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17th Annual
Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference
Transitioning the White House:
Challenges and Opportunities
for Arab-U.S. Relations
October 30 - 31, 2008
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
FOR TRANSCRIPTS:
Each panel is presented in a separate .pdf file.
FOR AUDIO:
Each speaker and each panel Q & A
is presented in a separate .mp3 file.
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DAY 1 | DAY 2
Thursday, October 30, 2008
8:50-9:00: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
 SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
 AUDIO FROM Dr. John Duke Anthony (.mp3)
Dr. John Duke Anthony − President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Adjunct Professor, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Graduate School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and Adjunct Professor, Defense Institute for Security Assistance Management; author of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum; The Middle East: Oil, Politics, and Development; Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia, and The United Arab Emirates: Dynamics of State Formation, in addition to numerous articles and essays on the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf States, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the six GCC countries.
Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, USN, Ret.) − Chairman, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; President, Board of Trustees of Physicians for Peace; Director, American-Bahraini Friendship Society; former Commander, U.S. Middle East Force; and Director Emeritus, National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Representative − Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, General Services Administration, National Capital Region
9:00-9:30: "REVISITING ARAB-U.S. STRATEGIC RELATIONS: AN OVERVIEW AND PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM General Wesley Clark (USA, Ret.) (.mp3)
General Wesley Clark (USA, Ret.) − Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; author, A Time to Lead, Waging Modern War, and Winning Modern Wars; candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States [2004].
9:30-10:30: "GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS (I): LEBANON AND SYRIA"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable Edward W. Gnehm, Jr. (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM H.E. Dr. Imad Moustapha (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Bassam Haddad (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Daoud Khairallah, Esq. (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Chair: The Honorable Edward W. Gnehm, Jr. – Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs, Elliot School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; former United States Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; former United States Ambassador to Australia; former director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Personnel for the Department of State; 36-year career in the United States Foreign Service.
Speakers: H.E. Dr. Imad Moustapha − Ambassador of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United States
Dr. Bassam Haddad −Director, Middle East Studies Program and Assistant Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Dr. Daoud Khairallah, Esq. −Adjunct Professor of International Law at Georgetown University Law Center and the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.
10:30-11:00: "ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS IN TRANSITION"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable Ford Fraker (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable Walter Cutler (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable Wyche Fowler (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable Robert Jordan (.mp3)
The Honorable Ford Fraker
The Honorable Walter Cutler
The Honorable Wyche Fowler
The Honorable Robert Jordan
11:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon: "GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS (II): ISRAEL AND PALESTINE"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Peter Gubser (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Nadia Hijab (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. Daniel Levy (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Naseer Aruri (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Chair: Dr. Peter Gubser − Immediate Past President, American Near East Refugee Aid, Inc [ANERA]; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Speakers: Dr. Nadia Hijab − Senior Fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Palestine Studies. Author, Womanpower: The Arab Debate on Women at Work and co-author Citizens Apart: A Portrait of Palestinians in Israel. She was Editor-in-Chief of the London-based Middle East magazine before moving to New York in 1989 to join the United Nations. Since 1999, she has worked as an independent consultant for international organizations on human rights, human development, gender, and the media.
Mr. Daniel Levy − Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation and a Senior Fellow and Director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation.
Dr. Naseer Aruri − Chancellor Professor (Emeritus) of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; author of numerous books and articles on the Arab-Israeli conflict; President of the Board, Trans-Arab Research Institute; Member, Executive Committee, Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine.
12:00 – 12:30 p.m.: NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY
Because of the richness of our program, the large number of conference registrants, and the remarkable diversity of backgrounds and interests represented among the participants, this time is set aside for networking and personal conversations.
12:30-2:00: LUNCHEON AND KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Sponsored by the U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable Dina Habib Powell (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM The Honorable David Bohigian (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Welcome and Brief Remarks: The Honorable Dina Habib Powell − Global Head of Corporate Engagement, Goldman Sachs; former Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Deputy Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State; former Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel, White House.
Speaker: H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi − Minister for Foreign Trade, United Arab Emirates
H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al-Qasimi headed the UAE's Ministry of Economy during one of the country's most economically prosperous periods. Additionally, Sheikha Lubna's appointment in November 2004 to manage what was then the UAE’s newly merged economy and planning portfolio was a historic event for the UAE as she became the first woman ever in the country to assume a cabinet position. Sheikha Lubna was also appointed Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the UAE's Securities & Commodities Authority, serving from 2004 until 2008. Following her tenure as Minister of Economy, Sheikha Lubna was appointed in February 2008 to another highly sensitive post as Minister for Foreign Trade.
Commentator: The Honorable David Bohigian − Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance, International Trade Administration, United States Department of Commerce; Department of Commerce representative on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
2:00-3:30: "GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS (III): IRAN AND IRAQ"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft (USAF, Ret.) (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM General Joseph P. Hoar (USMC, Ret.) (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. Wayne White (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Kenneth Katzman (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Chair: Dr. John Duke Anthony − President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Speakers: Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft (USAF, Ret.) − President and Founder of The Scowcroft Group; former National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush; concluded a twenty-nine year military career that began with graduation from West Point at the rank of Air Force Lieutenant General serving as Deputy National Security Advisor; former Director, Kissinger Associates.
General Joseph P. Hoar (USMC, Ret.) − former Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command, with responsibility for planning and operations for twenty-seven (27) countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Following his retirement from the military, General Hoar formed the consulting firm of J.P. Hoar & Associates, which is engaged in business development in the Middle East and Africa.
Mr. Wayne White − Adjunct Scholar, Middle East Institute and Policy Expert, Middle East Policy Council; former Deputy Director of the Near East and South Asia Office, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State.
Dr. Kenneth Katzman − Senior Middle East Affairs Specialist, Congressional Research Service, United States Congress. Author of numerous and regularly updated briefing reports for Members of the United States Congress on Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the GCC region.
3:30-5:15: "ENERGY"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM Ms. Karen Harbert (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Ms. Nabilah Al-Tunisi (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. Ryan M. Lance (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. James Burkhard (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. Jay R. Pryor (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Chair: Ms. Karen Harbert − Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; former Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy.
Speakers: Ms. Nabilah Al-Tunisi − Director of the Saudi Aramco-Dow Chemical joint venture project to build one of the largest hydrocarbon and chemical complexes in the world near the R’as Tanura Refinery in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Ryan M. Lance − President, Exploration and Production – Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, for ConocoPhillips. He serves on the boards of both the American Petroleum Institute and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, is an advisory board member of Montana Tech and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Mr. Alan J. Kelly – President, ExxonMobil Lubricants & Specialties Company and Vice President ExxonMobil Corporation. In March 2006, Alan was selected to become the Project Director of the National Petroleum Council's Global Oil and Gas Study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Substituting for Mr. Kelly is: Mr. James Burkhard − Managing Director, Cambridge Energy Research Associates [CERA], Global Oil Group; leads the team of CERA experts focused on exploration and production strategy, upstream technology, and short- and long-term analysis of crude oil and refined products markets; coauthor of CERA’s World Oil Watch, which analyzes short- to medium-term developments in the oil market.
Mr. Jay R. Pryor - Vice-President for Corporate Business Development, Chevron Corporation. Mr. Pryor is responsible for identifying and developing new, large-scale business opportunities throughout the world. He assumed his current position in 2006 but began his career with Chevron in 1979. Since that time he has held a succession of management positions with increasing responsibilities in Asia, the United States, Europe and the former Soviet Union.
5:15-6:15: RECEPTION: THE ATRIUM HALL, RONALD REAGAN BUILDING
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. RECEPTION* HOSTED BY H.E. HOUDA EZRA NONOO − Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States, at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, 3502 International Drive, NW, Washington, D.C.
Friday, October 31, 2008
9:00-9:30: "FOUNDATIONS FOR CHANGE IN THE ARAB WORLD: A WOMAN'S PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM Ms. Muna Abu Sulayman (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Ms. Muna Abu Sulayman − Co-Host Kalam Nawaem ("Softly Speaking"), Middle East Broadcasting Corporation [MBC-TV]; Managing Director, HRH Prince Awaleed Bin Talal Kingdom Foundation
9:30-10:45: "DEFENSE COOPERATION"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM PANEL INTRODUCTION (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Dr. Anthony H. Cordesman (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. Christopher Blanchard (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. Jeffrey C. McCray (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Ambassador Barbara Bodine (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Chair: Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, (USN, Ret.) − Chairman, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; President, Board of Trustees of Physicians for Peace; Director, American-Bahraini Friendship Society; former Commander, U.S. Middle East Force; and Director Emeritus, National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce.
Speakers: Dr. Anthony H. Cordesman − Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Adjunct Professor in National Security Affairs, Georgetown University; former senior adviser and consultant to the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, State; former National Security Adviser for U.S. Senator and Republican Party Presidential Nominee John McCain; Senior Adviser and Consultant to ABC Television; and the author of numerous books, monographs, and articles on Iran and Iraq, the Arab-Israeli Military Balance, and U.S. national security, defense, and related interests in the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world.
DR. CORDESMAN'S FULL POWERPOINT PRESENTATION (.ppt)
Mr. Christopher Blanchard −Middle East Policy Analyst, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, United States Congress. Mr. Blanchard has authored or co-authored 13 CRS reports for the Congress, including products on the Gulf Security Dialogue and related U.S. arms sales, U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and regional perspectives on the Iraq conflict.
