The policy of aggressive democracy promotion in the Middle East, a hallmark of former United States President George W. Bush’s administration, seems to have been sidelined by his successor in favor of a softer approach to international relations. While not renouncing the democracy campaign altogether, Barack Obama’s government has refocused its methods toward State Department projects that target economic advancement, education and job creation in the region.

This shift was exemplified by the Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit on April 26 and 27, where more than 250 delegates from 50 Muslim majority countries (MMCs), as well as Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and several members of Congress, gathered in Washington, DC to discuss methods to foster entrepreneurship as a means of spurring economic growth and community development.

The summit signals a wider move in the administration to position the Middle East as part of a worldwide religious community, rather than the home of the ‘axis of evil’, as America reformulates its role in the region. The US’s long history of involvement in the Middle East, however, begs the question of whether this new initiative is a genuine policy shift or whether the White House has simply entered another phase of the decades-old strategy of quietly promoting civil society development while maintaining relations with heads of state.

On the surface, the White House appears eager to trumpet its departure from previous US policy. At April’s summit, Secretary of State Clinton cited Obama’s June 2009 “New Beginning” address at Cairo University as the administration’s “new approach to foreign policy.”

In a press statement, the Chief of Media and Cultural Affairs at the US Embassy in Lebanon, Ryan Gliha, said he considered changing the way the US administration was seen in the region as the “crux of the point” for the event.

Many of the new programs differ in that they favor local expertise over imposing an external agenda for development or aid. Yet their details remain largely unknown, and citizens’ suspicions of American intervention lingers.

A new beginning

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will partner with Walter Isaacson, president of the leadership-oriented Aspen Institute, and Muhtar Kent, the Turkish-American chief executive officer of the Coca-Cola Company, in launching the “Partners for a New Beginning” program — part of the State Department’s push for innovation. Described as “a team of eminent Americans from across sectors and industries who will lead an effort to engage the US private sector in carrying out our vision for a new beginning with Muslims,” little additional explanation was given as to the program’s specific plans.

Two other initiatives, the Silicon Valley-based Global Technology and Innovation Partners and the Innovators Fund, have already been set up by venture capitalists following Obama’s Cairo speech and aim to “support innovation” in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Malaysia.

Having already reached out to Jordanian venture capitalists Oasis 500 and several American firms, the Innovators Fund plans to expand.

Secretary Clinton also mentioned the e-Mentor Corps, a project that will allow entrepreneurs seeking advice to access mentors on-line from Intel, Ernst & Young, the Kauffman Foundation, TechWadi, the Young Presidents’ Organization, Babson College and Endeavor.

While many of the schemes sounded well intentioned if vague, Clinton delved into greater detail regarding the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), which is set to begin in MMCs and grow from there. Clinton said that the private sector will partner with civil society groups to “help create successful entrepreneurial environments” by providing access to capital, business education from US business schools, mentoring programs and by identifying promising ideas. Launched in Egypt in April, the GEP pilot  will soon start in Indonesia, the countries with the largest Arabic speaking and Muslim populations, respectively.

Egypt exemplar

Egypt’s GEP was launched under the auspices of the US-Egypt Business Leaders Forum, the latest manifestation of a decades-long collaboration between wealthy Egyptian and American businessmen, such as Taher Helmy, co-founder of Hamza, Helmy & Partners Law Firm, and Steven Farris, chief executive officer of the Apache Petroleum company, Egypt’s largest US investor. Helmy and Farris, co-chairs of the Forum, explained that after years of economic and financial reform, Egypt is ready to receive support for entrepreneurship.

“Reforms [have been] substantially successful, the private sector controls over 75 percent of the Egyptian economy…our primary focus has shifted to entrepreneurship and education,” Helmy told The Daily News Egypt.

Egypt’s willingness to undertake controversial reforms won it recognition with the GEP pilot program, and Clinton urged other nations to follow suit: “We need to encourage your governments to make the legal and commercial reforms needed to encourage trade, allow for the free flow of ideas [and] lower the barriers to launching new businesses,” she said in her speech.

Endeavour sets the pace

Although the efficacy of the State Department and its affiliates in promoting innovation in MMCs remains untested, Endeavor is an independent organization already active in the region. Initially focused in Latin America, the non-governmental organization began giving entrepreneurs access to mentors and angel investors in Morocco, Turkey and Egypt in recent years and is contemplating a Beirut office.

Endeavor’s method — identifying successful small businesses and helping them grow to scale, becoming role models for other entrepreneurs — represents what Elmira Bayrasli, policy and outreach coordinator for Endeavor Global, refers to as a “paradigm shift” — offering support to successful local initiatives rather than descending with a list of externally-generated goals.

“We don’t apply a cookie-cutter model. We have a framework that is driven by finding local business leaders and local networks that will then define how their own framework is built,” she said at Endeavor’s International Selection Panel in Cairo in March. “It’s really up to them to drive it forward in the vision they feel is best suited to that country.”

