Congressional & Public Affairs Briefings
The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations periodically sponsors public educational programs on Capitol Hill and around Washington, DC where an assemblage of domestic and internationally renowned specialists analyze, discuss, and debate issues of importance to the relationship between the U.S. and the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world. These events examine how best to strengthen and expand mutual Arab-U.S. trust, confidence, and benefits while examining a range of complex issues, interests, and policies.
June 7, 2013
Crisis Syria: Going Where?
C-SPAN VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
EVENT FLYER
Ms. Mona Yacoubian, Senior Advisor, Middle East and Project Director, Pathways to Progress, Stimson Center
Mr. Ian Pannell, Correspondent, BBC News
Professor David Des Roches, Senior Military Fellow, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University
Ms. Sharon Waxman, Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy, International Rescue Committee
Professor Paul Sullivan, Professor of Economics, National Defense University and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
May 21, 2013
Bahrain: A Conversation About Its Challenges and Opportunities
VIDEO AUDIO (.mp3) EVENT FLYER
Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann, President, American Academy of Diplomacy; Former U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Algeria
Professor David Des Roches, Senior Military Fellow, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University
Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director, Middle East and North Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
Professor Paul Sullivan, Professor of Economics, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
April 22, 2013
Opportunities for Investment in
Libyan Energy, Finance, and Infrastructure
His Excellency Dr. Elkalani A. Alsalim, Minister of Finance, Government of Libya
His Excellency Ali Aujali, Ambassador of Libya to the United States
Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, Board Member, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
Mr. Robert Marro, President, American Libyan Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Ms. Paula Freer, Director, International Government Affairs, Marathon Oil Corporation; and Chair, U.S.-Libya Business Association
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
April 11, 2013
Rhetoric and Reality in Arab-U.S. Energy Relations
Mr. John Hofmeister, Founder and Chief Executive, Citizens for Affordable Energy; former President, Shell Oil Company
Professor Paul Sullivan, Professor of Economics, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, President, Fahmy Hudome International; former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy
March 5, 2013
Constitutionalism and Human Rights in Tunisia:
The Islamist-Led Democratic Transition Post-Arab Spring
"Tunisia: Post-Revolution Political and Constitutional Transitions" VIDEO "Tunisia: Post-Revolution Political and Constitutional Transitions" AUDIO (.mp3)
"The Future of Women's Rights, Minority Rights, and Freedom of Expression in Tunisia" VIDEO "The Future of Women's Rights, Minority Rights, and Freedom of Expression in Tunisia" AUDIO (.mp3)
EVENT FLYER
COUNCIL FOR A COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES RECAP
MAGHREB CENTER RECAP
Ms. Alexis Arieff, Analyst, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington DC
Dr. Alaya Allani, Professor of History, Manouba University, Tunis
Dr. Ghazi Gherairi, Law Professor, University of Tunis, Tunis; Secretary General, The International Academy for Constitutional Law (AIDC), Tunis
Dr. Ahmed El Hamri, Development Economist, Academia; Consultant, The World Bank
Mr. Eric Goldstein, Deputy Director, Human Rights Watch
Ms. Naziha Réjiba, Journalist; Human rights activist; 2009 Recipient of the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists
Dr. Nancy Okail, Program Director, The Freedom House, Washington DC
Dr. I. William Zartman, Jacob Blaustein Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Nejib Ayachi, President, The Maghreb Center, Washington DC
September 6, 2012
Infrastructure and Business Opportunities in North Africa
AUDIO (.mp3) REMARKS BY PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY DEBORAH MCCARTHY NUSACC PRESS RELEASE EVENT FLYER
Mr. Carl Kress, Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe Region, U.S. Trade and Development Agency
Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, President, Fahmy Hudome International
Ms. Laura Lombard, Director, Business Development, Sidar Global Advisors
Mr. Steven Mayo, Business Development Officer, Project and Structured Finance, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Ms. Deborah McCarthy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Finance and Development, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Mr. Curtis Silvers, Executive Vice President, National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Member, U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and its subcommittees on Sanctions and Trade and Investment
June 26, 2012
Crisis Yemen: Going Where?
VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
PANEL REMARKS BY PROFESSOR SHARP
PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY RECAP
FLYER
WAQ AL-WAQ
Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Lecturer and Director, Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative, Princeton University; and former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen
Mr. Gregory Johnsen, Ph.D. Candidate, Princeton University; author, Waq al-waq blog and The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia; and former Fulbright and American Institute for Yemeni Studies Fellow in Yemen
Dr. Charles Schmitz, Associate Professor of Geography, Towson University; President, American Institute for Yemeni Studies; and former Fulbright and American Institute for Yemen Studies Fellow in Yemen
Mr. Robert Sharp, Associate Professor, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, U.S. Department of Defense/National Defense University
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; former Fulbright Fellow in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen; and official observer for four of Yemen's presidential and parliamentary elections
May 24, 2012
The Gulf Cooperation Council at 31: Implications of Trends and Indications for GCC and US Interests
VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
FLYER
PICTURES
Dr. Odeh Aburdene, Participant, international economic, business, and investment forums in Bahrain; Doha, Qatar; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, former U.S. Department of Energy Associate Deputy Secretary
Mr. Andrew Rabens, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Near East Affairs
Mr. Robert Sharp, U.S. Department of Defense Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies
Ms. Molly Williamson, former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Defense, former Acting Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State, and former Senior Foreign Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy
Mr. Joshua Yaphe, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
April 18, 2012
Trade, Investment, Finance, and the Way Forward:
A Conversation on U.S.-GCC Economic Relations
with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Mr. L. Daniel Mullaney, Assistant Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Mr. Jason Buntin, Director for Europe and Middle East Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
January 24, 2012
Afternoon Tea and A Conversation With Mrs. Cherie Blair
Featured Speaker: Mrs. Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women; noted barrister and QC, specializing in human rights law; and wife of former British Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Tony Blair
Introduction by: H.E. Ambassador Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States of America
Moderator: Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, Member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
September 15, 2011
What Lies Ahead for America in Arabia and the Gulf?:
Analyses and Prognoses
VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
FLYER
PICTURES
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman and Founder, Gulf Research Center
Dr. Christian Koch, Director, Gulf Research Center Foundation
Dr. Mustafa Alani, Senior Advisor and Research Program Director, Gulf Research Center
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
September 14, 2011
Dynamics of Palestine in the Coming
Arab & UN Seasons – Five Perspectives
AUDIO (.mp3)
FLYER (.pdf)
PICTURES
Dr. Philip Giraldi, Executive Director, Council on the National Interest and former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer who served in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Spain
Dr. Fouzi El-Asmar, Distinguished Palestinian Writer, Poet, Academic, and Journalist
Mr. Mark Perry, American author specializing in Military Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Analysis
Mr. Jeffrey Steinberg, Senior Editor, Journalist, and Lecturer on Middle East and International Security Affairs
Professor Don Wallace, Jr., Chairman, International Law Institute and Chair, International Council for Middle East Studies
August 9, 2011 and August 11, 2011
Libya From the Front Lines
Featured Speaker: Mr. Richard Ayton, recent Stabilization Advisor to the British Special Representative to Libya
June 29, 2011
A Conversation with The Right Honourable Tony Blair
Featured Speaker: The Right Honourable Tony Blair
Introduction by: H.E. Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States and Advisor at the Royal Court
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
May 26, 2011
Symposium on U.S.-Iran and U.S.-Libya Sanctions
Featured Speaker: Mr. Larry Christensen, Member, Miller & Chevalier
May 13, 2011
A Conversation with John Hofmeister
Featured Speaker: John Hofmeister, Founder and Chief Executive, Citizens for Affordable Energy, and Former President, Shell Oil Company
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
April 15, 2011
Luncheon in Honor of Ambassador Joseph LeBaron,
United States Ambassador to the State of Qatar
Featured Speaker: Ambassador Joseph LeBaron, United States Ambassador to the State of Qatar
April 8, 2011
A Conversation with a Delegation Representing
the Majlis Ash-Shura (Consultative Council)
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
H.E. Osama Bin Mohammed Al-Kurdi, Member of the Council
H.E. Dr. Abdallah Bin Yahya Bukhari, Member of the Council
H.E. Khalifa Bin Ahmed Rashid Al-Dosari, Member of the Council
H.E. Mohammed Bin Abdallah Al-Quaihis, Member of the Council
H.E. Dr. Saud H. R. Al-Subaie, Member of the Council
H.E. Dr. Mazen Bin Foad Bin Mahmood AlKhayyat, Member of the Council
H.E. Dr. Mai bint Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim AlEssa, Advisor to the Council
H.E. Dr. Mahasen Hasan Abu-Mansour Flamban, Advisor to the Council
Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
March 2, 2011
What You Need to Know Now:
The Arabian Dimension in Today's Mideast Turmoil
VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
FLYER
PICTURES
Dr. Herman Franssen, President, International Energy Associates, and Senior Associate, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Dr. David E. Long, Consultant on Middle East affairs and international terrorism, and author of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mr. Robert Lacey, Historian and author of The Kingdom and Inside the Kingdom
Mr. Peter A. Iseman, Historian and International Educator
Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
July 28, 2010
Islamic Finance Forum
Aamir Rehman, Managing Director at Fajr Capital Limited and author of Dubai & Co.: Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States and Gulf Capital & Islamic Finance: The Rise of the New Global Players
Umar Moghul, Partner at Murtha Cullina LLP and co-chair of the firm's Islamic Finance and Investments Group
Ibrahim Warde, Adjunct Professor of International Business at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University and author of Islamic Finance in the Global Economy
Shaykh Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer at Shariah Capital
Frank Vogel, Professor Harvard Law School and author of The Islamic School of Law: Evolution, Devolution and Progress and Islamic Law and Legal System: Studies of Saudi Arabia
Jean-François Seznec, Visiting Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
June 30, 2010
The Arab World and the Future of Global Energy Supply: Realities, Risks, and Prospects
VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
FLYER
PICTURES
Mr. Guy Caruso, Senior Advisor, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Ms. Molly Williamson, Adjunct Scholar, Middle East Institute, and Immediate Past Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Energy
Ms. Randa Fahmy-Hudome, President, Fahmy-Hudome International, and Former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy
Ms. Sarah Ladislaw, Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
March 31, 2010
A Conversation with
His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
to the United States
C-SPAN VIDEO
THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT'S RECAP
FLYER
PICTURES
Featured Speaker: HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
December 22, 2009
Report from the Gulf Cooperation Council's Ministerial and Heads of State Summit in Kuwait, December 2009:
What Did and Did Not Happen and What Next?
C-SPAN VIDEO
AUDIO - Part 1 (.mp3)
AUDIO - Part 2 (.mp3)
'HOW' QUESTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION
Featured Speaker: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
December 10, 2009
Yemen Headlined:
Contemporary Myths and Empirical Realities
VIDEO
AUDIO - Part 1 (.mp3)
AUDIO - Part 2 (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
PROJECT ON MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY RECAP
REMARKS REFERENCED BY AMB. JAMES LAROCCO
PICTURES
Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Director, Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative, Princeton University, and former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen
Dr. Christopher Boucek, Associate in the Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Mr. Gregory Johnsen, Ph.D. Candidate, Princeton University; Co-Founder, Waq al-Waq: Islam and Insurgency in Yemen Blog; and former Fulbright and American Institute for Yemen Studies Fellow in Yemen
Ambassador James A. Larocco, Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, U.S. Department of Defense, and former U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait
Dr. Mustafa Alani, Senior Advisor and Research Program Director, Gulf Research Center, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; former Fulbright Fellow in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen; and one of two Americans to have served as an official observer for all four of Yemen's presidential and parliamentary elections
February 17, 2009
Islamic Finance and the Global Economic Crisis
FLYER AUDIO (.mp3)
SLIDES FROM DR. YUSUF TALAL DELORENZO (.pdf)
SLIDES FROM MR. MICHAEL MCMILLEN (.pdf)
DIPLOMATIC CONNECTIONS RECAP (.pdf)
PICTURES
Dr. Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo, Chief Shariah Officer, Shariah Capital
Mr. Michael McMillen, Attorney, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
• CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE: "ISLAMIC FINANCE: OVERVIEW AND POLICY CONCERNS" (.pdf)
• U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY: "OVERVIEW OF ISLAMIC FINANCE" (.pdf)
• ERNST & YOUNG: "ISLAMIC FUNDS AND INVESTMENTS REPORT" (.pdf)
• GULF ONE INVESTMENT BANK: "ISLAMIC FINANCE: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES"
December 16, 2008
A Conversation with
H.E. Samir Shakir M. Sumaida'ie,
Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the United States
C-SPAN VIDEO
PROGRAM (.pdf)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS ARTICLE
Featured Speaker: H.E. Samir Shakir M. Sumaida'ie
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
December 2, 2008
A Conversation with
His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Sa'ud
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS ARTICLE
Featured Speaker: HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Sa'ud
Moderator: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
June 16, 2008
A Conversation with a Delegation Representing
the Majlis Ash-Shura (Consultative Council)
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
H.E. Dr. Bandar Bin Mohammed Al Eiban, Chairman of the Saudi US Friendship Committee
H.E. Engineer, Usamah Bin Mohammed Al-Kurdi; Member of the Council
H.E. Yousef A. El-Maimani, Member of the Council
H.E. Dr. Khalid Ibrahim Al-Awwad, Member of the Council
H.E. Dr. Nihad M. A. Jishi, Consultant for the Council
June 5, 2008
The Implications of Sovereign Wealth Funds
For American Interests and U.S. Policies
Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA)
Co-Chair of the House Sovereign Wealth Funds Task Force
Congressman Tom Davis (R-VA)
Co-Chair of the House Sovereign Wealth Funds Task Force
Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY)
Official Designee of the House Committee on
Financial Services to the Sovereign Wealth Funds Task Force
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
April 1, 2008
Changing Dynamics of U.S.-Mideast Defense Relations: Withdraw? Downsize? Remain Engaged?
Redeploy? Reconfigure?
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS ARTICLE
Featured Speaker: General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (Ret.)
Introduction by: Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA)
Presider: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
March 19, 2008
Energy Interdependence versus Independence:
Rhetoric & Reality
The Honorable Karen Harbert, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy
Dr. Herman Franssen, President, International Energy Associates & Senior Associate, CSIS Energy and National Security Program
The National Council does not employ or retain a lobbyist. Please note that these events meet the criteria of a "widely attended event," as defined under the new House ethics rules: the events are open to the public and are actively advertised to an audience of non-Hill staff, with the expectation that more than 25 non-Hill staff will attend. If Hill staffers have further questions, they should contact the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct at (202) 225-7103.
