments are in addition to billions of dollars in bilateral assistance the U.S. provides annually to the Middle East.”

I can respect one’s opinion on funding this new scholarship or on the Middle East Partnership Initiative itself regardless of the position they take on the topic as long as their argument is formed by more than an article in a news paper. A simple internet search brings you to the State Department website where one can learn that the Middle East Partnership Initiative was established over six years ago during the Bush Administration.

You can link to the Middle East Partnership Initiative here.