Category Archives: Policymakers Conference

Gulf Cooperation Council: Role in Regional Dynamics – 2014 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations23rd Annual Arab U.S.-Policymakers Conference included a session on “The Gulf Cooperation Council: Role in Regional Dynamics” that featured Dr. John Duke Anthony, H.E. Dr. Abdullah I. El-Kuwaiz, Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Ambassador (Ret.) Stephen A. Seche, Dr. Abdullah AlShayji, and Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla.

An audio and video recording of the session as well as a link to the transcript are available below. Videos of the entire 2014 conference are available on YouTube and podcasts of the conference are available through iTunes and FeedBurner.

Transcript (.pdf)

Audio (.mp3)

Arab-US Defense Cooperation – 2014 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations23rd Annual Arab U.S.-Policymakers Conference included a session on “Arab-U.S. Defense Cooperation” that featured Mr. Christopher Blanchard, The Honorable Mark T. Kimmitt, Dr. John Duke Anthony, Professor David Des Roches, Dr. Kenneth Katzman, and Dr. Imad Harb.

An audio and video recording of the session as well as a link to the transcript are available below. Videos of the entire 2014 conference are available on YouTube and podcasts of the conference are available through iTunes and FeedBurner.

Transcript (.pdf)

Audio (.mp3)

Keynote Address: HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal – 2014 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations23rd Annual Arab U.S.-Policymakers Conference included a keynote speech from HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal.

An audio and video recording of the speech as well as a link to the transcript are available below. Videos of the entire 2014 conference are available on YouTube and podcasts of the conference are available through iTunes and FeedBurner.

Transcript (.pdf)

Audio (.mp3)

Arab-U.S. Energy Cooperation – 2014 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations23rd Annual Arab U.S.-Policymakers Conference included a session on “Arab-U.S. Energy Cooperation” that featured Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome, Dr. Paul Sullivan, Dr. Anas Alhajji, Mr. Jamie Webster, Dr. Tamara Essayyad, and Dr. Sara Vakhshouri.

An audio and video recording of the session as well as a link to the transcript are available below. Videos of the entire 2014 conference are available on YouTube and podcasts of the conference are available through iTunes and FeedBurner.

Transcript (.pdf)

Audio (.mp3)

The Collapse of Order in the Middle East – 2014 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations23rd Annual Arab U.S.-Policymakers Conference included a presentation on “The Collapse of Order in the Middle East” by Ambassador (Ret.) Chas Freeman, Jr.

An audio and video recording of the speech as well as a link to the transcript are available below. Videos of the entire 2014 conference are available on YouTube and podcasts of the conference are available through iTunes and FeedBurner.

Transcript

Audio (.mp3)

Arab-U.S. Relations: Views from the Media – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS: VIEWS FROM THE MEDIA

Chair:

Dr. Andrew Parasiliti – Editor and CEO, Al-Monitor; former Executive Director, International Institute for Strategic Studies-US and Corresponding Director, IISS-Middle East; former Foreign Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel.

Speakers:

Commodore (Ret.) Abdulateef Al-Mulhim – Columnist, Arab News and Al Yaum; Retired Commodore, Royal Saudi Navy.

Mr. Steven Clemons – Editor-at-Large, The Atlantic; Founder, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation; Publisher, The Washington Note.

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Geo-Political Dynamics: Egypt & Arab North Africa – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS: EGYPT AND ARAB NORTH AFRICA

Chair:

Ms. Elizabeth Wossen – Principal and Lead Consultant, Energy Links Group LLC; former Coordinator, Congressional and Government Relations, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

Speakers:

Dr. Paul Sullivan – Professor of Economics, Eisenhower School, National Defense University; Adjunct Professor, Security Studies, Georgetown University; Columnist, Turkiye Gazetesi, Istanbul, Turkey.

Mr. Karim Haggag – Visiting Professor, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University; former Director, Egyptian Press and Information Office in Washington, DC.

Ms. Alexis Arieff – Analyst on Africa and the Maghreb, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Speakers:

H.E. Ambassador Mohamed M. Tawfik – Ambassador of Egypt to the United States.

Dr. Nejib Ayachi – Founder and President, Maghreb Center.

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U.S.-Arab Business, Finance, and Human Resource Development – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

U.S.-ARAB BUSINESS, FINANCE, AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Chair:

Ambassador Ford Fraker – former Senior Adviser and Chairman for the Middle East and North Africa Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P.; former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Speakers:

Ambassador Patrick Theros – Executive Director, U.S.-Qatar Business Council; former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar.

Mr. Ken Close – Founder and CEO, Quincy International; former Senior Policy Advisor to HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal.

Ms. Nahlah Al-Jubeir – Director, Center for Career Development, Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission; former Deputy Director for Financial and Administrative Affairs, Saudi Health Mission in Washington, DC.

Mr. Nathan Regan – Country Manager for the United States, Bahrain Economic Development Board, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Commentator:

Ambassador Dr. Rene Leon – Economic Growth Consultant, Creative Associates International; former Ambassador of El Salvador to the U.S.

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Keynote Address: Ambassador James Smith – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY AMBASSADOR JAMES SMITH

Introduction of Speaker:

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa’ud – Member, International Advisory Committee, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Honorary President, Website Services and Internet Technology of the Gulf Cooperation Council; former Chairman, Arab Open University Forum.

Speaker:

Ambassador James Smith – Senior Counselor, The Cohen Group; former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

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Geo-Political Dynamics: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, & Iran – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

GEO-POLITICAL DYNAMICS: SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAQ, AND IRAN

Chair:

Dr. John Iskander – Chair, Near East and North Africa Area Studies, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Department of State.

Speakers:

Dr. Trita Parsi – Founder and President, National Iranian American Council; author A Single Roll of the Dice – Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran and Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States.

Dr. Judith Yaphe – Distinguished Research Fellow for the Middle East, Institute for National Strategic Studies; Adjunct Professor in the Elliott School, George Washington University; former senior analyst in the office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis, Directorate of Intelligence, CIA.

Dr. Bassam Haddad – Director, Middle East Studies Program and Assistant Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs, George Mason University; Co-Founder/Editor, Jadaliyya Ezine; Visiting Professor, Georgetown University; author, Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience.

Dr. David Lesch – Professor of Middle East History, Trinity University; author, The Fall of the House of Assad, The Arab – Israeli Conflict: A History, and The New Lion of Damascus: Bashar al-Asad and Modern Syria.

Dr. Michael C. Hudson – Director, Middle East Institute and Professor of Political Science at National University of Singapore; former Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Professor of International Relations, and Seif Ghobash Professor of Arab Studies, Georgetown University.

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The Palestinian Future – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

THE PALESTINIAN FUTURE

Chair:

Dr. Thomas Mattair – Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council; former Research Scholar, Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research; author, The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa and Global Security Watch – Iran: A Reference Handbook.

Speakers:

H.E. Ambassador Maen Areikat – Chief Representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to the United States; former Deputy Head and Coordinator-General of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Mr. Bill Corcoran – President and CEO of ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid); former Vice President, Child Fund International.

Mr. Chris McGrath – Senior Liaison Officer and Acting Head of the Washington Representative Office, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); former Communications Strategist for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Ms. Leila Hilal – Director, Middle East Task Force, New America Foundation; former Senior Policy Adviser to the Commissioner-General of UNRWA.

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Arab-U.S. Relations: A View from the League of Arab States – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY H.E. DR. MOHAMMED ALHUSSAINI ALSHARIF

Speaker:

H.E. Ambassador Dr. Mohammed Alhussaini Alsharif – Chief Representative of the League of Arab States to the United States; former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Canada and Turkey; former Head of the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Houston.

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Gulf Cooperation Council: Role in Regional Dynamics – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL: ROLE IN REGIONAL DYNAMICS

Chair:

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

Speakers:

Mr. Jason Buntin – Director for Europe and Middle East Affairs, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Dr. Abdullah AlShayji – Chairman, Department of Political Science, Kuwait University; author, Kuwait’s Ceaseless Quest for Survival in a Hostile Environment.

Dr. Ken Katzman – Specialist in Middle East Affairs in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Mr. Michael Buonvino – Vice President for Global Development, Hill International.

Ambassador Richard Schmierer – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near East Affairs, U.S. Department of State; former U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman.

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U.S.-Arab Defense Cooperation – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

U.S.-ARAB DEFENSE COOPERATION

Chair:

Mr. Christopher Blanchard – Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Speakers:

Mr. David Des Roches – Associate Professor and Senior Military Fellow, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University; National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies.

Mr. Robert Sharp – Assistant Professor, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University.

Commentators:

Dr. Janet Breslin-Smith – former Professor of National Security Strategy and Chair of the Department of National Security Strategy, National War College.

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Keynote Address: General Lloyd Austin III – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY GENERAL LLOYD AUSTIN III

Speaker:

General Lloyd Austin III – Commander, United States Central Command; former Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army; former Commander, U.S. Forces-Iraq (from September 2010 through completion of mission in December 2011); former Director, Joint Staff, Pentagon.

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Keynote Address: HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY HRH PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL

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.

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U.S.-Arab Energy Cooperation – 2013 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

U.S.-ARAB ENERGY COOPERATION

Chair:

Ms. Randa Fahmy Hudome – President, Fahmy Hudome International; General Counsel, American Egyptian Strategic Alliance; former Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy; Member, Board of Directors, National Council on U.S-Arab Relations.

Speakers:

Dr. Herman Franssen – Executive Director, Energy Intelligence Group; former Senior Associate, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Ms. Sarah Ladislaw – Co-Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Mr. Kevin Book – Co-Founder and Head of Research, ClearView Energy Partners, LLC; Senior Associate, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Member, National Petroleum Council.

Ambassador Thomas Graham – Executive Chairman, Board of Directors, Lightbridge Corporation; Member, International Advisory Board, United Arab Emirates; former U.S. diplomat.

Dr. Shihab Kuran – President, SunEdison Advanced Solutions.

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