Mr. Jeffrey C. McCray − Vice President, International Marketing, BAE SYSTEMS. BAE Systems is a major defense contractor, representing the merger of British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, engaged in the development, delivery, and support of advanced defense and aerospace systems. Mr. McCray has 20 years of experience in the defense field working with both US and UK companies. He is responsible for BAE Systems, Inc. marketing activities in Central Europe and the Middle East. For much of this time he has focused on the Middle East, including a three year tour based in Abu Dhabi.
Ambassador Barbara Bodine − Director of the “Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative” and a Diplomat-in-Residence at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Ms. Bodine’s over 30 years in the US Foreign Service were spent primarily on Arabian Peninsula and great Persian Gulf issues, specifically US bilateral and regional policy, strategic security issues, counterterrorism, and governance and reform.
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: "DEVELOPMENTAL AND EDUCATIONAL DYNAMICS"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM H.E. Marwan Muasher (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM H.E. Houda Ezra Nonoo (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Mr. David D. Arnold (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM Ms. Muna Abu Sulayman (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Chair: H.E. Marwan Muasher, Senior Vice-President of External Affairs, World Bank; former Foreign Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; former Ambassador of Jordan to the United States; author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation
Speakers:
Educating Each Other (I): “Arabia’s Challenges and Opportunities”
HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal − Chairman, King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the Court of St. James and the United States of America; former Director General, General Intelligence Directorate, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Educating Each Other (II): “The Human Rights Agenda”
H.E. Houda Ezra Nonoo − Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States. In 2006, Ambassador Nonoo was appointed by His Majesty the King, Shaikh Hamad Bin Salman Al Khalifa to the Shura Council; serving on the Committee for Finance and Economic Affairs.
Educating Each Other (III): “Preparing a New Generation of Leaders”
Mr. David D. Arnold − President, American University in Cairo; former Vice President, Institute of International Education (IIE); former Ford Foundation Representative in India.
Commentator: Ms. Muna Abu Sulayman − Co-Host Kalam Nawaem (“Softly Speaking”), MBC-TV; Managing Director, HRH Prince Awaleed Bin Talal Kingdom Foundation
12:30-1:30: LUNCHEON
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM H.E. Ali Suleiman Aujali (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM PANEL Q & A (.mp3)
Speaker: Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. − President, Middle East Policy Council; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1993-94), earning the highest public service awards of the Department of Defense for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China. He also served as U. S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm) and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the U.S. mediation of Namibian independence from South Africa and Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola.
Remarks by: H.E. Ali Suleiman Aujali – Chargé d’Affaires, People’s Bureau of the Great Socialist Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; former Chargé d’Affaires Libyan People’s Bureau in Ottawa, Canada; former Libyan ambassador to Malaysia, Argentina, and Brazil.
“An Update on Libyan-U.S. Relations – The Process of Renewal”
1:30-3:00: "U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2008: VIEWS FROM THE ARAB WORLD"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
AUDIO FROM THE PANEL - part 1 (.mp3)
AUDIO FROM THE PANEL - part 2 (.mp3)
Chair: Dr. Abderrahim Foukara − Washington Bureau Chief, Al-Jazeerah International and former longtime BBC Correspondent
Speakers: Washington-based correspondents from the Arab press and analysts covering the Arab world
Mr. Hisham Melhem − Washington-based correspondent for Annahar, the leading Lebanese daily, Al-Qabas, the Kuwaiti daily, and Radio Monte Carlo in France. He is currently the host of "Across the Ocean", a weekly talk show for Al-Arabiya.
Ms. Dalia Mogahed − Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, a nonpartisan research center dedicated to providing data-driven analysis on the views of Muslim populations around the world. With John L. Esposito, Ph.D., she is coauthor of the book Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Billion Muslims Really Think.
Mr. Mohamed Elmenshawy – Editor-in-Chief of Taqrir Washington. Before joining Taqrir Washington, Elmenshawy worked as the managing editor for Global Issues, an Arabic-language bimonthly publication. He also served as a Washington correspondent for the daily pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Alawsat where he covered the White House, the State Department, and Congress.
3:00-3:30: "ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS: The Way Forward - Views From the Arab World"
SESSION TRANSCRIPT (.pdf)
H.E. Dr. Hussein Hassouna − Ambassador of the League of Arab States to the United States of America; former Assistant Foreign Minister of Egypt; former Ambassador of Egypt to Morocco and Yugoslavia; Member, United Nations International Law Commission.
3:30: CONCLUDING REMARKS AND ADJOURNMENT
Dr. John Duke Anthony – President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations |
