Dynamics of Recent Events
in the Arab World:
Framing the Arab and U.S. Responses
October 27 - 28, 2011
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
- Conference Audio, Video, and Transcripts
- Remarks by HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal
(watch on
) - Remarks by Libyan Ambassador Ali Aujali on
- Conference Sponsors
- Select Media Coverage
Prince Turki: Global community accepts Palestine as a state (Arab News)
Libyan Ambassador Wants Longer NATO Mission (Talk Radio News Service)
Another Look Inside the Kingdom: A Conversation with Robert Lacey (SUSRIS)
US Business Leaders Bullish on Mideast, North Africa Despite Unrest (International Oil Daily)
Endlessly Fascinating Times in Business and Diplomacy: A Conversation with Ford Fraker (SUSRIS)
Arab League Ambassador Visits DC (Aslan Media)
Responses to Recent Events in the Arab World: The Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference (SUSRIS)
2011 AUDIO, VIDEO, & TRANSCRIPTS
Conference proceedings will posted as they become available. Jump to a specific panel by clicking on the session title in the list immediately below or scroll further down to see the complete program. MP3 audio can also be downloaded through iTunes.
| Oct. 27 | Oct. 28 |
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS Dr. John Duke Anthony Dr. Joseph Moynihan Mr. Wilford Derek Gourdine THE MESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. DYNAMICS OF DEFENSE COOPERATION Ambassador James Larocco Dr. Joseph Moynihan General Joseph Hoar (USMC, Ret.) Col. David Des Roches (USA) Mr. Bob Sharp ENERGY DYNAMICS The Honorable Molly Williamson Dr. Herman T. Franssen Mr. Jay Pryor Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome KEYNOTE ADDRESS H.E. Ambassador Sameh Shoukry H.E. Dr. Adnan Ahmed Al-Ansari H.E. Nasser Tammimi GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (I): Iraq Dr. Kenneth B. Katzman Dr. Eric Davis Dr. Juan Cole Dr. Paul Sullivan Ms. Shameem Rassam GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (II): Arab North Africa (The Maghreb) / Syria / Yemen Ms. Jennifer Salan Dr. Néjib Ayachi Dr. Michele Dunne Mr. Christopher Blanchard Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome |
A VIEW FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Dr. Tamara Wittes BUSINESS, INVESTMENT, AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS AND PROSPECTS Mr. Michael Markland Ambassador Ford Fraker Ambassador Joseph LeBaron Mr. Danny E. Sebright Mr. Lionel C. Johnson GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) DYNAMICS (III) Dr. John Duke Anthony Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla Dr. Abdulla Al-Shayji Mr. Jeremy Jones Dr. Thomas Mattair Mr. Robert Lacey LUNCHEON Mr. Danny E. Sebright KEYNOTE ADDRESS HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Sa’ud LIBYA: THE WAY FORWARD Ms. Harriet Fulbright H.E. Ambassador Ali Aujali GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (IV): Palestine Mr. Yousef Munayyer Ms. Michelle Steinberg Dr. Ghada Karmi Dr. Norton Mezvinsky GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (V): Iran Dr. John L. Iskander Mr. Afshin Molavi Dr. Janne Nolan Dr. Flynt Leverett Dr. Kenneth B. Katzman WHITHER THE ARAB-U.S. RELATIONSHIP IN THE PERIOD AHEAD? Ms. Barbara G. B. Ferguson H.E. Ambassador Dr. Hussein Hassouna Mr. Bill Corcoran Mr. John Moran |
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
8:50 - 9:00 a.m.: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
AUDIO (.mp3)
Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum and Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia.
Dr. Joseph Moynihan - Chairman, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Vice President, Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems.
Mr. Wilford Derek Gourdine - Acting Director, Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.: KEYNOTE ADDRESS
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT
Ambassador Chas W. 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 of the newly published America’s Misadventures in the Middle East as well as The Diplomat’s Dictionary (Revised Edition) and Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy.
10:00 - 11:15 a.m.: DYNAMICS OF DEFENSE COOPERATION
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
Chair:
Ambassador James Larocco - Director, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University; former U.S. Ambassador to the State of Kuwait.
Speakers:
Dr. Joseph Moynihan - Chairman, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Vice President, Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems.
