Category Archives: Syria

Geo-Political Dynamics: Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq – 2015 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Session on Geo-Political Dynamics: Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq with Dr. Paul Salem, Mr. Bassel Charles Korkor, Mr. Elias Samo, Mr. Charles C. Chidiac, Dr. Judith Yaphe, and Dr. Michael Hudson from the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 24th Annual Arab-US Policymakers’ Conference, “U.S.-Arab Relations at a Crossroads: What Paths Forward?,” on October 14, 2015, in Washington, DC.

Watch on YouTube

Listen to Podcast (.mp3)

Read Transcript (.pdf)

A Discussion with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Dr. Abdul Latif Al Zayani

A Discussion with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Dr. Abdul Latif Al Zayani. A summary of the key points and perspectives offered by GCC Secretary General Dr. Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani at a September 18, 2015, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations meeting.

From the National Council’s Arabia, the Gulf, and the GCC Blog

Envisioning the GCC’s Future: Prisms for Perspective

Envisioning the GCC’s Future: Prisms for Perspective – remarks by His Excellency Dr. Abdul Latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, to the Gulf Research Center’s Sixth Annual Gulf Research Meeting, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Introduction by Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

From the National Council’s Arabia, the Gulf, and the GCC Blog

Geo-Political Dynamics: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, & Iran – 2014 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations23rd Annual Arab U.S.-Policymakers Conference included a session on “Geo-Political Dynamics: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, & Iran” that featured Dr. John Iskander, H.E. Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Dr. Judith Yaphe, Dr. Najib Ghadbian, Dr. Imad Harb, and Dr. Trita Parsi.

An audio and video recording of the session as well as a link to the transcript are available below. Videos of the entire 2014 conference are available on YouTube and podcasts of the conference are available through iTunes and FeedBurner.

 

Transcript (.pdf)

Audio (.mp3)

Dynamics of Regional Crises Run Amok

August 20, 2014
Offices of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Washington, DC

 

 

Participating Specialists:

Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie, Former Ambassador of Iraq to the United States (2006-2011) and Former Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations (2004-2006)

Professor David Des Roches, Senior Military Fellow, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, and Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies to Syria

Dr. Imad Harb, Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

Dr. Thomas Mattair, Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council

Mr. Matthew A. Reynolds, North America Representative, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

Mr. Joshua Yaphe, Arabian Peninsula Analyst, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Moderator:

Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

AUDIO (.mp3)

Interview with Al Youm (Al Hurra TV)

Dr. John Duke Anthony joined Al Hurra TV’s Al Youm to discuss Iran, Syria, and President Obama’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia. [Program in Arabic.]

 

#أميركا العلاقات الأميركية السعودية

Posted by ‎Al Youm Show برنامج اليوم‎ on Wednesday, March 26, 2014

 
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Geo-Political Dynamics: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, & Iran – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS: SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAQ, AND IRAN

Chair:

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

Speakers:

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.

Dr. Judith Yaphe – Distinguished Research Fellow for the Middle East, Institute for National Strategic Studies; Adjunct Professor in the Elliott School, George Washington University; former senior analyst in the office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis, Directorate of Intelligence, CIA.

Dr. Bassam Haddad – Director, Middle East Studies Program and Assistant Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University; Co-Founder/Editor, Jadaliyya Ezine; Visiting Professor, Georgetown University; author, Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience.

Dr. David Lesch – Professor of Middle East History, Trinity University; author, The Fall of the House of Assad, The Arab – Israeli Conflict: A History, and The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria.

Dr. Michael C. Hudson – Director, Middle East Institute and Professor of Political Science at National University of Singapore; former Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Professor of International Relations, and Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies, Georgetown University.

VIDEO

AUDIO (.mp3)

TRANSCRIPT

Crisis Syria: Going Where?

June 7, 2013
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC

 

Participating specialists:

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

Moderator:

Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

VIDEO

AUDIO (.mp3)

Policymaking Considerations Regarding Regional Geo-Political Dynamics: Iraq and Syria – 2012 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

POLICYMAKING CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING REGIONAL GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS: IRAQ AND SYRIA

Chair:

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

Speakers:

Dr. David Lesch – Professor of Middle East History, Trinity University; author,The Fall of the House of AssadThe Arab – Israeli Conflict: A History, and The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria.

Ms. Mona Yacoubian – Senior Advisor, Middle East and Project Director, Pathways to Progress, Stimson Center; former Special Advisor and Senior Program Officer on the Middle East, U.S. Institute of Peace; former North Africa analyst, U.S. Department of State.

Dr. Judith Yaphe – Distinguished Research Fellow for the Middle East, Institute for National Strategic Studies; former senior analyst in the office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis, Directorate of Intelligence, CIA.

Dr. Abdullah Alshammari – Advisor, Middle East – Riyadh Represantative, ORSAM.

Commentators:

Professor Paul Sullivan – Professor of Economics, Eisenhower School, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Security Studies, Georgetown University; Columnist, Turkiye Gazetesi, Istanbul, Turkey.

Ambassador (Ret.) Theodore Kattouf – President and CEO, AMIDEAST; former U.S Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Syria.

VIDEO

AUDIO (.mp3)

TRANSCRIPT

John Duke Anthony on U.S.-Arab Relations

On March 27, 2012, National Council Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke at American University on “U.S.-Arab Relations.” The program was sponsored by American University’s Delta Phi Epsilon International Society of Business and Foreign Affairs and the Muslim Student Association. A podcast from Dr. Anthony’s presentation is available below as well as through iTunes.

John Duke Anthony – “U.S.-Arab Relations” (.mp3)

Geopolitical Dynamics: Arab North Africa (The Maghreb) / Syria / Yemen – 2011 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

GEOPOLITICAL DYNAMICS (II): Arab North Africa (The Maghreb) / Syria / Yemen

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

AUDIO (.mp3)

TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)