The Bush administration is planning a scheme to promote democracy in the "greater Middle East" modeled after a 1975 pact used to press for freedoms in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the Washington Postreported this morning.
The plan would call for Arab and South Asian governments to adopt major political reforms, be held accountable on human rights and introduce economic reforms, the newspaper reported.
As incentives for the targeted countries to co-operate, Western nations would offer to expand political engagement, increase aid, facilitate membership in the World Trade Organization and foster security arrangements, the Postsaid.
The administration's Greater Middle East Initiative was scheduled to be announced at the Group of Eight summit hosted by President Bush in June, according to the paper.
The newspaper said senior White House and State Department officials have opened talks with key European allies about the plan. US officials were cited as saying that the plan would be put forward this summer at summits of the G-8 nations, NATO allies and the European Union.
The
Postreported that the US initiative was loosely modeled on the 1975 Helsinki accords. That pact was signed by 35 nations, including the United States, the Soviet Union and most of Europe.