On April 24, 2015, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke to CNN about possible peace talk strategies between Yemeni militia and the Houthis.
Delano Roosevelt Joins NCUSAR International Advisory Committee
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS WELCOMES H. DELANO ROOSEVELT TO INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Roosevelt Joins Collective of National Council Advisors Guiding U.S.-Arab Relations Educational Programs
Washington, DC: The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, founded in 1983, is pleased to announce that H. Delano Roosevelt has joined its International Advisory Committee. In announcing the appointment, Council Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony said, “We are delighted that Mr. Roosevelt recognizes the value of the Council’s U.S.-Arab relations leadership development and bridge-building educational efforts. We’re especially pleased that he has agreed to serve on the Council’s International Advisory Committee. Given his decades of serving on the front lines of promoting the U.S. relationship with the Arab world, there’s no question that we will benefit from his guidance and extraordinary insight.” The Council’s International Advisory Committee does not formally govern the organization, but instead makes recommendations and provides strategic support and advice to the Council’s board of directors, and its president and chief executive officer.
(Right to Left) National Council Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony with Council International Advisory Committee Member H. Delano Roosevelt.
Delano Roosevelt is currently the Director of New Business Development for the Reza Investment Group based in Saudi Arabia. He was a co-founder of Friends of Saudi Arabia, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting awareness of Saudi Arabian culture and society, with HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah, a son of the late-King Abdullah. Mr. Roosevelt is also Chairman of the Middle East Council of American Chambers of Commerce, a Member of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain, and a Member of the Executive Board of the American Business Group of the Eastern Province.
Mr. Roosevelt is the grandson of former U.S. First Lady Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whom many regard as having forged the American component of the special Saudi Arabian-U.S. relationship. In this regard, Dr. Anthony remarked that, “Mr. Roosevelt’s becoming a Member of the National Council’s International Advisory Committee marks an especially poignant moment in the history of the relationship between our two countries and peoples. In so doing, he joins his Saudi Arabian counterpart and fellow Committee Member HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa’ud, grandson of the modern-day founder of Saudi Arabia.”
The historic meeting between the two heads of state – these two distinguished Advisory Committee Members’ grandparents – took place aboard the U.S.S. Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal on February 14, 1945. Ever since, the bonds forged between Saudi Arabia and the United States then are regarded as having laid the cornerstone of a relationship that has done far more than benefit the two countries and their respective peoples. Indeed, the relationship is one that has arguably benefitted the entire world and been a source of envy in the eyes of all who would emulate it if but they could.
About the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations: Founded in 1983 and based in Washington, DC, the National Council is an American non-profit, non-governmental, educational organization dedicated to improving American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world. Information about the Council’s program, projects, events, and activities can be found at ncusar.org.
Council Chronicle Vol. 8, No. 2 (2014) Now Available
The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations is pleased to provide the twenty-fifth edition of the Council Chronicle, the Council’s periodic newsletter. The Chronicle seeks to keep the Council’s alumni, donors, and other supporters informed and updated. One among other efforts to do so on an ongoing basis is achieved by presenting highlights and special reports on the Council’s programs, events, and activities. For new readers interested in learning more about the Council’s vision and mission, together with the ways and means it utilizes to pursue both objectives, please visit the Council’s website at ncusar.org.
ACCESS Council Chronicle Vol. 8, No. 2 (.pdf)
 |
 |
 |
2015 National University Model Arab League Pictures
The 2015 National University Model Arab League, held April 10-12 in Washington, DC, brought together over 350 students from 25 universities. Through participation in Model Arab League students learn about the politics and history of the Arab world, and the arts of diplomacy and public speech. Model Arab League helps prepare students to be knowledgeable, well-trained, and effective citizens as well as civic and public affairs leaders.
Some pictures from the conference are available below.
The Consolidation of a New Arab Political Order
Operation Decisive Storm Coalition Forces’ spokesman Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri provides a briefing on developments in the campaign. Photo: Saudi Press Agency.
While the Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm against the Yemeni Houthis and their allies continues and its long-term results are so far unknown, it is not pre-mature to project that a new Arab political order is being consolidated. Its elements include a firm and sustainable commitment to fight extremism and sectarianism, bring order and stability to the heart of the Arab world – namely, Syria and Iraq – and design, chart, and lead an independent course for the protection of pan-Arab national interests.
