Category Archives: John Duke Anthony

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Fellow Nawaf Al-Thani Visits the Virginia Military Institute

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Last month, National Council Distinguished International Defense Affairs Fellow Sheikh Nawaf Al-Thani visited the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia (VMI), with a delegation of Council leaders. During the visit, Sheikh Nawaf spoke to academy cadets about dynamics of small state security, and he met with VMI faculty, cadets, and leadership. Joining Sheikh Nawaf in the Council delegation were Council Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony, who has a long association with VMI; Board Member Colonel (Ret.) Abbas Dahouk, a former Senior U.S. Department of Defense official serving in the GCC region; together with Council Executive Vice President Patrick Mancino.

(Left) National Council Distinguished International Defense Affairs Fellow Sheikh Nawaf Al-Thani with Virginia Military Institute Superintendent Retired Major General Cedric Wins. (Right) Sheikh Nawaf Al-Thani speaks to VMI cadets about small state security dynamics.

Sheikh Nawaf is the former Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché of Qatar to the United States, Mexico, and Canada in the rank of Brigadier General as well as the former Official Spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Defense. In recognition of his service, he has received numerous distinguished commendations and citations from the Qatar Armed Forces along with several NATO militaries and multinational organizations. Sheikh Nawaf joined the National Council as a Fellow last fall and was a featured speaker at the Council’s 31st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

(Left to Right) National Council Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony, Distinguished International Defense Affairs Fellow Sheikh Nawaf Al-Thani, and Board Member Abbas Dahouk meet with Virginia Military Institute leadership in Lexington, Virginia.

Dr. Anthony is a 1962 graduate of VMI where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in History. He attended on a four-year, all-expenses State Cadetship Award after the completion of his U.S. Army active duty military service. At VMI, Dr. Anthony was elected president of his class all four years in addition to serving as president of the Corps of Cadets’ governing bodies during his First Class (Senior) Year. In 2012, he served as Dean’s Visiting Chair in International Studies and Political Science, where he taught VMI’s first-ever course on “Politics of the Arabian Peninsula.”

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Welcomes Kuwait Ambassador H.E. Jasem Albudaiwi to Washington, D.C.

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On August 30, 2022, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations was honored to host a program welcoming H.E. Jasem Albudaiwi, the new Ambassador of Kuwait to the United States, to Washington, D.C. It was attended by representatives from the United States government, private sector, and public policy research organizations as well as fellow diplomats.

H.E. Jasem Albudaiwi, Ambassador of Kuwait to the United States, makes remarks at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ program welcoming His Excellency back to Washington, D.C. National Council Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony and Executive Vice President & Director of Development Patrick Mancino look on behind him.

During the program, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Ilan Goldenberg, and U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking contributed remarks highlighting the mutual benefits of the U.S.-Kuwait relationship. Council Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony served as Context Provider for the event, and provided historical frames of reference for better appreciating the role of Kuwait in regional and global affairs. Ambassador Jasem Albudaiwi gave keynote remarks stressing the importance of the Kuwait-U.S. relationship, and the value of strengthening and expanding bilateral and regional ties to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

At the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ program for H.E. Jasem Albudaiwi, the new Ambassador of Kuwait to the United States, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim (top right), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Ilan Goldenberg (top left), U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking (bottom right), and National Council Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony (bottom left) contributed remarks highlighting the mutual benefits of the United States-Kuwait relationship.

Cutting Edge Trends and Indications: Raghida Dergham’s Perspective

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2022 is underway. So, too, is the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ work in pursuit of its ongoing mission: education.

To this end, the National Council (ncusar.org) is delighted to share [LINKED BELOW] the first of what, for the 39th year, is scheduled to be a continuum of the Council’s series of insights and analyses. A diverse and complex array of issues – among them dynamics related to Iran, Russia, and other phenomena pertaining to America’s relations with the Arab region and beyond – are examined and addressed herein. The author is the renowned international affairs specialist, Ms. Raghida Dergham.

Ms. Dergham, a Member of the National Council’s International Advisory Board, is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the Beirut Institute. The Institute is an international, non-partisan, and non-governmental public policy research organization.

King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Chairman HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, Ms. Dergham’s fellow National Council International Advisory Board Member, is a Member of the Institute’s governing board and Co-Chair, together with Ms. Dergham, of the Beirut Institute Summit in Abu Dhabi.

A Trailblazer

Ms. Dergham is also a columnist for The National (UAE) and Annahar Al Arabi. Simultaneous to serving as President of the United Nations Correspondents Association, she was a Columnist, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, and New York Bureau Chief for the London-based Al-Hayat for 28 years.

In addition to serving as a frequent political commentator for major U.S. television networks, Ms. Dergham was for eight years an exclusive political analyst for MSNBC.

A pioneer for women in international media, Ms. Dergham is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. Among them is a special recognition from the National Council, presented at the Council’s 27th Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference in October 2018.

Ms. Dergham is no stranger to supporters of the National Council’s programs, projects, events, and activities. Particularly notable have been her roles in the Council’s Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conferences.

The National Council’s 30th Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference – Whither U.S.-Arab Relations? Unnerving Uncertainties Amidst Complex Realities and New Possibilities – was held this past November 17-18, 2021.

General (Ret.) David Petraeus and Ms. Raghida Dergham at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations' 2019 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

General (Ret.) David Petraeus and Ms. Raghida Dergham at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 2019 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

For four years in succession (2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021), Ms. Dergham has conducted hour-long interviews and exchanges with former CIA Director and previous U.S. Central Command Commanding General David Petraeus (who, like herself, is a fellow Member of the National Council’s International Advisory Board). She has also chaired and served as a resource specialist for other Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference sessions.

In doing so, as in the informed analysis presented herein, Ms. Dergham has furthered the National Council’s role as an educational clearinghouse. She has thereby enhanced our awareness. She has improved our knowledge. And, she has strengthened our understanding.

“Of what?” one might ask.

It is this: she has enhanced, improved, and strengthened our ability to comprehend more clearly and accurately a range of challenges and opportunities pertaining to U.S. interests and involvement in the Arab region, the Middle East, and the Islamic world.

For that and more, we are in her debt.

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

[Ms. Raghida Dergham’s Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn profiles contain updated links to her latest writings and commentary.]

Read from Raghida Dergham:

 

Despair Is Forbidden. We Must Not Fear.

By Raghida Dergham

الإحباط ممنوع والمهم ألاّ نخاف

 بواسطة راغدة درغام

29th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference Proceedings

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The Next U.S. Presidency:
Implications for the U.S.-Arab Relationship

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference gathers internationally renowned specialists to analyze, discuss, and debate issues of over-arching importance to the American and Arab people’s needs, concerns, interests, and key foreign policy objectives. It is the largest annual gathering in America dedicated to studying, understanding, and promoting the U.S.-Arab relationship.

The 29th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference – The Next U.S. Presidency: Implications for the U.S.-Arab Relationship – was broadcast live online November 17-19, 2020. Audio and video recordings of the program are available below as well as on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

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Dr. John Duke Anthony on “Certainties and Uncertainties Regarding Iran, the Arab Region, and the United States”

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On February 6, 2020, Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke to the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs on the subject “Certainties and Uncertainties Regarding Iran, the Arab Region, and the United States: What are the Implications?” A video recording of the program is available below. A podcast recording of the program is also available below as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

 

 

 

Dr. John Duke Anthony – “Certainties and Uncertainties Regarding Iran, the Arab Region, and the United States: What are the Implications?” podcast (.mp3)

In Memory of Gene Bird

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On December 10, 2010, at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., there was a memorial service commemorating the life of Eugene (“Gene”) Hall Bird. National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony was invited to attend the memorial service and, if possible, contribute a eulogistic note for remembrance.  At the time, however, Dr. Anthony was in Saudi Arabia to attend the 40th Annual GCC Ministerial and Heads of State Summit and, thus, unable to attend the commemoration. He contributed the following for Gene’s family and friends as a remembrance.

But for my being abroad, nothing would have pleased me more than to be with the family and friends of the late Gene Bird at the commemoration of his life and legacy today.  Many loved Gene and he loved them in return.  The emotional connections that ensued were meaningful to both.  In many cases, they enabled each to become someone different and better than they were before.

Eugene ("Gene") H. Bird

Eugene (“Gene”) H. Bird. (Family Photo).

My memories of Gene are numerous and diverse.  All are of warmth and companionship.  These feelings accompanied Gene and those closest to him all his life.  He was a man who raised the bar high.  He often set and manifested standards of physical, political, and, above all, moral courage that few could match and none could surpass.

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Dr. John Duke Anthony Participates in Program on The Green March

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On November 7, 2019, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke at a special program on “Celebrating the 44th Anniversary of the Green March: Understanding the History and the Present Legacy” at The American University Washington College of Law. The event was organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Washington, D.C. The panel discussion was moderated by Professor Elisabeth Myers and also featured former Congressman Jim Moran and author Wafa Faith Hallam.

Dr. John Duke Anthony took part in a panel discussion on “The 44th Anniversary of the Green March: Understanding the History and the Present Legacy” on November 7, 2019, at American University in Washington, D.C.

The Passing of a Knight: A Remembrance of Shafiq Kombargi

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In the field of U.S.-Arab relations and much more, Shafiq Kombargi was an extraordinary individual. He was not just my friend. He was the friend of untold numbers of others. Those who loved and admired the man were countless. His passing brings a moment of great sadness.

Shafiq Kombargi

Numerous specialists in the Arab region and U.S.-Arab affairs never met Shafiq, and some may not even have heard of him. Yet few individuals can match the outsized positive and enduring influence that Shafiq had on so many people’s lives.

The evidence is abundant. Shafiq’s sustained imprint upon innumerable United States-affiliated educational and cross-cultural institutions is massive.

Reaching Out to Others

Shafiq’s contributions were not those of a renowned researcher, scholar, university professor, or publicist. He was none of those. Yet all who labor in one or more of those fields have long been in his debt.

Shafiq’s gifts to Arab-U.S. cooperation and cross-cultural understanding were mostly made indirectly. In various instances, his accomplishments were achieved through and apart from his decades-long career with what was originally known as the Arabian American Oil Company, which in time became Saudi Aramco, and that, to this day, operates a subsidiary entity in the United States known as Aramco Services Company. Indeed, these entities had Shafiq’s back.

Often, Shafiq’s contributions were made from behind the scenes. Reduced to a single word, he was an enabler. Certainly, in addition to the example he set in other areas of endeavor, that’s how he influenced my life; doubtless, others can say the same.

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