On April 13, 2011, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke to members and guests of the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs (bcfausa.org) on “Analyzing Transformational Change in the Arab World.”
Dr. John Duke Anthony – Analyzing Transformational Change in the Arab World (.mp3)
Video and audio recordings courtesy of the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs.
U.S. EMBASSY DOHA, QATAR
Less than two months ago, at the Forum for the Future in Doha, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton challenged the region’s political leaders, civil society, and the business community to move beyond slogans. She called for “a real vision for [the region’s] future that comes from each of you, from governments that must deliver on their promises, from civil society and business leaders who must build their people up, and, of course, from the people themselves.”
In Qatar, we see the fruits of success that naturally grow out of a dedication by Qatar’s leadership to build a solid future for Qatar, one based on educating the people, combating corruption, enabling the open debate of ideas, and giving citizens a voice in the affairs of the country.
The United States government commends His Highness for moving forward on implementing the elections outlined in Qatar’s Constitution. We applaud the recent announcement by His Excellency the Prime Minister on elections for the Consultative (Shura) Council. These elections will be a major step forward for Qatar, and they will help make Qatar a regional model for giving citizens an effective voice in governance at the national level. For matters and issues at the local level, the municipal council elections this May will be a key opportunity for citizens to be heard.
The United States similarly welcomes the reports of progress on legislation for the media and the registration of associations, societies, and non-governmental organizations. Such progress will strengthen Qatar’s civil society. It will help promote transparency and accountability.
His Highness the Amir and his government know that resource wealth can be squandered, it can even destabilize a country, unless a country’s citizens understand, debate, and participate in the fundamental decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their children. Secretary Clinton noted that the citizens of the Middle East “are demanding reform to make their governments more effective, more responsive, and more open.” Qatar’s leaders need no convincing on this account, and they have been proactive in personally reaching out to their people to understand and respond to their needs and concerns.
“The Middle East is brimming with talent,” Secretary Clinton said recently. “It is blessed with resources, enriched by strong traditions of faith and family. This rising generation of young people has the potential to achieve so much, and we need to give them the chance to do so.” Qatar’s leadership has an advanced understanding of this truth, and the United States welcomes the commitment by the leaders of Qatar to the elections and reforms that will fulfill the democratic promise of Qatar’s visionary Constitution.
تحدت وزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية هيلاري كلينتون في منتدى المستقبل الذي عقد في الدوحة منذ أقل من شهرين الزعماء السياسيين في المنطقة والمجتمع المدني ومجتمع الأعمال بالمضي إلى ما هو أبعد من الشعارات. هذا ودعت إلى “رؤية حقيقية لمستقبل (المنطقة) تنبع من كل منكم، ومن الحكومات التي يجب عليها تنفيذ وعودها، ومن المجتمع المدني وروّاد الأعمال الذين ينبغي عليهم بناء شعوبهم، وبالطبع من الشعوب أنفسها”.
وفي قطر، نرى ثمار النجاح التي تؤتي أكلها بالطبع من تفاني قيادة الدولة في بناء مستقبل راسخ لها؛ وهو مستقبل قائم على تعليم الأفراد ومحاربة الفساد وإفساح المجال أمام عقد مناقشات علنية للأفكار، وكذلك إعطاء المواطنين الفرصة للتعبير عن آرائهم فيما يتعلق بشؤون البلاد.
هذا وتثني حكومة الولايات المتحدة على سموه لما قام به من المضي قدمًا في إجراء الانتخابات المنصوص عليها في دستور دولة قطر. كما نطري على الإعلان الأخير لسعادة رئيس الوزراء حول انتخابات مجلس الشورى. وستكون هذه الانتخابات خطوة هامة إلى الأمام لدولة قطر، كما ستساعد على جعل قطر نموذجًا إقليميًا بإعطاء المواطنين صوتًا مؤثرًا في الحكم على المستوى الوطني. وفيما يتعلق بالأمور والقضايا المحلية، فستكون انتخابات المجالس البلدية التي ستجري في مايو/أيار القادم فرصة هامة لسماع أصوات المواطنين.
