National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

 
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2007: Vol. 1, No. 2 (November)

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations is pleased to provide Council Chronicle, the organization's free newsletter. The Chronicle seeks to keep the Council's supporters informed and updated by presenting news and special reports on the Council's year-round educational programs, events, and activities.

About the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations:

Founded in 1983, the National Council is an American educational, non-profit,
non-governmental organization dedicated to improving American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world. The Council's vision is a relationship between the United States and its Arab friends that rests on a solid, enduring foundation. Such a foundation would be characterized by strengthened and expanded strategic, economic, political, commercial, and defense cooperation. It would also reflect heightened contacts and exchanges of present and emerging leaders among Americans and Arabs alike. The Council's mission is educational. It seeks to enhance American awareness and appreciation of the multi-faceted and innumerable benefits the United States has long derived from its relations with the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world. It endeavors to do this through leadership development, people-to-people programs, academic seminars, an annual Arab-U.S. policymakers' conference, specialized publications, and the participation of American students and faculty in Arab world study abroad and Arabic language learning experiences. In pursuit of its mission, the Council serves as a U.S.-Arab relations programmatic, informational, and human resources clearinghouse. In so doing, it provides cutting edge information and insight to national, state, and local grassroots organizations, media, public policy research institutes, and select community civic, religious, business, and professional associations.

In This Issue:
 

SPECIAL RECAP OF THE
16TH ANNUAL ARAB-U.S.
POLICYMAKERS CONFERENCE

 

Photographs and highlights from the Conference

Information on where to find selected Conference proceedings

Thank you to the Conference sponsors

How to Support the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations' efforts to improve American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world

 

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

Current and Forthcoming Activities and Programs

 

 

16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
October 25 & 26, 2007

The National Council held its 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference on October 25-26, 2007. The Conference convened for the second consecutive year at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the heart of Washington, D.C. The theme of the 2007 conference was "Revisiting Arab-U.S. Strategic Relations: Geopolitical, Energy, Defense Cooperation, and Developmental Dynamics."

 

Chuck Hagel, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, delivers the keynote address to the 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

Chuck Hagel, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, delivers the keynote address to the 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.,
October 25-26, 2007

Dr. Judith Yaphe, Distinguished Research Fellow at the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Defense University, gives remarks on the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq during the first day of the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Judith Yaphe, Distinguished Research Fellow at the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Defense University, gives remarks on the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq during the first day of the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

H.E. Ali Suleiman Aujali, Chargè d'Affaires at the Embassy of Libya, discusses "The Turning of a New Chapter in U.S.-Libyan Relations" at the 16th  Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

H.E. Ali Suleiman Aujali, Chargè d'Affaires at the Embassy of Libya, discusses "The Turning of a New Chapter in U.S.-Libyan Relations" at the 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

 

Senator Chuck Hagel delivers the keynote address to the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

(Above) Senator Chuck Hagel delivers the keynote address to the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

 

 

The 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference registered over 500 participants and featured a wide variety of speakers spanning two days of panel discussions and keynote presentations. The Conference featured Senator Chuck Hagel (Republican - Nebraska); the Ambassadors of Bahrain, Libya, Palestine, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and the League of Arab States; the Ambassador as well as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for the Near East; the U.S. Ambassador and Department of State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Responsible for Iraq; the Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey; the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy; the presidents and CEOs of America’s largest oil companies -- ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Marathon, and Shell, as well as the President and CEO of Aramco Services Company; former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General Wesley K. Clark (U.S. Army, Ret.); The Hon. Ronald Neumann, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria, and Bahrain; and leading American and Arab policy analysts from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, American University’s Barzani Center for Global Kurdish Studies, Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, the Yemen College for Middle Eastern Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations, the New America Foundation, Conflicts Forum, the National American Iranian Affairs Council, and other public policy research institutes, think tanks, and universities.

 

   

H.E. Dr. Imad Moustapha, Ambassador of Syria to the United States, delivers remarks on the geopolitical dynamics of Syria and Lebanon at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

H.E. Dr. Imad Moustapha, Ambassador of Syria to the United States, delivers remarks on the geopolitical dynamics of Syria and Lebanon at the
2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

U.S. Army Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey (middle), Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, discusses defense cooperation between the United States and Arab countries at the 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

U.S. Army Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey (middle), Deputy Commander of U.S. Central Command, discusses defense cooperation between the United States and Arab countries at the 16th Annual
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

   

Mr. Daniel Levy, Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, addresses the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Mr. Daniel Levy, Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, addresses the geopolitical dynamics of
Israel and Palestine at the
2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

H.E. Afif Safieh, Ambassador of the P.L.O. Mission to the U.S., analyzes the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the National Council's 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

H.E. Afif Safieh, Ambassador of the P.L.O. Mission to the U.S., analyzes the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the National Council's 16th Annual
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

   

 

Streaming audio of many of the sessions from the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference is available through the Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service (SUSRIS). You can access those audio files at:
http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/articles/2007/ioi/071027-auspc-audio.html.

