This week’s peace picks

More About the Speakers

Ambassador Tibor Nagy
Vice Provost for International Affairs, Texas Tech University

Ambassador Mark Bellamy
Director, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University

Ambassador Richard Roth
Senior Advisor for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Hosted By

Ray Walser, Ph.D.Senior Policy Analyst Read More

Join Islamic Relief USA, the International Rescue Committee, Refugees International and the Syrian American Medical Society for a luncheon panel discussion about the on-going humanitarian crisis facing Syrian refugees.

More information about the situation for Syrian refugees
The crisis in Syria has escalated dramatically since it began sixteen months ago and has resulted in the displacement of an estimated one million Syrians. While the majority of Syrians are internally displaced within Syria, more than 114,000 have registered as refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Many are fearful of formally registering as refugees, meaning the actual number of refugees may be significantly higher than reported. As the violence and death toll continue to rise in Syria, the Syrian people remain displaced and unable to return to their homes. Essential aid and services are needed for both internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees in neighboring countries. Learn more about how Islamic Relief USA by visiting IRUSA.org.

Syrian refugees arrive to neighboring countries suffering emotional and physical trauma with little savings and often nothing more than the clothes on their backs. While host countries have been generous and welcoming to the refugees, their resources are becoming increasingly stretched. They need increased international assistance in order to most effectively respond to the influx of refugees.

Syrian refugees are in urgent need of increased access to shelter, water and food, livelihood opportunities, and medical services. While a number of Syrian refugees are living with host families, these families’ resources are being drained. For others, high rent prices mean they have to share accommodation leading to cramped, overcrowded conditions. Syrian refugee women and girls have identified gender-based violence as one of the primary reasons they had to flee. Ensuring that proper psychosocial and other health services reach victims of gender-based violence is a vital need.

4. The Twilight War: The Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran, Washington Institute, 12:30-2 pm July 31

Beneath the thirty-year war of words between Iran and the United States have been parallel campaigns of espionage, covert action, and military activities that have rarely come into public view. In his latest book, Dr. David Crist details the dramatic secret history of this undeclared conflict, from the weeks immediately following Iran’s 1979 revolution through today’s tensions. A Marine reservist and senior historian with the U.S. government, Crist had unprecedented access to senior officials and key documents. The product of ten years of research, Twilight War reveals the undercover activities and policy debates that have roiled U.S.-Iranian relations.
To discuss the book’s findings, The Washington Institute cordially invited Dr. Crist to address a Policy Forum luncheon on July 31, 2012, from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. Ambassador James Jeffrey, who retired from the Foreign Service in June, will add personal observations from three decades in the State Department, most recently as ambassador to Iraq and Turkey.

David Crist is a senior historian for the U.S. government and a special advisor to the head of U.S. Central Command. As an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve, he served two tours with Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Author of the 2009 Washington Institute report Gulf of Conflict: A History of U.S.-Iranian Confrontation at Sea, he holds a doctorate in Middle Eastern history from Florida State University.

James Jeffrey recently retired from the Foreign Service after a thirty-three-year career in which he attained the highest rank of career ambassador. His assignments included deputy national security advisor in the White House, three years in Iraq as ambassador and deputy chief of mission, and ambassador to Turkey and Albania. From 1969 to 1976, he served as a U.S. army officer in Germany and Vietnam.

5. Next Steps on Syria, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 10 am August 1

Witnesses: