On August 20, 2014, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee are hosting a public affairs briefing on “Dynamics of Regional Crises Run Amok: Implications for Arab and U.S. Interests and Policies.” Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, will serve as moderator. Featured specialists include 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); and Mr. Joshua Yaphe, Arabian Peninsula Analyst, U.S. Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research .

DATE & TIME:

Wednesday, August 20, 2014
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. – Refreshments / Networking
1:30 – 3:00 p.m. – Remarks / Q&A

LOCATION:

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
First Floor Conference Room
1875 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006

REGISTRATION:

The event is free but R.S.V.P. (acceptances only) via email to rsvp@ncusar.org is required.

Please note: seating capacity is limited. Include the following information when you R.S.V.P.:
Name:
Company:
Title:
Phone:
Email:

If you have any questions you can call the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations at (202) 293-6466.

Dr. John Duke Anthony Dr. John Duke Anthony is the Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. On June 22, 2000, on his first official state visit to the United States, H.M. King Muhammad VI of Morocco knighted Dr. Anthony, bestowing upon him Morocco’s highest award for excellence. Dr. Anthony currently serves on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and its Subcommittee on Sanctions. He is the only American to have been invited to each of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Ministerial and Heads of State Summits since the GCC’s inception in 1981.

Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie was appointed Iraq’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in July 2004. In April 2006, he moved to Washington, DC as Iraq’s first ambassador to the United States in fifteen years. He served in that post until the end of 2011. Prior to his appointment to the U.N., Ambassador Sumaida’ie served as the Minister of Interior in Baghdad where he managed a domestic security force of over 120,000, and laid the foundations for the new Ministry by reconstituting the National Police force and reorganizing the Ministry.

Professor David Des Roches Professor David Des Roches is a Senior Military Fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, U.S. Department of Defense/National Defense University. He was formerly the Director of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense, responsible for defense policy concerning Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Professor Des Roches is a National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Joseph J. Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies to Syria. Professor David Des Roches has been a featured speaker at five National Council public affairs events.

Dr. Imad Harb Dr. Imad Harb is a Distinguished International Affairs Fellow with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. He recently returned to Washington, DC after spending the previous seven years working as a researcher and analyst in the GCC region. Dr. Harb previously worked to help rehabilitate the Iraqi higher education sector as a Senior Program Officer for Education at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Since earning his PhD from the University of Utah, Dr. Harb has been an Adjunct Professor at San Francisco State University, the University of Utah, Georgetown University, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, and the Middle East Institute.

Dr. Thomas Mattair Dr. Thomas Mattair is Executive Director of the Middle East Policy Council. He has taught at Kent State University, the University of Southern California, the University of California at Riverside, and Cornell University. He also served as Director of Research at the Middle East Policy Council from 1992 to 1995. From 1997 until 2003, Dr. Mattair was a Research Scholar at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, where he researched and wrote The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa. His most recent book is Global Security Watch — Iran: A Reference Handbook (2008), a study of Iran’s foreign relations.

Mr. Matthew A. Reynolds Mr. Matthew A. Reynolds is the North America Representative for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). UNRWA provides essential humanitarian and human development services to approximately 5 million registered Palestine refugees in the Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Prior to his appointment with UNRWA, Matt Reynolds served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs through January 20, 2009. In this capacity he was the principal congressional advisor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and directed all State Department relations and operations with the U.S. Congress.

Mr. Joshua Yaphe Mr. Joshua Yaphe serves as the Arabian Peninsula analyst in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the U.S. Department of State. He is responsible for research and analysis of political, economic, military, and cultural issues related to the Arabian Peninsula, with a special emphasis on Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He also serves as State Department’s liaison with the intelligence community on these countries, and contributes to the work of the Department by providing an institutional memory on these issues. Before assuming this position in 2009, Mr. Yaphe served as the Strategic Planning Officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.