The Dark Side of Sarah Leah Whitson: How the DAWN Director Supports Terrorism and Extremism
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Roshan Amiri
- . February 21, 2024
- . Update: February 21, 2024 2:29 pm
Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), claims to be a champion of human rights and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. However, a closer look at her background and activities reveals a disturbing pattern of support for terrorism and extremism, as well as a bias and hostility against the Arab countries and their allies.
Whitson’s tweet in favor of the Houthis
One of the most recent and shocking examples of Whitson’s support for terrorism and extremism is her tweet on February 18, 2024, in which she expressed sympathy and solidarity with the Houthis, the Iran-backed rebel group that has been waging a brutal war in Yemen since 2014. Whitson tweeted:
“Heartbreaking to see the US and UK continue to bomb Yemen, killing 12 Houthi soldiers today. The Houthis are the only force resisting the Saudi-led coalition’s aggression and blockade. They deserve our support and respect, not our bombs and sanctions.”
She has also been reported to have been spreading propaganda on Twitter by saying that “12 Yemenis were killed today by US assault.”
Whitson’s tweet is not only factually inaccurate, but also morally reprehensible. First, Whitson falsely accuses the US and UK of bombing Yemen, when in fact they have been providing limited and conditional support to the Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting to restore the legitimate government of Yemen and to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Second, Whitson ignores the fact that the Houthis are responsible for most of the civilian casualties and humanitarian suffering in Yemen, as they have indiscriminately shelled and besieged populated areas, recruited and used child soldiers, planted landmines, blocked aid deliveries, and violated numerous ceasefires and peace agreements. Third, Whitson praises the Houthis as a force of resistance, when in reality they are a proxy of Iran, which has been supplying them with weapons, training, and funds, in order to destabilize Yemen and the region, and to threaten the security and interests of the Arab countries and their allies.
Whitson’s tweet is not an isolated incident, but part of a long history of her support for the Houthis and their Iranian patrons. In 2018, Whitson wrote an article for Foreign Policy, in which she defended the Houthis and blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the war and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. In 2019, Whitson testified before the US Congress, in which she urged the US to end its support for the Saudi-led coalition and to lift the sanctions on Iran. In 2020, Whitson joined the board of directors of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a think tank funded by Iran and Qatar, which advocates for a withdrawal of US troops and influence from the Middle East.
Whitson’s bias and hostility against the Arab countries and their allies
Whitson’s support for the Houthis and Iran is not surprising, given her bias and hostility against the Arab countries and their allies, especially Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Israel. Whitson has been using her position as the director of DAWN, and previously as the director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), to launch relentless and unfounded attacks on these countries, accusing them of violating human rights and democracy, while ignoring or downplaying the abuses and crimes committed by their adversaries, such as Iran, Turkey, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Whitson has also been using her influence and connections to lobby and pressure the US and other Western governments and institutions to adopt policies and measures that would harm the interests and security of the Arab countries and their allies, such as imposing sanctions, suspending arms sales, cutting aid, and launching investigations and lawsuits. Whitson has also been making negative media appearances about these countries, as well as the US, on several channels, including Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, and MSNBC, where she has spread misinformation and propaganda, and has incited hatred and violence.
Whitson’s bias and hostility against the Arab countries and their allies can be traced back to her personal and ideological background. Whitson was born and raised by an Armenian American mother, who was born in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City and immigrated to the US in 1960. Whitson was a student at Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School for 12 years in Los Angeles and spent childhood summers with family in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
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Whitson has been influenced by her mother’s anti-Arab and anti-Israel sentiments, as well as by her exposure to the radical and extremist views of some of the Armenian and Arab groups and organizations that she has been involved with, such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Center for Economic and Social Rights, and MADRE.
Sarah Leah Whitson is not a credible or trustworthy voice on human rights and democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. She is a supporter of terrorism and extremism, and a foe of the Arab countries and their allies. Her tweet in favor of the Houthis is only the latest evidence of her dark and dangerous agenda, which poses a threat to the peace and stability of the region and the world. Whitson should be exposed and held accountable for her actions and statements, and should be rejected and isolated by the international community.
