23rd Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Framing and Charting the Region’s Issues, Interests, Challenges, and Opportunities: Implications for Arab and U.S. Policies

October 28 - 29, 2014

Atrium Hall
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.

• Watch Conference Videos
• Listen to Audio Recordings [also in iTunes]
• Read Conference Transcripts
• 'HOW' Questions for Policymakers
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2014 CONFERENCE SPONSORS

2014 AUDIO, VIDEO, & TRANSCRIPTS

Jump to a specific session by clicking on the session title in the list immediately below, or scroll further down to see the complete listing of sessions and speakers. MP3 audio can also be downloaded through iTunes.

 
Tuesday, October 28, 2014

8:45 - 9:00 am -- WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Speakers:

Mr. David Bosch - Chairman, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum; Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia; and The United Arab Emirates: Dynamics of State Formation.

9:00 - 9:50 am -- THE COLLAPSE OF ORDER IN THE MIDDLE EAST
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT

Speaker:

Ambassador (Ret.) Chas Freeman, Jr. - Chairman of the Board, Projects International, Inc., a Washington, D.C.−based development firm specializing in international joint ventures, acquisitions, and other business operations for its American and foreign clients; former President, Middle East Policy Council; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1993-94), earning the Department of Defense’s highest public service awards for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China; former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm); Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the U.S. mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola; and author, Interesting Times: China, America, and the Shifting Balance of Prestige; America’s Misadventures in the Middle East; The Diplomat’s Dictionary (Revised Edition); and Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy.

9:50 - 10:10 am -- PRESENTATION OF DISTINGUISHED GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARD
VIDEO
AUDIO

The National Council presented its Distinguished Global Leadership Award to His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah in recognition of his long and illustrious service to the State of Qatar as well as his contributions to humanity.

10:10 - 11:30 am -- ARAB-U.S. ENERGY COOPERATION
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome - President, Fahmy Hudome International; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S-Arab Relations; former Associate Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy.

Speakers:

Dr. Paul Sullivan - Professor of Economics, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Security Studies, Georgetown University; Adjunct Senior Fellow for Future Global Resource Threats, Federation of American Scientists.

Dr. Anas Alhajji - Chief Economist, NGP Energy Capital Management; former Professor of Economics, University of Oklahoma and Colorado School of Mines.

Mr. Jamie Webster - Senior Director and Head of Market Intelligence Service, IHS Energy; former Project Developer, Beacon Energy.

Dr. Tamara Essayyad - Director of Strategic Infrastructure Advocacy, CG/LA Infrastructure, Inc.

Dr. Sara Vakhshouri - President, SVB Energy International; author, The Marketing and Sale of Iranian Export Crude Oil Since the Islamic Revolution.

12:00 - 12:30 pm -- NCUSAR STUDENT PROGRAMS
VIDEO of Remarks on Model Arab League
VIDEO of Remarks by Findley Fellows
AUDIO of Remarks on Model Arab League
AUDIO of Remarks by Findley Fellows

Remarks on Model Arab League:

Dr. Joe Dunn - Professor and Chair of History and Politics Department, Converse College; 2013 Carnegie Foundation/CASE South Carolina Professor of the Year.

Remarks by 2014 Findley Fellows:

Mr. Neil Kapoor, Mr. Justin Mayes, Mr. Anthony Sudarmawan, and Ms. Marlee Pittman

12:30 - 1:00 pm -- KEYNOTE ADDRESS
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Speaker:

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal - Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom and to the United States of America; former Director General, General Intelligence Directorate, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

1:15 - 2:45 pm -- ARAB-U.S. DEFENSE COOPERATION
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Mr. Christopher Blanchard - Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Speakers:

The Honorable Mark T. Kimmitt - former Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State; former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Middle East Policy, U.S. Department of Defense; Retired General, U.S. Army; former Deputy Director for Plans and Strategy, U.S. Central Command.

Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum; Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia; and The United Arab Emirates: Dynamics of State Formation.

Professor David Des Roches - Associate Professor and Senior Military Fellow, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University; National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies to Syria.