ترحب الولايات المتحدة كذلك بالتقارير التي تتحدث عن تقدم في التشريعات بشأن الإعلام وتسجيل المؤسسات والجمعيات والمنظمات غير الحكومية. إن هكذا تقدم سيقوي المجتمع المدني القطري ويساعد في تطوير الشفافية والمحاسبة.
إن سمو الأمير وحكومته يعلمان أن مصادر الثروة يمكن تبديدها ومن الممكن كذلك أن تقوض الثروة استقرار البلد ما لم يتفهم مواطنوه القرارات الجوهرية التي تؤثر في حياتهم وحياة أبنائهم ويناقشوها ويشاركوا فيها. لقد ذكرت وزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية كلينتون أن مواطني الشرق الأوسط “يطالبون بالإصلاح من أجل جعل حكوماتهم أكثر فعالية واستجابة وانفتاحا”. إن قادة قطر ليسو بحاجة لإقناعٍ في هذا الصدد, لقد كانوا وما يزالون سباقين في التواصل مع شعوبهم لفهم حاجاتهم وهواجسهم والاستجابة لها.
وقالت وزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية كلينتون مؤخرا: “إن الشرق الأوسط يعج بالموهوبين”. وأضافت: “إنه زاخر بالموارد وغني بتقاليد قوية في المعتقد والعائلة. إن هذا الجيل الصاعد من الشباب يملك الإمكانيات لتحقيق الكثير وإننا بحاجة لإعطائهم الفرصة لتحقيق ذلك”. إن القيادة القطرية لديها فهم أوسع لهذه الحقيقة, وترحب الولايات المتحدة بالتزام قادة قطر بالانتخابات والإصلاحات وفاءً للوعود الديمقراطية التي يستشرفها دستور قطر.
John Duke Anthony – Navigating the Regional Turmoil: Mileposts and Guidelines
March 2, 2011
Miller & Chevalier, Washington, DC
What You Need to Know Now: The Arabian Dimension in Today’s Mideast Turmoil from NCUSAR on Vimeo.
Participants include:
Dr. Herman Franssen, President, International Energy Associates, and Senior Associate, Energy and National Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Dr. David E. Long, Consultant on Middle East affairs and international terrorism, and author of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mr. Robert Lacey, Historian and author of The Kingdom and Inside the Kingdom
Mr. Peter A. Iseman, Historian and International Educator
Moderator:
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
Mideast turmoil not to destabilize region, US experts say – Arab News, March 3, 2011
John Duke Anthony – An institution that groomed interns
March 31, 2010
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, Washington, DC
Featured Speaker:
HRH Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein
Moderator:
Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
On January 27, 2010, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony spoke to members and guests of the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs (bcfausa.org) on “U.S.-Arab/Islamic Relations: Going Where?”
Video courtesy of the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs.
Dr. John Duke Anthony appeared on the Council for the National Interests’ (CNI) Jerusalem Calling radio show. He was joined by a CNI delegation, then in Damascus, headed by former Ambassador to the Soviet Union Jack Matlock and Executive Director of CNI Helena Cobban.
“ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS: THE WAY FORWARD”
Arab-U.S. Relations: The Way Forward – 2009 Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference from NCUSAR on Vimeo.
Speaker: The Hon. Charles W. (“Chas”) Freeman, Jr. − Chairman of the Board, Projects International, Inc., a Washington, DC-based business development firm specializing in international joint ventures, acquisitions, and other business operations for its American and foreign clients; former President, Middle East Policy Council; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1993-94), earning the Department of Defense’s highest public service awards for his roles in designing a NATO-centered post-Cold War European security system and in reestablishing defense and military relations with China; former U. S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm); 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; and author of The Diplomat’s Dictionary (Revised Edition) and Arts of Power: Statecraft and Diplomacy.
“THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: VIEWS FROM THE ARAB WORLD”
Chair: Ms. Barbara G.B. Ferguson − Washington Bureau Chief, Arab News; Co-Chair, International Correspondents Committee, The National Press Club, Washington, D.C.; author, “Country Reports” on Bahrain, Morocco and Kazakhstan for the Washington Times; embedded war correspondent during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Kuwait in 1990-1991 and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
Speakers:
Mr. Ibrahim Helal − Deputy Managing Editor, Al Jazeera Satellite Television, English; former Deputy Managing Director, News and Programs; former Middle East and North Africa Project Director, BBC World Service Trust, responsible for the training and development of Arab media organizations; Editor-in-Chief, Al-Jazeera Arabic Channel (2001-2004); former Head of News, Abu Dhabi TV (2000-2001).
Mr. Hisham Melhem − Washington Bureau Chief, Al-Arabiya, the Dubai-UAE based satellite channel; former host of Al-Arabiya’s “Across the Ocean”, a weekly current affairs program on U.S.-Arab relations; Correspondent, Annahar, the leading Lebanese daily.
Ms. Nadia Bilbassy-Charters – Chief Correspondent, Middle East Broadcasting Center, Washington, D.C., covering the White House and the State Department; formerly Al-Arabiya Television Diplomatic Correspondent; former Bureau Chief for Middle East Broadcasting Center based in Nairobi, Kenya covering conflicts across the African continent; formerly with both Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS) and Agence France Press (AFP).
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
Introductions: Dr. John Duke Anthony – Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Speakers:
H.E. Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo − Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United States; appointed to Bahrain’s Majlis ash-Shura [National Advisory] Council by His Majesty the King Shaikh Hamad Bin Salman Al-Khalifa where, prior to her appointment as Ambassador she served on the Committee for Finance and Economic Affairs; and former Secretary General of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society.
Dr. Abdulrahman H. Al-Saeed − Advisor to The Royal Court of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Director, Office of Special Projects for HRH King ‘Abdallah Bin ‘Abdalaziz Al Sa’ud, Custodian of the Two Holy Places and King of Saudi Arabia.
H.E. Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo AUDIO (.mp3)
“DEFENSE COOPERATION – ENHANCING REGIONAL SECURITY”
Chair: Mr. Christopher Blanchard − United States Congress, Congressional Research Service (CRS), Middle East Policy Analyst, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division; author and co-author of, among other works, numerous CRS studies for the Congress, including reports 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.
Speakers:
General Joseph P. Hoar (USMC, Ret.) − former Commander, U.S. Central Command, with responsibility for planning and operations for 27 countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Upon retirement from his long military career, General Hoar formed J.P. Hoar & Associates, a consulting firm engaged in business development in the Middle East and Africa.
Mr. Richard J. Millies − Vice President, International Strategy and Business Development, BAE Systems; former Deputy Director, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, U.S. Department of Defense; and former Director of Policy, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs.
Commentator:
H.E. Mohammed Bin Abdullah Bin Mutib Al Rumaihi − Foreign Minister’s Assistant for Follow Up Affairs, State of Qatar; Qatar’s Ambassador to France and non-resident Ambassador to Belgium, the Swiss Federation, Luxembourg, and the European Union (2002-2003); Head of the Government Committee for Delineating Maritime Borders and the Working Team of the U.N. Security Council (2006-2007); headed the organizing committees of international conferences such as F77, China 2005, New and Restored Democracies 2006, Gulf Summit 2007, Financing Development Summit 2008, Arab Summit 2009, and the Arab and Latin America Summit 2009; former Major General, Qatari Armed Forces.
“ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS: A VIEW FROM EGYPT”
Speaker: Mr. Amr Ahmed Ramadan – Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt; former Trade Negotiator at the Permanent Mission of Geneva (1999-2004); former Director of three divisions at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the International Economic Relations Division, the United Nations Division, and the Arab Levant Division.
