NCUSAR Model Arab League Student Leaders Prepare to Travel to Saudi Arabia

Posted on December 6, 2012 by NCUSAR

Later in December the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations will escort a delegation of student leaders from the Council’s Model Arab League program on a cultural immersion study visit to Saudi Arabia. The visit will provide the young American leaders a hands-on experience in the Arab world that few others their age have had.

2012 Capital Area Regional Model Arab League

Posted on November 29, 2012 by NCUSAR

The National Council’s 2012 Capital Area Regional Model Arab League took place November 10-11 at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Over one hundred students from twelve schools took part in the conference where they learned about the politics and history of the Arab world, and the arts of diplomacy and public speech. The Opening Session of the conference featured H.E. Mohamed M. Tawfik, Ambassador of Egypt to the United States, as keynote speaker.

Students interested in learning more and participating in Model Arab League should visit ncusar.org/modelarableague.

2011-12 Model Arab League Youth Leadership Development Program

Posted on November 27, 2012 by NCUSAR

2011-2012 marked the 29th year of the National Council’s flagship Arab-U.S. Student Leadership Development Program, the Model Arab League (MAL). The Models are similar in organization and format to the older and more widely recognized Model United Nations, with its 193 members. An important difference between the two is that the MAL focuses only on the 22 member countries that comprise the League of Arab States. Established in February 1945, and thereby pre-dating the founding of the United Nations, the Arab League is the world’s oldest regional political organization dedicated to, among other things, the diplomatic and peaceful settlement of disputes.

Student delegates from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, VA, with faculty advisor Mr. Michael Rauer, display their award certificates after the National High School Model Arab League.

The Models provide primarily American but also Arab and other international students’ opportunities to develop invaluable leadership skills. In few if any other ways do the student participants have a comparable chance to work with their fellows for common goals and shared interests. We know of no other opportunity that allows emerging leaders to learn firsthand what it is like to put themselves in the shoes of real-life Arab diplomats and other foreign affairs practitioners. In the process, the students come to realize unavoidably and inevitably how different these international relations realities are in comparison to what they previously thought and wrongly assumed to be true based on what they had read and “learned” or not read, “not learned” and therefore not known before.

Students vote on a resolution in the Political Affairs Council at the Atlanta High School Model.

Grappling with the international challenges of representing the needs, concerns, interests, and foreign policy objectives of a government other than their own, and especially that of an Arab country, has obvious merit in and of itself. In the process, students not only deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Arab world and its peoples. In addition, they develop and practice useful analytical, organizational, writing, editing, and public speaking skills. In so doing they strengthen their ability to engage in the art of reasoned argument and spirited debate. In the process, they have an unparalleled opportunity to hone and refine leadership attributes that for many are often unavailable or otherwise difficult to acquire in the course of reading a book, viewing films, videos or television, listening to a specialist, participating in academic classes, attending briefings, or accessing blogs and the Internet.

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NCUSAR Student Study Visit to Saudi Arabia, Winter 2012

Posted on November 20, 2012 by NCUSAR

The National Council, in partnership with the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM) and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), organized and escorted a delegation of ten Model Arab League students on a cultural immersion study visit to Saudi Arabia, December 27, 2011 to January 9, 2012. The visit provided the young American leaders a hands-on experience in the Arab world that few others their age have had.

The National Council’s university student study visit to Saudi Arabia provided the young American leaders — each one an alumnus of the Council’s Model Arab League Program and shown here enjoying Arabic coffee and dates — a hands-on experience in the Arab world that many may have dreamed of but few others their age have had.

In the 2010-2011 academic year, nearly 28,000 Saudi Arabian students, forty percent of them females, were enrolled in American universities across the United States. Accompanying them were more than 40,000 spouses and dependents. In marked contrast, fewer than fifty American students in U.S. institutions of higher education were among those privileged over the same period of time in having a firsthand university level educational experience in Saudi Arabia.

In an effort to help narrow this “knowledge and understanding gap,” the National Council has partnered with the SACM and the MOHE. The goal: to provide an empirical educational introduction to the kingdom’s culture and society for a select group of American students who have performed exceptionally well in the Council’s Model Arab League student leadership development program. During the course of the visit, the students met Saudi Arabian educators, business representatives, civil society leaders, and American diplomats in addition to visiting numerous sites of cultural, developmental, and historical interest.

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Listen to the 2012 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Posted on November 8, 2012 by NCUSAR

Complete audio recordings from the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 2012 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference, “Arab-U.S. Relations Amidst Transition within Constancy: Implications for American and Arab Interests and Policies,” are now available from the Council. Listen to and download each session below, or visit the National Council’s podcast feed through iTunes to access recordings from the conference as well previous Council programs.