General Joseph Hoar (USMC, Ret.) - Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command with planning and operations responsibility for 27 countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Horn of Africa; Chairman, J.P. Hoar & Associates, a consulting firm engaged in business development in the Middle East and Africa.
Commentators:
Col. David Des Roches (USA) - Professor, 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.
Mr. Bob Sharp - Assistant Professor, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University.
11:15 - 12:30 p.m.: ENERGY DYNAMICS
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
Chair:
The Honorable Molly Williamson - Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations;Adjunct Scholar, Middle East Institute; Immediate Past Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to the Secretary of Energy (2005-2008); former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Middle East, South Asia, Oceania and Africa (1999-2004); former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (1993-1995).
Speakers:
Dr. Herman T. Franssen - Executive Director, Energy Intelligence Group; Senior Associate, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Mr. Jay Pryor - Vice President for Corporate Business Development, Chevron Corporation.
Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome - President, Fahmy Hudome International; former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
1:00 - 2:35 p.m.: KEYNOTE ADDRESS
H.E. AMBASSADOR SHOUKRY AUDIO (.mp3)
H.E. DR. AL-ANSARI AUDIO (.mp3)
REMARKS BY H.E. AMB. SHOUKRY (.pdf)
REMARKS BY H.E. DR. AL-ANSARI (.pdf)
Introduction of Speaker:
Dr. John Duke Anthony -Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum and Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia.
Speaker:
H.E. Ambassador Sameh Shoukry - Ambassador of Egypt to the United States.
Remarks by:
H.E. Dr. Adnan Ahmed Al-Ansari - Ambassador and Observer, Permanent Mission of the Gulf Cooperation Council to the United Nations; former Director, Research Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sultanate of Oman.
H.E. Nasser Tammimi - Political Counselor to the Ambassador and Observer, Permanent Mission of the Gulf Cooperation Council to the United Nations; formerly, Senior Political Adviser to the Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2:35 - 4:05 p.m.: GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (I): Iraq
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
SLIDES FROM DR. DAVIS (.pdf)
Chair:
Dr. Kenneth B. Katzman - Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Speakers:
Dr. Eric Davis - Professor of Political Science and former Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Rutgers University; author of Memories of State: Politics, History and Collective Identity in Modern Iraq and the forthcoming Taking Democracy Seriously in Iraq.
Dr. Juan Cole - Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan; author of Engaging the Muslim World and Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East; former President, Middle East Studies Association of North America.
Dr. Paul Sullivan - Professor of Economics, Industrial College of Armed Forces, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor of Security Studies and Science, Technology and International Affairs, Georgetown University.
Ms. Shameem Rassam - Media Expert and Analyst, Alhurra Television-Iraq.
4:05 - 5:35 p.m.: GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (II): Arab North Africa (The Maghreb) / Syria / Yemen
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
Chair:
Ms. Jennifer Salan - Senior Producer, The Stream, Al Jazeera English.
Speakers:
Dr. Néjib Ayachi - Founder and President, Maghreb Center. (Tunisia)
Dr. Michele Dunne - Director, Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East; former Member, White House National Security Council Staff and the Department of State's Policy Planning Staff, as well as Bureau of Intelligence and Research; and service as a Diplomat in Cairo and Jerusalem. (Egypt)
Mr. Christopher Blanchard - Middle East Policy Analyst, Congressional Research Service. (Syria / Yemen)
Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome - President, Fahmy Hudome International; former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. (Libya)
Dr. Esam Omeish
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.: Private Reception for Conference Sponsors, Speakers, VIPs, and Invited Guests in the Green Rooms at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium (1301 Constitution Avenue Northwest).
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
1301 Constitution Avenue, Northwest
Washington, DC
8:50 - 9:10 a.m.: A VIEW FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Tamara Wittes - Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs and Deputy Special Coordinator for Middle East Transitions, U.S. Department of State.
9:10 - 10:15 a.m.: BUSINESS, INVESTMENT, AND FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS AND PROSPECTS
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT
Chair:
Mr. Michael Markland - Vice President for Private Wealth Management, Morgan Stanley (Dubai).
Speakers:
Ambassador Ford Fraker - Senior Adviser and Chairman for the Middle East and North Africa Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.; former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Ambassador Joseph LeBaron - Senior Adviser, Patton Boggs LLP; former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar and Mauritania.