“U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS: A VIEW FROM THE U.S. CONGRESS”
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.
Speaker: Congressman Keith Ellison – Member, United States House of Representatives, representing the Fifth District of Minnesota; Member, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFLP); sits on the House Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittees on “Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit” and “Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology”; and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittees on “International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight,” and “Middle East and South Asia.”
“AMBASSADOR’S ROUNDTABLE”
Moderator: Mr. Peter J. Robertson − Co-Chairman, of the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council; retired Board of Directors Vice Chairman, Chevron Corporation; Chairman, World Affairs Council of Northern California; Board of Directors Vice Chairman, International House, University of California at Berkeley.
Speakers:
H.E. Adel A. Al-Jubeir − Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States; Foreign Policy Adviser to HRH ‘Abdallah Bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Al Sa’ud, Custodian of the Two Holy Places and King of Saudi Arabia.
The Hon. James B. Smith (Brigadier General, USAF, Ret.) − Ambassador of the United States to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; former International Business Development Executive, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems; Distinguished Graduate, The Naval War College, The Air Command and Staff College, and The National War College.
Former United States Ambassadors to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
The Hon. Walter L. Cutler (1984-1987 and 1988-1989)
The Hon. Charles W. (“Chas”) Freeman, Jr. (1989-1992)
The Hon. Wyche Fowler (1996-2001)
The Hon. James C. Oberwetter (2004-2007)
The Hon. Robert Jordan (2002-2003)
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Speaker Introductions: Dr. John Duke Anthony − Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
Special Guest: H.E. Mohammed Bin Abdullah Bin Mutib Al Rumaihi − Foreign Minister’s Assistant for Follow Up Affairs, State of Qatar; Qatar’s Ambassador to France and non-resident Ambassador to Belgium, the Swiss Federation, Luxemburg and the European Union (2002-2003); Head of the Government Committee for Delineating Maritime Borders and the Working Team of the UN Security Council (2006-2007); headed the organizing committees of international conferences such as F77, China 2005, New and Restored Democracies 2006, Gulf Summit 2007, Financing Development Summit 2008, Arab Summit 2009 and Arab and Latin America Summit 2009; former Major General, Qatari Armed Forces.
Luncheon Speaker: Admiral William J. Fallon (USN, Ret.) − Distinguished Fellow, Center for Naval Analysis; Robert Wilhelm Fellow, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; (MIT) Center for International Studies; Commander, U.S. Central Command (2007- 2008); former Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (February 2005-March 2007); Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (October 2003-February 2005); and 31st Vice Chief of Naval Operations (October 2000-August 2003).
“U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS: VIEWS FROM THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE”
Ambassador Ronald L. Schlicher − Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the United States Department of State; former Principal Deputy Coordinator of Counterterrorism; U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus (2004-2005); former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), where he served as Coordinator for Iraq; Director of the Iraq Task Force (2003), U.S. Department of State; served for six months in Iraq with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), first as Regional Coordinator for the North and then as Director of the Office of Provincial Outreach.
Dr. John Duke Anthony appeared in a roundtable discussion on This is America, a weekly public affairs television series hosted by Dennis Wholey. This is America is distributed throughout the United States, Canada, and the world via PBS stations, the AmericanLife TV Network, and Voice of America Television. The program featured a roundtable discussion on the complex nature of the Arab world with HM Queen Noor; Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin, President of the Middle East Institute; Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO of the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations; George Washington University Islamic Scholar Dr. Sayyed Nasr; Hisham Melham of Al-Arabiya Television; and Laila Al-Qatami, the former communications director for the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
“ARAB-U.S. RELATIONS: The Way Forward – Views the Arab World”
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.
“U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2008: VIEWS THE ARAB WORLD”
Chair: Dr. Abderrahim Foukara − Washington Bureau Chief, Al-Jazeerah International and former longtime BBC Correspondent
Speakers: Washington-based correspondents 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.
VIDEO