Evaluating the Impact of President Biden’s Visit to the Middle East

On July 22, 2022, the National Council convened an online briefing program on “Evaluating the Impact of President Biden’s Visit to the Middle East.” It included Saudi Arabian and U.S. analysts, scholars, and former diplomats who reflected on the recent visit of U.S. President Joe Biden to Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Saudi Arabia.

 

 

Joining the program were:

Context Provider:

  • Dr. John Duke Anthony, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO; Author, inter alia, of Arab States of The Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum.

Featured Specialists:

  • Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Gulf Research Center Founder and Chairman, and National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Advisory Board Member.
  • Mr. David H. Rundell, Author of Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads, Former United States Diplomat, and National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Advisory Board Member.
  • Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Gfoeller, Former United States Diplomat, and Consultant on Foreign Affairs and International Security.

Moderator:

  • Colonel (Ret.) Abbas K. Dahouk, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Board of Directors Member; Former U.S. Department of State Senior Military Advisor; Former U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia Defense and Army Attache; HyphenPoint LLC President.

Audio and video recordings of the program are available above and below, and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

“Evaluating the Impact of President Biden’s Visit to the Middle East” podcast (.mp3)

National Council Administers Summer Arab-U.S. Relations Student Educational and Career Development Program

Washington, D.C., U.S.A.: The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ (“National Council” or “Council”) Annual 10-week University Student Summer Internship Program is successfully underway for 2022. It includes professional development opportunities, an academic seminar on the Arab region, and visits to central policymaking institutions in Washington, D.C. The program has resumed its in-person meetings and visits this summer after being administered exclusively online for the past two years. Serving as the lead lecturer and resource specialist for the program is the Council’s Founding President and CEO, Dr. John Duke Anthony.

Students gathered together at George Washington University with National Council President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony

Participants in the National Council’s 2022 University Student Summer Internship Program together with Council Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony (center front) following a lecture at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. In addition to professional development opportunities, the program includes an academic seminar heavily focused on Arabia and the Gulf as well as visits to a variety of Washington, D.C., institutions with international portfolios.

Twenty-one students and young professionals from as many schools across the United States are taking part in the National Council’s Summer Internship Program. Their backgrounds and areas of study are diverse, representing majors and minors from Mechanical Engineering to Political Science to Economics, Marketing, International Relations, and beyond. Four of the participants are alumni of the Council’s Youth Leadership Development Program / Model Arab League. Council Student Programs Coordinator Katie Grandelli is herself an alumna of that educational activity.

Throughout his presentations, Dr. Anthony has placed a special emphasis on empathy with the Arab and Islamic countries and peoples analyzed and examined. He has simultaneously stressed the need for the development of leadership skills that are vital to success in whatever path the students’ futures take.

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President Biden’s Visit to Saudi Arabia: Implications and Opportunities

On June 24, 2022, the National Council convened an online briefing program “President Biden’s Upcoming Visit to Saudi Arabia: Implications and Opportunities for the U.S.-Saudi Arabia Relationship.” Specialists with decades of experience navigating day-to-day aspects of the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship discussed dynamics affecting the various parties ahead of the trip.

 

 

Joining the program were:

Context Provider:

  • Dr. John Duke Anthony, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO; Author, inter alia, of Arab States of The Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum.

Featured Specialists:

  • Mr. David H. Rundell, Author of Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads, Former United States Diplomat, and National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Advisory Board Member.
  • Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Gfoeller, Former United States Diplomat, and Consultant on Foreign Affairs and International Security.

Moderator:

  • Colonel (Ret.) Abbas K. Dahouk, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Board of Directors Member; Former U.S. Department of State Senior Military Advisor; Former U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia Defense and Army Attache; HyphenPoint LLC President.

Audio and video recordings of the program are available above and below, and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

“President Biden’s Visit to Saudi Arabia: Implications and Opportunities” podcast (.mp3)

Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations Spring 2022 “NEWSLINES”

Cover of the Spring 2022 NEWSLINES newsletterThe Carolinas Committee on U.S.-Arab Relations (CCUSAR), with Dr. Joe P. Dunn serving as Director, is an initiative of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Dr. Dunn is an alumnus of the Council’s Malone Fellowship in Arab and Islamic Studies Program, the coordinator of the Southeast Model Arab League conference, and the faculty advisor heading the Converse College Youth Leadership Development / Model Arab League program.

CCUSAR recently published its Spring 2022 “NEWSLINES” newsletter, available for download through the link below.

The issue features:

DOWNLOAD “CCUSAR NEWSLINES (Spring 2022)” [PDF]

Destination Oman: Heritage, Culture, Adventure

On March 17, 2022, the National Council convened an online briefing program “Destination Oman: Heritage, Culture, Adventure”—a virtual visit to the Sultanate of Oman, the “Jewel of Arabia.”

 

 

Joining the program were:

Context Provider:

  • Dr. John Duke Anthony, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO; Author, inter alia, of Historical and Cultural Dictionary of The Sultanate of Oman and The Emirates of Eastern Arabia and Arab States of The Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum.

Opening Remarks:

  • H.E. Moosa Hamdan Al Tai, Sultanate of Oman Ambassador to the United States.

Featured Specialists:

  • Professor Linda Pappas Funsch, Author of Oman Reborn: Balancing Tradition and Modernization; Former Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Research Fellow; National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Malone Fellow and International Advisory Board Member.
  • Mr. Badar Al Yazeedi, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Cultural Affairs Fellow; Panorama Travels CEO; Oman Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee Member; Oman Tourism Awards Jury Member.

Audio and video recordings of the program are available above and below, and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

“Destination Oman: Heritage, Culture, Adventure” podcast (.mp3)

Can Lebanon Be Saved?

On March 10, 2022, the National Council convened an online program, “Can Lebanon Be Saved?”, exploring a recent policy brief from the American Task Force on Lebanon and the Middle East Institute, Helping the Lebanese People Move Toward Recovery: Recommendations for U.S. Policy.

 

 

Joining the program were:

Welcome:

  • Mr. Patrick Mancino, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Executive Vice President and Director of Development.

Featured Specialists:

  • Ambassador (Ret.) Edward Gabriel, American Task Force on Lebanon President and CEO; Former United States Ambassador to Morocco (1997-2001).
  • Ms. Mona Yacoubian, United States Institute of Peace Senior Advisor for Syria, the Middle East, and North Africa; Former United States Agency for International Development Middle East Bureau Deputy Assistant Administrator.

Moderator:

  • Mr. Jean AbiNader, American Task Force on Lebanon Vice President for Policy; International Programs and Communications Specialist.

Audio and video recordings of the program are available above and below, and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

“Can Lebanon Be Saved?” podcast (.mp3)

An Emerging Axis: Strategic Trends Between Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China

On February 24, 2022, the National Council convened an online program exploring “An Emerging Axis: Strategic Trends Between Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China, and What it Means for the Middle East.”

 

 

Joining the program were:

Context Provider:

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

Featured Specialists:

  • Mr. David H. Rundell, Author of Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads, Former United States Diplomat, and National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Advisory Board Member.
  • Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Gfoeller, Former United States Diplomat, and Consultant on Foreign Affairs and International Security.

Audio and video recordings of the program are available above and below, and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere.

“An Emerging Axis: Strategic Trends Between Saudi Arabia, Russia, and China, and What it Means for the Middle East” podcast (.mp3)

Cutting Edge Trends and Indications: Raghida Dergham’s Perspective

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 (201820192020, 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 TwitterFacebook, 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