Change Without Progress in the Middle East

With Ambassador (Ret.) Chas Freeman.
The Unprecedented Emergence of the Aviation Sector in the GCC

With Mr. Akbar Al Baker.
Defense Cooperation Dynamics: Enhancing Regional Security

With VADM Robert Harward, The Honorable Molly Williamson, Dr. Anthony Cordesman, Mr. David Des Roches, and Mr. Robert Sharp.
Keynote Address by HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal

With HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal.
Energy: Policymaking Dynamics of Sources, Supply, and Security

With H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, Mr. James LeJeune, Mr. John Hofmeister, and Mr. Frank Verrastro.
Policymaking Considerations Regarding Regional Geo-Political Dynamics: Iraq and Syria

With Dr. John L. Iskander, Ms. Mona Yacoubian, Dr. Abdullah Alshammari, Dr. Judith Yaphe, Dr. David Lesch, Professor Paul Sullivan, and Ambassador (Ret.) Theodore Kattouf.
Policymaking Concerns Related To Regional Geo-Political Dynamics: Arab North Africa

With H.E. Ambassador Ali Aujali, Mr. Christopher Blanchard, Ms. Alexis Arieff, Professor Paul Sullivan, Mr. Karim Haggag, Dr. David Ottaway, and Dr. Néjib Ayachi.
Saudi Arabian – U.S. Relations: A View from Riyadh

With Ambassador James Smith.
Arab-U.S. Relations: A View from the League of Arab States

With H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohammed Alhussaini Alsharif.
Policy Challenges Pertaining To Regional Geo-Political Dynamics: The Palestinian Future

With Ms. Alison Weir, Dr. Sara Roy, Dr. Tamara Sonn, Mr. Jeff Steinberg, and Mr. Mark Perry.
Policymaking Opportunities and Lessons Learned From Regional Geo-Political Dynamics: The Arabian Peninsula (GCC Countries and Yemen)

With Dr. John Duke Anthony, Dr. Abdel Aziz Abu Hamad Aluwaisheg, Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, and Dr. Abdullah K. Al-Shayji.
Egyptian-U.S. Relations: A View from Cairo

With H.E. Ambassador Mohamed M. Tawfik.
Arab-U.S. Economic Relations: A View from Washington

With The Honorable Jose W. Fernandez.
Policymaking Opportunities in Business, Finance, and Human Resource Development

With Ms. Elizabeth Wossen, Mr. Khush Choksy, Dr. Mody AlKhalaf, Ambassador (Ret.) Ford Fraker, Mr. Hisham Fahmy, and Mr. Ken Close.
American and Arab Policy Successes and Shortcomings Regarding the Regional Geo-Political Dynamics of Iran

With Dr. Thomas Mattair, Dr. Kenneth Katzman, Dr. Trita Parsi, Mr. Alireza Nader, and Ms. Hillary Mann Leverett.
Arab-U.S. Relations: Views from the Arab Media

With Ms. Barbara Ferguson, Mr. Jamal Khashoggi, and Ms. Nadia Bilbassy.

Visit the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations on iTunes.

Keynote Address by HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal at the 2012 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Posted on November 6, 2012 by NCUSAR

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal delivered a keynote address at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 21st Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference. He was introduced by Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO of the National Council. The conference, on the theme “Arab-U.S. Relations Amidst Transition within Constancy: Implications for American and Arab Interests and Policies,” was held October 25-26, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, DC.

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

Speaker:
HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal – 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.

For more information visit the Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference homepage.

My Relationship with the Arab World

Posted on November 1, 2012 by John Mulholland

By John Mulholland

By whatever genetic twist that has been in play, I have always been interested in other people’s cultures, countries, languages, and histories. At age ten a teacher remarked, “that’s as far away as Yemen.” I flattered myself that I knew every country on the globe but this was one I had obviously missed. I ran to the Atlas to fill the void. Although I found Yemen and its nearby countries of interest, I could hardly have imagined that, thirteen years later, I would dedicate most of my adult life to the Arab world and various aspects of the Arab-U.S. relationship.

Mr. John Mulholland, Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations

At the age of seventeen, I was fortunate to spend over a year traveling around Mexico and Central America. The experience inspired me, for the first time, to learn a language and assimilate a culture. I joined the Army at eighteen years of age and was stationed in Livorno, Italy. At the time, I was a fanatical bicycle rider trying hard to be the first Lance Armstrong. After my Army stint I remained in Italy to race but finally realized, sadly, that I was not built to be a first rate professional rider. Even so, I gained another language and knowledge of another culture.

By chance, the headquarters for Middle East operations of the US Army Corps of Engineers was located at the Army base where I had served in Italy. They offered me a position in their Jeddah office running their high frequency communications. By then I had read everything I could find by the great mid-twentieth century traveler and explorer in the Arab world, Wilfred Thesiger, who stoked my romantic interest. I also read everything else I could find on the region. I already knew the general geography, a little history of Saudi Arabia and the Arab-Israeli conflict, but none of this prepared me for Beirut, where I landed in October, 1968 during what in retrospect was viewed by many as the city’s golden age in the modern era. Nothing could have prepared me for the kaleidoscope of cultures, cuisines, and languages I found there, all picture postcard framed by the Mediterranean Sea in front and the terraced mountains behind. I said to myself, “If this is the Middle East, I’ll take it.”

Only a few days later I landed in Riyadh. If Beirut was filled with Western influences that I was familiar with, Riyadh was different. I was hardly put off, I was ecstatic. Now, after Latin America and Italy, I felt prepared to tackle another culture and language. I quickly found a superb classical Arabic teacher who within a month had taught me to write, basic grammar, and the beginnings of Gulf dialect. In those days, Riyadh was still a city constructed mainly of mud brick dwellings, with a road into the desert to the airport lined by Egyptian-built ministerial offices. On weekends and holidays, I used every spare minute to explore Riyadh, the central province of Najd, and also the Eastern Province, center of the country’s massive energy reserves.

All too soon, I was moved to my permanent assignment in Jeddah. Even though Riyadh was the capital of the kingdom, all the embassies and most of the foreign companies were in Jeddah. (The Corps of Engineers was the first foreign concern allowed to be established in Riyadh). In Jeddah I was fortunate to find an office of only five people and was able to avoid having to live in a corporate compound. If Americans or any other foreigners wanted a social life, they had to go out and make it. I soon found that Jeddah offered incredible opportunities. Many of our government’s best diplomats and Arabists served in the US Embassy in Jeddah in the 1960s and 70s. People like Hermann Eilts, Ray Close, Charles Cecil, Bill Stoltfuz, and, to my mind and many others, the most remarkable of them all, Hume Horan, who would become a lifelong friend and mentor, were stationed there.

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‘HOW’ Questions for the 2012 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Posted on October 24, 2012 by John Duke Anthony

October 25-26, 2012

Before the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations launched its first Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers conference in 1991, we asked numerous American policymakers a single question:

“What bedevils you the most in your tasks to recommend effective policies?”

The answers differed only slightly from one person to the next. A common theme running through all the responses was, and I paraphrase, the following. The “W” questions are ones that policymakers deal with all the time. In and of themselves, they are difficult enough. They include the following:

“What” needs to be done;
“When” does it need to be done;
“Why” does it need to be done;
“Where” will we likely be if we do this or if we do not;
“Who” needs to do what; and, sometimes even,
“Whether” something needs to be done.

But the most difficult questions of all, the ones policymakers inform us they find most vexing, are “How” questions, for these, unlike most of the others, cannot be answered with a yes or no. Rather, the answer to each comes with a cost.

Background, Context, and Perspective

Sometimes the cost is political, as when leaders of an administration’s political party or a government’s most important advisers or constituents are certain to put their foot down and say no.
Sometimes the cost is financial, as when it is pointed out that there are no funds allocated, authorized, or appropriated for that which is recommended.
Sometimes, as for examples in rejecting the requests of senior armed forces officers in the field for the mobilization and deployment of more troops, the cost lies in having to admit that the requisite competent human resources to implement a policy recommendation simply do not exist.
Sometimes, as for example in countering Improvise Explosive Devices used against U.S. and Allied forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, the cost is one of technology, equipment, and/or structures or systems that do not exist or, if they do, would have to be transferred from where they are to where they are needed more at what, arguably, would be a prohibitively high cost in terms of time, effort, and money.
Sometimes the cost is in credibility, as when an administration or government is on record as being strongly opposed to exactly what someone has just recommended as a solution or a palliative.
Sometimes, as for example in the case of Immediate Past President George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, a country that had not attacked the United States, the cost is moral in the sense that it clearly violates the Golden Rule of Do not do to others what you would not have others do to you.
Sometimes, as for example in the aftermath of one of the recent presidential debates between President Barack Obama and his Challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the cost could be a sharp downturn in the public approval rating of a president, premier, or head of state.
Sometimes the cost might be a definite setback to the country’s image and the degree of trust and confidence it seeks to cultivate and maintain among its allies.

A Public Service as Well as Food for Thought

With this as background, context, and perspective, there follows a series of questions relating to contemporary Arab-U.S. relations with which policymakers on one side or another, and sometimes both sides, grapple daily. They are provided in the spirit of a public service not only to the policymakers entrusted to improve Arab-U.S. relations and not make them worse. They are also offered as food for thought for intellectuals, scholars, teachers, students, analysts, investment strategists, and specialists in public policy research institutes in addition to many others eager to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the state of play in Arab-U.S. relations.