Dr. Kenneth Katzman - Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Dr. Imad Harb - Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; former Senior Researcher in Strategic Studies, Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

3:00 - 4:30 pm -- GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL: ROLE IN REGIONAL DYNAMICS
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum; Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia; and The United Arab Emirates: Dynamics of State Formation.

Speakers:

H.E. Dr. Abdullah I. El-Kuwaiz - Chairman, International Advisory Board, Acwa Power; Member, Governing Board, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies; former Associate Secretary General for Economic Affairs, Gulf Cooperation Council; former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Arab Monetary Fund; former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

Dr. Abdulaziz Sager - Chairman and Founder, Gulf Research Center.

Ambassador (Ret.) Stephen A. Seche - Senior Analyst, Dentons; former Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State; former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen (2007-2010).

Dr. Abdullah AlShayji - Professor of International Relations and Chairman, American Studies Unit, Kuwait University; author, Kuwait's Ceaseless Quest for Survival in a Hostile Environment.

Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla - Chairman, Cultural Committee, Dubai Cultural Association; Professor, Master in Gulf Studies Program, Qatar University; former Professor of Political Science, United Arab Emirates University; lead author, 2008 Arab Knowledge Report.

4:45 - 6:15 pm -- GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS: EGYPT & ARAB NORTH AFRICA
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair & Speaker:

Dr. Paul Sullivan - Professor of Economics, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Security Studies, Georgetown University; Adjunct Senior Fellow for Future Global Resource Threats, Federation of American Scientists.

Additional Speakers:

Dr. Michele Dunne - Senior Associate, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; former Director, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council; former Editor, Arab Reform Bulletin, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Ms. Ellen Laipson - President and CEO, The Stimson Center; former Vice Chair, U.S. National Intelligence Council; former Special Assistant to the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Dr. Michael Hudson - Seif Ghobash Professor Emeritus of Arab Studies and International Relations, and former Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University; former Director, Middle East Institute and Professor of Political Science, National University of Singapore.

Dr. William Lawrence - Professorial Lecturer, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; former Director, North Africa Project, International Crisis Group; former Senior Advisor for Global Engagement, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

6:30 - 8:30 pm -- EVENING RECEPTION

At the conclusion of conference sessions on Tuesday, October 28, the National Council hosted a reception for conference registrants, speakers, sponsors, VIPs, and the Arab diplomatic community in The Pavilion Room at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

9:15 - 9:50 am -- IRAQ-U.S. RELATIONS: A VIEW FROM BAGHDAD
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT

Speaker:

H.E. Ambassador Lukman Faily - Ambassador of Iraq to the United States; former Ambassador of Iraq to Japan.

10:00 - 11:30 am -- THE PALESTINIAN FUTURE
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Dr. Tom Mattair - Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council; former Research Scholar, Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research; author, The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa and Global Security Watch — Iran: A Reference Handbook.

Speakers:

H.E. Ambassador Maen Areikat - Chief Representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the United States; former Deputy Head and Coordinator-General,  Negotiations Affairs Department, PLO.

Ms. Karen Koning AbuZayd - Commissioner, United Nations Human Rights Council mandated Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic; former Under Secretary General and Commissioner-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; Member, Board of Directors, Middle East Policy Council and the International Organisation of Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection.

Mr. Bill Corcoran - President and CEO, ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid); former Vice President, Child Fund International.

Mr. Matthew Reynolds - North America Representative, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East; former Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs; U.S. Department of State.

Mr. Yousef Munayyer - Executive Director, The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development; former Policy Analyst, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

12:00 - 12:15 pm -- PRESENTATION OF GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN AND BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
VIDEO
AUDIO

The National Council presented its Global Humanitarian and Business Achievement Award to Dr. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor in recognition of his leadership in education, philanthropy, and building bridges between East and West. Accepting the award on Dr. Al Habtoor's behalf was Congressman Paul Findley.

12:15 - 12:30 pm -- WELCOMING REMARKS
VIDEO of Remarks from HRH Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud
VIDEO of Remarks from HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud
AUDIO of Remarks from HRH Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud
AUDIO of Remarks from HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud

Speakers:

HRH Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud - Member, Emergent Leaders Committee, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Student, Northeastern University.