Such an order has a leader in the collective energies and capabilities of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Saudi Arabia as a first among equals, and essential assistance from such countries as Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco. Indeed, to assure its collective interests, arrive at a hoped-for peaceful stability, and sustain much needed political, economic, and social development, the Arab world must coalesce around a strong political order that can utilize its capacities and permissible international conditions to achieve what it needs and deserves. Importantly, the consolidated new Arab political order appears to emphasize essential principles that require astute judgment, committed resources, and continuous vigilance.
Fighting Extremism and Sectarianism
The status quo states of the new Arab order are cognizant of the threats represented by the plethora of extremist groups operating at the heart of the Arab world. In Yemen, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has staked a claim in Hadramawt Province abutting the Saudi Arabian border after it lost its bases in Shabwa and Abyan to the west. In Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State group has erased the borders between the two countries in a mission to re-establish an imagined and borderless Islamic Caliphate while al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front controls strategic areas of Syria. Both organizations are serious threats to Lebanon and its pluralist political society.
In Libya, the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda affiliated Ansar ash-Shari’a, and a sundry of militias have settled, and promise to both keep the country unstable and use it as a base to spread chaos and mayhem elsewhere. In Tunisia and Egypt, jihadist extremists are waging a war of attrition against state security institutions. The actors of the consolidating Arab political order must know full well that they alone can address this threat in a fashion that combines a sense of shared responsibility for common interests and an attempt at forging an independent course that serves such interests.
Assessing the Iran Nuclear Deal: Issues and Implications
On April 8, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee hosted a public affairs briefing on “Assessing the Iran Nuclear Deal: Issues and Implications” in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.
Featured specialists included: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; H.E. Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Associate Research Scholar, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and former Spokesman for Iran in nuclear negotiations with the European Union; Dr. Thomas Mattair, Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council; Dr. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service; Dr. Imad Harb, Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; and Dr. Paul Sullivan, Senior International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Mr. John Pratt, Member, Board of Directors, and Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, served as moderator.
The program was broadcast live on C-Span and can be viewed in its entirety on the C-Span website.
Upcoming Event: “Assessing the Iran Nuclear Deal” – April 8 in Washington, DC
On April 8, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee are hosting a public affairs briefing on “Assessing the Iran Nuclear Deal: Issues and Implications.” Featured specialists include:
- Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, Member, U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and Subcommittee on Sanctions, and Author,“Strategic Dynamics of Iran-GCC Relations”;
- H.E. Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Associate Research Scholar, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, former Spokesman for Iran in nuclear negotiations with the European Union, and Author, Iran and the United States: An Insider’s View on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace;
- Dr. Thomas Mattair, Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council, and Author, The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa and Global Security Watch – Iran: A Reference Handbook;
- Dr. Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, and Author, CRS Report on “Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses”;
- Dr. Imad Harb, Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and former Senior Researcher in Strategic Studies, Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and
- Dr. Paul Sullivan, Senior International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, Professor of Economics, National Defense University, and Adjunct Senior Fellow for Future Global Resource Threats, Federation of American Scientists.
Mr. John Pratt, Member, Board of Directors, and Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and former Chairman, Middle East Council of the American Chambers of Commerce, will serve as moderator.
DATE & TIME:
April 8, 2015
9:30 – 10:00 a.m. – Coffee & Tea / Networking
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Remarks / Q&A
LOCATION:
Rayburn House Office Building
Gold Room (2168)
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20515
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.
Yemen in Chaos: Analysis, Prognosis, and Prospects
On April 2, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations hosted a public affairs briefing on “Yemen in Chaos: Analysis, Prognosis, and Prospects” in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO of the National Council, served as moderator and H.E. Adel A. Al-Jubeir, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States, delivered featured remarks. Additional featured specialists included: Mr. Jeremy M. Sharp, Specialist in Middle East Affairs for the Congressional Research Service and Author of the CRS Report, “Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations;” Ms. Sama’a Al-Hamdani, Analyst and Writer for Yemeniaty and former Assistant Political Officer for the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Washington, DC; Professor David Des Roches, Senior Military Fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (National Defense University) and Council Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies (Syria); and Mr. Abbas Almosawa, Yemeni Journalist and Analyst, and former Media and Information Advisor for the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in Abu Dhabi and Beirut.
The program was broadcast live on C-Span and can be viewed in its entirety on the C-Span website.
You must be logged in to post a comment.