The event brought Endeavor Board Chairman Edgar Bronfman to Egypt to advise small business owners hoping to partner with the group. Bronfman, the CEO of Warner Music Group and heir to one of the wealthiest families in Canada, explained his commitment to facilitating entrepreneurship, particularly in the Middle East: “I’ve always believed that the more people that have jobs, the greater the opportunities for peace and the fewer opportunities for anger and frustration,” he said. “This is true everywhere, but especially important in the Middle East.”

His statements echo those made by Clinton, who listed a strong economic foundation and a stable middle class as “essential” to good governance and the rule of law. While the words “democracy” and “US security” enter the vocabulary of the Obama administration with less frequency than that of his predecessor, its policies represent the unspoken understanding that Bush had the right agenda but the wrong methods.

As a congressman, Obama’s record for democracy promotion included co-sponsorship of the Advance Democracy Act, while in 2005 he introduced the Democratic Republic of Congo Relief, Security and Democracy Promotion Act. Monetary support for democracy in the Middle East may re-emerge after trust has been re-established by the US’s respect for sovereignty and international rule of law.

America comes first

In the meantime, civil society groups in Egypt, Jordan and other countries have watched funding disappear. United States Agency for International Development told the Associated Press that cuts resulted from a drawing down of military aid, especially to Egypt.

The DC-based Project on Mideast Democracy reported that funding in Egypt fell from $10 million in 2008 to $2.6 million in 2010, and that only groups registered with the Egyptian government may receive funding, a hindrance for those attempting to monitor the upcoming presidential election in 2011, for example. Perhaps in an attempt to counterbalance this loss of civil society funding, the Obama administration has sponsored social entrepreneurship in the region.

Ultimately, the Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit’s role as a catalyst may be more important than the event itself. For example, it inspired the recent Arab World Social Innovation Forum in Cairo, hosted by international social entrepreneurship NGO Ashoka and attended by representatives from Microsoft, Price Waterhouse Coopers, the Arab League and USAID, among others.

However, this one summit should not be taken as a sure sign of fundamental change in US policy in the Middle East. Although the White House may seem to have changed its methods, it will undoubtedly continue to pursue policies to promote what it considers best, both for the region and for its own interests.

For the aficionados, dog fighting is more than a sport — it is a platform to play God with the violence of Darwin’s natural selection.

“I have Hitler’s mentality,” says 35-year-old Mike Kennel, a pseudonym he chose to maintain anonymity. “I aim for humans to advance, just like I am allowing these dogs to advance — I only let the most intelligent marry each other and the strongest marry each other.”

On the outskirts of Beirut down a winding road off the Hadath highway, an iron gate opens onto a secluded path bordered by agricultural land. Yet the organically grown plots, the picturesque greenery and the peaceful ambiance camouflage a farm of another kind: This is doggie boot camp.

A seemingly abandoned building at the end of the path houses dogs enrolled in a rigorous training regimen, and on the other side of the clearing, leafy fichus trees shade a square fighting arena, in which they are trained to tear each other apart.

Apart from fulfilling his competitive lust, Kennel claims he stages fights to test for specific traits to ensure the preservation of the species.

“I check for the dog with the stronger jaw, the strongest mind and the longest breath, and I use it for the selection I breed. To test it, I need to put it in the ring,” says Kennel. “We believe in the rule of the jungle. We believe in the survival of the fittest, because the fittest will make stronger offspring, and prevent the extinction of the animal.”

When these canine “ultimate fighters” are in the ring, the faceoff is brutal. American pit bull terriers (APBT) have been bred for their capacity to fight and inflict maximum damage. It is also their “gameness,” or ability to attack regardless of their physical condition, that is one of their most appealing attributes for their masters.

APBTs have a predisposition to tolerate pain through anesthetizing compounds that their bodies naturally secrete. The selection and genetic make-up, rather than the use of any drugs, says Kennel, have allowed the development of strong, feisty pit bulls that are born with a predator’s instinct to hurt other dogs.

What started for Kennel as a fascination with animal competitions at age 12 led him, by 16, to become a professional dog-fighter, trainer, breeder, trader, handler and referee; in other words — a dogman. Today he says it is also a lucrative business, but one that he declined to quantify to avoid litigation by auditors from the Ministry of Finance.

Kennel owns 75 dogs that he trains and breeds; 25 are APBTs, which are the only species he raises for fighting purposes. Kennel’s work in breeding and training has earned him a region-wide reputation: in his workshop he builds self-powered treadmills that he sells for $600 around the Middle East to improve the cardiovascular fitness of the dogs without exhausting them.

Dogs also wear weighted collars, usually four kilograms, to increase upper body strength, and their biting power is improved by having them chomp on a hanging rope from which they are suspended for extended periods. Kennel has also developed strict nutrition regimes complete with vitamins and minerals to complement dogs’ training.

A puppy is trained until the age of two before entering the ring for the first time. Formal matches are usually arranged two months in advance to give time for training, with the details — such as the wager of each owner and the weight class of the dogs — drafted into a contract for the competing parties to sign.

Lord of the ring

Just before formal matches dogs are weighed to ensure they adhere to the agreed weight category, and if not, the party in breech of the contract pays a penalty, usually half the value of the bet, or an average of $2,000, to cover the cost of the training. The opponent can then also choose to cancel the bout.