Mr. Danny E. Sebright - President, U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council.
Mr. Lionel C. Johnson - Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
10:15 - 11:45 a.m.: GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL (GCC) DYNAMICS (III)
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
Chair:
Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum and Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia.
Speakers:
Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla - Professor of Political Science, Emirates University (Abu Dhabi); lead author, 2008 Arab Knowledge Report. (UAE)
Dr. Abdulla Al-Shayji - Chairman, Department of Political Science, Kuwait University, and author, Kuwait's Ceaseless Quest for Survival in a Hostile Environment. (Kuwait)
Mr. Jeremy Jones - Author of Negotiating Change: The New Politics of the Middle East and the forthcoming Oman, Culture and Diplomacy; Senior Associate Member, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies; National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Distinguished International Fellow. (Oman)
Dr. Thomas 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. (Bahrain)
Commentator:
Mr. Robert Lacey - Historian, and author of, inter alia, The Kingdom: Arabia & the House of Sa’ud (1982) and Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia (2009). (Saudi Arabia)
12:15 - 1:00 p.m.: LUNCHEON
AUDIO (.mp3)
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SPONSORED BY THE U.S.-U.A.E. BUSINESS COUNCIL.
The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council is a progressive business advocacy organization solely committed to the advancement of the trade and commercial relationship between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Welcome on Behalf of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations:
Dr. John Duke Anthony -Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum and Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia.
Welcome on Behalf of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council:
Mr. Danny E. Sebright - President, U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council.
1:00 - 1:30 p.m.: KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY HRH PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL
VIDEO
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT
HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal Al Sa’ud - 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.
1:30 - 2:15 p.m.: LIBYA: THE WAY FORWARD
AUDIO (.mp3)
VIDEO
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction of Speaker:
Ms. Harriet Fulbright - President, J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center; Founder, Harriet Fulbright College.
Speaker:
H.E. Ambassador Ali Aujali - National Transitional Council of Libya Ambassador to the United States.
2:15 - 3:45 p.m.: GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (IV): Palestine
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT
Chair:
Mr. Yousef Munayyer - Executive Director, Palestine Center and the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development.
Speakers:
Ms. Michelle Steinberg - Counterintelligence Editor, Executive Intelligence Review (EIR).
Dr. Ghada Karmi - Co-Director, Centre of Palestine Studies, University of Exeter.
Dr. Norton Mezvinsky - Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Connecticut State University; President, International Council for Middle East Studies.
3:45 - 5:15 p.m.: GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (V): Iran
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
Chair:
Dr. John L. Iskander - Chair, Near East and North Africa Area Studies, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State.
Speakers:
Mr. Afshin Molavi - Senior Fellow, New America Foundation; Senior Middle East Advisor, Oxford Analytica; and author, The Soul of Iran.
Dr. Janne Nolan - Director, Nuclear Security Programs, American Security Project; former Professor of International Affairs and Deputy Director of the Ridgway Center, University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Flynt Leverett - Director, Iran Initiative, and Senior Research Fellow, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation; and author, Dealing with Tehran: Assessing U.S. Diplomatic Options toward Iran and Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial by Fire.
Dr. Kenneth B. Katzman - Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
5:15 - 6:00 p.m.: WHITHER THE ARAB-U.S. RELATIONSHIP IN THE PERIOD AHEAD? POLICY IMPLICATIONS FROM THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES
AUDIO (.mp3)
TRANSCRIPT
Chair:
Ms. Barbara G. B. Ferguson - Washington Bureau Chief, Arab News; Co-Chair, International Correspondents Committee, The National Press Club, Washington, D.C.; author, “Country Reports” on Bahrain, Morocco, and Kazakhstan for the Washington Times; embedded war correspondent during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Kuwait in 1990-1991 and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
Speaker:
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Hussein Hassouna - Chief Representative of the League of Arab States to the United States.
Commentators:
Mr. Bill Corcoran - President, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA).
Mr. John Moran - Career Member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, United States Department of State; Distinguished Diplomat-in-Residence, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
6:00 p.m.: CONCLUDING REMARKS AND ADJOURNMENT
AUDIO (.mp3)
Dr. John Duke Anthony - Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.