Additional information about the Conference, including the full program and a copy of Dr. Anthony Cordesman's PowerPoint presentation, is available through www.ncusar.org/auspc.

 

   
Model Arab League students from New Era Academy (Baltimore, Maryland), together with the National Council Malone Fellow and Model Arab League Faculty Adviser Joseph Stanik (second from the left),  meet H.E. Saqr Ghobash, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates  to the United States,  at a reception hosted by the Ambassador  at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in honor of the Council’s 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference Model Arab League students from New Era Academy (Baltimore, Maryland), together with the National Council Malone Fellow and Model Arab League Faculty Adviser Joseph Stanik (second from the left), meet H.E. Saqr Ghobash, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States, at a reception hosted by the Ambassador at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in honor of the Council’s 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
   

 

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations would like thank H.E. Saqr Ghobash, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the U.S., and the staff of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, for their kindness and generosity in hosting a reception at the Embassy on October 25th for sponsors, speakers, supporters, and attendees of the Council's Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

 

 

(L to R) The Hon. Clay Sell, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, United States Department of Energy; Dr. Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, President and CEO, Aramco Services Company; Mr. Michael J. Dolan, President, ExxonMobil Chemical Company and Vice-President, ExxonMobil Corporation; Mr. John D. Hofmeister, President, Shell Oil Company; Mr. Gary R. Heminger, Executive Vice President, Marathon Oil Corporation, and President, Marathon Petroleum Company, LLC; and Mr. Sigmund L. Cornelius, Senior Vice President, ConocoPhillips, discuss the energy dimension of the Arab-U.S. relationship at the Council's 2007  Policymakers Conference

(L to R) The Hon. Clay Sell, Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, United States Department of Energy;
Dr. Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, President and CEO, Aramco Services Company; Mr. Michael J. Dolan, President, ExxonMobil Chemical Company and Vice-President, ExxonMobil Corporation; Mr. John D. Hofmeister, President,
Shell Oil Company; Mr. Gary R. Heminger, Executive Vice President, Marathon Oil Corporation, and President, Marathon Petroleum Company, LLC; and Mr. Sigmund L. Cornelius, Senior Vice President, ConocoPhillips, discuss the energy dimension of the Arab-U.S. relationship at the Council's 2007 Policymakers Conference

 

General Wesley K. Clark (USA, Ret.) discusses Arab-U.S. strategic relations during the 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., October 25-26, 2007

General Wesley K. Clark (USA, Ret.) discusses Arab-U.S. strategic relations during the 16th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.,
October 25-26, 2007

Dr. Trita Parsi, President of the National American Iranian Affairs Council, discusses the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Trita Parsi, President of the National American Iranian Affairs Council, discusses the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Kenneth Katzman, Senior Analyst of Gulf Affairs for the U.S. Congressional Research Service, comments on the geopolitical dynamics of Iraq and Iran at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Kenneth Katzman, Senior Analyst of Gulf Affairs for the U.S. Congressional Research Service, comments on the geopolitical dynamics of Iraq and Iran at the 2007 Arab-U.S.
Policymakers Conference

(L to R) The Hon. Ronald Neumann, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria, and Bahrain; and Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen (USN, Ret.), Chairman of the  Board of Directors of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, chair and moderate a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

(L to R) The Hon. Ronald Neumann, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Algeria, and Bahrain; and Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen (USN, Ret.), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, chair and moderate a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq at the
2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

(L to R) Dr. J.E. Peterson, Dr. John Duke Anthony, Major General William Nash (USA, Ret.), U.S. Army Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey, and Dr. Anthony H. Cordesman discuss Arab-U.S. defense cooperation at the Council's Annual Policymakers Conference

(L to R) Dr. J.E. Peterson, Dr. John Duke Anthony, Major General William Nash (USA, Ret.), U.S. Army Lieutenant General Martin E. Dempsey, and Dr. Anthony H. Cordesman discuss Arab-U.S. defense cooperation at the
Council's Annual Policymakers Conference

 

In addition to the numerous speakers and institutions represented, as noted above, the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference featured 35 sponsors - 23 corporations, eight Arab embassies, two U.S.-Arab business associations, a U.S. government agency, and a newly minted Arab university. These sponsors are known for being among the strongest supporters of a U.S.-Arab relationship that will endeavor to build upon its many positive features. Most of the sponsors and the participants in this Annual Conference are not newcomers to assisting the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations in the furtherance of what it seeks to accomplish. Through their support for the Annual Conference as well as other Council programs and activities, they make it possible for the Council to administer not only this one-of-a-kind program but also its other year-round educational programs and activities as well.