After passing the weigh-in, the dogs are washed to remove any possible poison hidden in their fur. Handlers then bring the animals into the pit, or “ring” — a four meters by four meters square with walls up to 75 centimeters high. They hold the dogs by their hips behind “scratch lines” in opposing corners as the dogs prepare to attack.

The referee stands in the middle of the ring, ready with a wooden or plastic “breaking stick,” which is the only way to pry open a pit bull’s locked jaws. At the signal of the referee, handlers release the dogs for the first “scratch” — dog fighting terminology for an attack — and the animals leap at each other in a fever of bloodlust. 

“We don’t tell the dogs ‘Go’,” said Kennel. “The dog has an instinct to go on its own. If we have to invite the dog to the fight, we don’t want it.”

At the fight Executive attended last month, the dogs became entangled in a “dance of death” standing on their hind legs, then took turns mauling each other, quietly encouraged by their respective handlers with words the dogs were conditioned to hear when striking opponents.

During the first scratch, the dog that locked its jaws on its opponent first won a point. The dogs were then pried apart with the breaking sticks — no one flinched as blood oozed from the wounded animal.

At this point in the match the owners and the referee will check for the dog’s gameness.

“Even if the dog gets wiped, if it still has gameness then it is selected for breeding,” said Kennel.

At the second scratch, the dog that lost the first round will be released to attack his opponent. If after a 10 second count by the referee the dog still has not attacked, then the other dog must scratch and secure a lock on its opponent. If the second dog fails to attack as well, then the dogs are even and the match is over.

“Both dogs will go bye-bye,” explained Kennel with a hint of sarcasm. “They can’t be sold, there is no breeding, and their value will be zero even if they cost $10,000.”

When a dog loses, it gets a loss added to its title record, and if it does not display gameness it will never be bred or enter a ring again.

After each fight, Kennel injects the dogs with antibiotics to speed their healing. He confirms though that unless it’s a finishing game, where a dog has to be kept in the fight until its last breath, no owner would let his dog die in the ring. 

“No one kills a dog worth $4,000,” he said, though Kennel admitted that dogs often die the day after a fight due to injuries.

As a result, medical care for the dogs before and after the fight is essential in preserving their value and improving its performance.

Gambling on gore

With the blood sport underway in the ring, betting outside goes into full swing, with 10 percent of all bets going to the referee and ring, which usually go together. Kennel says there are three rings in Lebanon for professional fights.

“There are no limits for bets,” he explained. In Gulf countries, bets can reach up to $30,000, and can include automobiles and property.

Kennel says that in Lebanon,  the bets don’t go beyond $5,000, and the big betting is usually limited to a handful of insiders. The dog-fighting circle is secretive and clandestine, with heavy emphasis put on the anonymity of participants given the involvement of some of the country’s prominent businessmen, according to sources that also declined to be identified.

The price of a gladiator

As a fully-fledged dogman, Kennel takes a lot of pride in his lineage breeding. The price of a puppy ranges from $500 to $1,500. After that, prices increase with the level of training, the titles a dog earns and the owner’s emotional attachment to the animal.

With each match victory, a dog’s value normally doubles; three wins earns a dog a champion’s title, and five wins earn it the title of grand champion, which can elevate the price to as much as $50,000 in Lebanon.

Kennel’s endeavors have evolved into a highly disciplined enterprise compared to “street level” dog fighting. Sources, which asked for anonymity because they have received threats from dog fighters in these other circles, describe them as being associated with criminal networks, with bouts staged in secret locations that are only revealed to the participants shortly beforehand via SMS mobile messages. Dogs fighting in these settings tend to be subjected to extreme abuse, often deprived of food and forced to live in darkness to increase their aggressiveness.

Kennel, who sees himself as a professional, abides by the “Cajun rules,” a detailed list of guidelines related to dog fighting created in the 1950s in the United States. He argues that street dog fighters are amateurs and ignorant of important information pertaining to adequate dog training, such as the fact that darkness weakens the eyesight of a dog and makes him aggressive towards people in daylight.

“A dog that is aggressive towards humans is not allowed in [our] ring,” he says.

In fact, Kennel now recruits amateur dog fighters to join his training camp, teaching them how to be professional handlers and trainers in the creation of true canine predators.

“I recommend that anyone who has a pit bull, go to a professional to learn… the value and the love of the dog,” said Kennel.

There are currently no laws in Lebanon that pertain to dog fighting. Kennel says he believes that dog fighting should be regulated, and that those who fail to ensure a safe and secure environment for their dogs should be penalized. Inspection and regulation should be the job of the government, he says, and not that of animal rights activists who don’t understand the emotional and financial value of game dogs and want to “castrate” them.

“Why don’t we castrate Mohammad Ali? Or all the people who like boxing?” says Kennel.

“We don’t have to be enemies with animal rights activists, we can work together,” he said. “Instead of stifling those who are addicted to this sport, we can teach them to do things right. This is a dangerous sport and safety procedures have to be respected.”