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In an exchange of e-mails between Ben and Mona, they answered the following question:
Does the US have a genuine intention to achieve reform and democratization in the Middle East? Or is Washington’s announced goal to bring democracy to the region empty rhetoric used to justify the country’s policies?
Mona Akil El-Kouedi, 21, is a senior student majoring in political science at Cairo University. She is currently representing Egypt in a Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission conference in London on terrorism and justice. She had the opportunity to travel with an Egyptian delegation to Washington DC, where she had an internship in the office of Senator John Warner (senator of Virginia) during the 2004 presidential campaign. Mona took part in many activities organized by Cairo University’s Faculty of Economic and Political Science, such as the model US Congress and the model United Nations.
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Benjamin B. Brandenburg, 22, currently works as the executive assistant to the Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer. He previously worked for the Republican National Committee as a Minnesota political field staffer and as a researcher at the Middle Eastern Forum. Benjamin graduated from Northwestern College in 2005, earning highest honors in history. Prior to college, Benjamin lived in Germany, earning his German Arbeitur from John F. Kennedy Gymnasium in Berlin. He intends to begin work toward a doctorate in Modern European & Middle Eastern Studies next fall. Benjamin prides himself in his international background, especially his time at the Middle Eastern Studies Program in Cairo, Egypt.
What do you think of this dialogue? Which argument do you support? E-mail us your comments: mideast@islamonline.net
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