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING SPONSORS:

Sponsors of the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

 

     

National Council President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony led in conceptualizing, organizing, and presiding over all of the Conference’s sessions

National Council President & CEO
Dr. John Duke Anthony led in conceptualizing, organizing, and presiding over all of the
Conference’s sessions

Dr. Abderrahim Foukara, Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Jazeera International, addresses the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Abderrahim Foukara,
Washington Bureau Chief of
Al-Jazeera International,
addresses the 2007 Arab-U.S.
Policymakers Conference

Dr. Anthony A. Cordesman delivers remarks to the session focusing on defense cooperation at the Council's Policymakers Conference

Dr. Anthony A. Cordesman delivers remarks to the session focusing on defense cooperation at the Council's Policymakers Conference

     

Dr. Peter Gubser, Immediate Past President of American Near East Refugee Aid, Inc. (ANERA) and Member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, chairs a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the Council's Annual Conference

Dr. Peter Gubser, Immediate Past President of American Near East Refugee Aid, Inc. (ANERA) and Member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, chairs a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the Council's Annual Conference

(L to R) Amb. Shaun Donnelly from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Jeremy Jones from the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, and Dr. Odeh Aburdene from OAI Advisors discuss the developmental dynamics of the Arab-U.S. relationship at the National Council's 2007 Conference

(L to R) Amb. Shaun Donnelly from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Mr. Jeremy Jones from the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, and Dr. Odeh Aburdene from
OAI Advisors discuss the developmental dynamics of the Arab-U.S. relationship at the Council's 2007 Conference

   

Dr. J.E. Peterson discusses Arab-U.S. defense cooperation at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. J.E. Peterson discusses Arab-U.S. defense cooperation at the 2007
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Daoud Khairallah, Esq. analyzes the geopolitical dynamics of Syria and Lebanon at the 16th Annual Policymakers Conference

Dr. Daoud Khairallah, Esq. analyzes the geopolitical dynamics of Syria and Lebanon at the 16th Annual Policymakers Conference

Dr. Edmund Ghareeb, Mustafa Barzani Scholar of Global Kurdish Studies at American University, participates in a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Edmund Ghareeb, Mustafa Barzani Scholar of Global Kurdish Studies at American University, participates in a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Iran and Iraq at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

     

Dr. Frank Verrastro, Energy Program Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former U.S. Department of Energy official, presides over the Conference’s session devoted to analyzing pressing policy issues related to energy

Dr. Frank Verrastro, Energy Program Director at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies and former U.S. Department of Energy official, presides over the Conference’s session devoted to analyzing pressing
policy issues related to energy

Mr. Jeremy Jones, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Senior International Affairs Fellow at the National Council, makes remarks as part of a session on the developmental dynamics of the U.S.-Arab relationship at the Council's Annual Conference

Mr. Jeremy Jones, Senior Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Senior International Affairs Fellow at the National Council, makes remarks as part of a session on the developmental dynamics of the U.S.-Arab relationship at the Council's Annual Conference

   

Amb.  Lawrence E. Butler, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the  Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, delivers a keynote address during the Council's Annual Conference

Amb. Lawrence E. Butler, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, delivers a keynote address during the Council's Annual Conference

Dr. Michael C. Hudson, Saif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, chairs a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Syria and Lebanon at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Dr. Michael C. Hudson, Saif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies and Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, chairs a session on the geopolitical dynamics of Syria and Lebanon at the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Mr. Mark Perry, author and  Co-Chair of Conflicts Forum, analyzes the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the Council's 2007 Policymakers Conference

Mr. Mark Perry, author and Co-Chair of Conflicts Forum, analyzes the geopolitical dynamics of Israel and Palestine at the Council's 2007 Policymakers Conference

     

H.E. Dr. Hussein Hassouna, Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S., addresses “Revisiting Arab-U.S. Strategic Relations: The Way Forward" at the Council's 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

(Left) H.E. Dr. Hussein Hassouna, Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the U.S., addresses “Revisiting Arab-U.S. Strategic Relations: The Way Forward" at the
Council's 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council would like to thank Amb. Hassouna and the League of Arab States for their support and assistance with the Council's Model Arab League Program.  The Program trains over 2,000 university and high school students annually in Arab-U.S. relations leadership skills and serves as a feeder for the Council’s student Arabic and area studies study abroad programs as well as Arab-U.S. relations internship programs in the nation’s capital.

   

Students from Converse College (South Carolina) pose with their Model Arab League awards

Students from Converse College (South Carolina) pose with their Model Arab League awards

The National Council would like to thank the Model Arab League student delegation from Converse College for attending and assisting with the 2007 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

Student delegates at a High School Model Arab League in Atlanta, Georgia vote on a resolution in the Social Affairs Council

Student delegates at a High School Model Arab League in Atlanta, Georgia vote on a resolution in the
Social Affairs Council

   

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Photo credits for this issue: National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and Mr. Joseph Stanik.
All photographs and graphics are copyrighted by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

 

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