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud - Member, International Advisory Committee, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Honorary President, Website Services and Internet Technology, Gulf Cooperation Council; former Chairman, Arab Open University Forum.

12:30 - 1:30 pm -- KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
VIDEO of Remarks from H.E. Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
VIDEO of Remarks from Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal
AUDIO of Remarks from H.E. Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir
AUDIO of Remarks from Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal
TRANSCRIPT of Remarks from H.E. Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir (.pdf)
TRANSCRIPT of Remarks from Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal (.pdf)

Speakers:

H.E. Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir - Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States; Advisor at the Royal Court, Saudi Arabia.

Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal - U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; former Under Secretary and Chief Management Officer, U.S. Army.

1:15 - 2:45 pm -- GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS: SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAQ, & IRAN
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Dr. John Iskander - Chair, Near East and North Africa Area Studies, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State.

Speakers:

H.E. Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian - Research Scholar, Program on Science and Global Security, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University; former Head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s National Security Council (1997-2005) and Spokesman for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union (2003-2005); author, The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir and Iran and the United States: An Insider’s view on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace.

Dr. Judith Yaphe - Senior Research Fellow and Middle East Project Director, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; former Senior Analyst on Near East-Persian Gulf issues, Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis, Directorate of Intelligence, CIA.

Dr. Najib Ghadbian - Special Representative to the United States, National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces; Associate Professor of Political Science and Middle East Studies, University of Arkansas.

Dr. Imad Harb - Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; former Senior Researcher in Strategic Studies, Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

Dr. Trita Parsi - Founder and President, National Iranian American Council; author A Single Roll of the Dice - Obama's Diplomacy with Iran and Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States.

3:00 - 4:30 pm -- ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS: VIEWS FROM THE REGION
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Ms. Elizabeth Wossen - Principal and Lead Consultant, Energy Links Group LLC; former Coordinator, Congressional and Government Relations, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

Speakers:

Dr. Abderrahim Foukara - U.S. Bureau Chief and Host of Min Washington, Al-Jazeera Arabic; Member and Secretary, Board of Directors, Al-Jazeera America; former Senior Editor, Al-Africa.com.

Dr. Christian Koch - Director, Gulf Research Center Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland).

Ms. Judith Kipper - Director, Middle East Programs, and Member, Board of Directors, Institute of World Affairs; Partner, International Strategic Insights, LLC; former Director, Middle East Forum, Council on Foreign Relations; former Consultant on International Affairs, ABC News.

Dr. Jim Zogby - Founding President, Arab American Institute; Director, Zogby Research Services; Vice Chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; author, Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters.

Commentator:

Ms. Barbara G.B. Ferguson - Adjunct Professor, Marine Corps University; Washington Correspondent, Arab News; Consultant, Center for Advanced Operational Culture, U.S. Marine Corps.

4:45 - 6:15 pm -- ARAB-U.S. BUSINESS, FINANCE, & HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
VIDEO
AUDIO
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)

Chair:

Mr. John Pratt  - Member, Board of Directors, and Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

Speakers:

Ambassador (Ret.) Patrick Theros - Executive Director, U.S.-Qatar Business Council; former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar.

Ms. Nahlah A. Al-Jubeir - Senior International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Director, Center for Career Development, Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission; former Deputy Director for Financial and Administrative Affairs, Saudi Health Mission in Washington, DC.

Mr. Nathan Regan - Country Manager for the United States, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Mr. Steve Lutes - Senior Director of Middle East Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; former Senior Legislative Affairs Specialist, Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Dr. J. W. Wright - Senior Director, Economic Growth Division, Creative Associates International; former Managing Director for the International Programs, American Institutes for Research.

Mr. Titus Johnson - Vice President Commercial Americas, Qatar Airways; former Vice President Sales and Marketing the Americas, Air Berlin.

6:15 - 6:30 pm -- CLOSING REMARKS

Speaker:

Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum; Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia; and The United Arab Emirates: Dynamics of State Formation.