Category: Yael Mizrahi

Peace picks March 15-20

Posted in Yael Mizrahi - March 16, 2015 - 0 Comment

1. Rebels, Radicals, and the Regime: Finding a Way Forward in Syria| Monday, March 16th | 12:00- 1:30 PM | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Following the recent collapse of the main U.S.-backed rebel group, Harakat al Hazm, how should the U.S. re-think its strategy toward Syria’s moderate opposition? How might its recently launched train-and-equip program in Turkey affect dynamics inside Syria? How likely is the UN-proposed freeze in Aleppo to succeed, and how viable is Moscow’s renewed push for peace between the regime and its opponents? On the fourth anniversary of the devastating Syria conflict, The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Michael Eisenstadt, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Robert Ford, The Middle East Institute, Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Mohammed Ghanem, Syrian American Council, and Dafna Rand, Center for a New American Security, for a discussion about how to break the stalemate in Syria and move the country toward a peaceful political transition.

2. A Nuclear Deal, Iran’s Regional Role and US Relations with the Gulf | Monday, March 16th | 2:00-3:30 PM | The Atlantic Council | REGISTER TO ATTEND | The Arab nations across the Gulf from Iran are watching with some trepidation as nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany appear to be nearing a conclusion. Speakers will address the validity of these concerns and how they might be addressed by the Obama Administration to reduce sectarian tensions and bolster nuclear non-proliferation.  Speakers include: Richard LeBaron, Former US Ambassador to Kuwait, Alireza Nader, Senior International Policy Analyst RAND Corporation, Ilan Goldenberg Director, Middle East Security Program, Center for a New American Security. Read more

Peace picks March 2-6

Posted in Yael Mizrahi - March 2, 2015 - 0 Comment

1. The Israeli Elections and a Future Peace Process in the Light of Past Negotiations| Monday March 2nd | 12:00-1:00 PM| Woodrow Wilson Center|REGISTER TO ATTEND |Former Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center, Galia Golan will discuss the upcoming March 17 Israeli elections and reflect on her latest bookIsraeli Peacemaking Since 1967: Factors Behind the Breakthroughs and Failures. Examining the Israeli-Arab conflict as an ‘intractable conflict,’ the book seeks to determine just which factors, or combination of factors, impacted on Israel’s position in past peace-making efforts, possibly accounting for breakthroughs or failures to reach agreement.

2. The Future of the Fight against ISIL| Monday March 2nd| 5:00-6:30 PM |The Atlantic Council| REGISTER TO ATTEND | General John Allen, USMC (Ret.), the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, will discuss what may lie ahead in the US-led fight against the Islamist group that straddles Iraqi and Syrian territory. How will the Coalition sustain the fight against the terrorist group? What role will the United States play as the Coalition broadens and deepens its efforts? Can the fight be ultimately won? And if so, how does the Coalition define success? To answer these and other questions, General Allen will join Atlantic Council President and CEO Fred Kempe. 

3. Future Trends in the Gulf | Tuesday March 3rd | 12:00-1:30 PM | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | REGISTER TO ATTEND| Amid a region beset by civil wars and terrorism, the Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council are facing growing challenges from an increasingly youthful population, aging rulers, economic pressures, and a new information environment. How well are Gulf regimes responding to these challenges? Jamil De Dominicis is a coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. Kristin Smith Diwan is a visiting scholar at the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University. Jane Kinninmont is deputy head and senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. Matar Embrahim Matar is a former member of the Bahraini parliament, and Frederic Wehrey is a senior associate in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

4. Tackling Corruption in the Midst of War: Can Ukraine Change the Equation? |Tuesday March 3rd | 2:00-3:OO PM | USIP | REGISTER TO ATTEND | The Ukrainian government has pledged to undertake a major campaign to root out corruption. But a year after the departure of former President Yanukovych, the pace of reform continues to drag. Panelists will examine prospects for reform of the energy, judicial and regulatory sectors, among others, while conflict rages in the country’s East. The discussion will gauge the political will of the Ukrainian leadership and the risks of a public backlash, and explore the role of the media and civil society in the reform effort. Speakers include: Edward Chow, Senior Fellow, Energy and Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Adrian Karatnycky, Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council, Professor Robert Orttung, Assistant Director, Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, The George Washington University and Inna Pidluska, Deputy Executive Director, Kyiv Office, International Renaissance Foundation (via Skype).

5. Revisiting Marshall: Private Sector Development In the Middle East | Tuesday March 3rd |3:00-4:30 PM| The Stimson Center | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Can the Marshall Plan, which critical post-World War II transformation of Europe, provide policy recommendations for dealing with the turmoil and violence in the region today? Is there is still a place for discussion of the more conventional policy challenges of expanding economic opportunity as a part of political reform and change. Speakers include: Dr. Rob Havers, President, The George C. Marshall Foundation, Mr. Abdulwahab Alkebsi, Regional Director for Africa and MENA, Center for International Private Enterprise, and Representative of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, to be confirmed.

6. Arab Public Opinion on Terrorism: A Ground View from Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Libya | Wednesday March 4th | 10:00-11:30 AM | Center for Strategic and International Studies | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Join Dr. Munqith Dagher who will present findings from a major public opinion project on Arab public opinions towards terrorism and terrorist organizations conducted throughout Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, and Libya. Hosted by Burke Chair in Strategy Anthony Cordesman, the conversation will explore the sudden rise of ISIS, Arab attitudes towards ISIS and other terror groups, shifting public opinion towards terror groups in the region, and support for ongoing counter-terrorist efforts.

7. Aid to Civil Society: A Movement Mindset |Friday March 6th”| 2:00-3:30 PM| USIP | REGISTER TO ATTEND| People worldwide have been stirred by the dramatic images of “people power” movements calling for democracy and economic justice. In Hong Kong and Malaysia, Ukraine and Egypt, Brazil, Venezuela and elsewhere, throngs of citizenry have challenged their governments over corruption, political repression, discrimination, and other scourges. While global audiences respond with sympathy, it has been unclear how governments, pro-democracy groups, or other outside supporters might actually assist effectively. Grassroots campaigns for change often are fluid, diverse, decentralized, and loosely organized, so providing support is tricky. The difficulties and risks can be greater still under authoritarian regimes or, as Yemen and Libya illustrate, in fragile states. In this discussion, panelists include Maria J. Stephan, Sadaf Lakhani and Nadia Naviwala, the authors of a new USIP Special Report, “Aid to Civil Society: A Movement Mindset.”

Peace picks February 17-20

Posted in Yael Mizrahi - February 17, 2015 - 0 Comment
  1. China’s Emerging Role in the Middle East | Tuesday February 17th | 9:00- 6:00 PM | USIP | REGISTER TO ATTEND | China’s emerging role in the Middle East is expanding in tandem with Beijing’s burgeoning economic, political, and to a lesser extent, military interests in the region. The Asia Conference on China in the Middle East will evaluate China’s nascent regional role, implications for regional security, the reactions of other regional actors and the impact on U.S. policy.
  2. Yemen and Libya: The Middle East’s Other Civil Wars | Wednesday February 18th | 9:00-10:30 AM | Brookings Institute| REGISTER TO ATTEND | The conflicts raging in Syria and Iraq consume most of Washington and the international community’s attention, but civil wars in Yemen and Libya have brought both countries near total collapse. Houthi rebels continue to gain ground in Yemen and the security situation continues to deteriorate in Libya. Thousands have died, and terrorist groups are gaining strength. The United States and its allies have not stemmed this instability even as the violence spreads.Bringing together a panel of experts on Yemen, Libya and the neighboring region, the conversation will raise questions about what can be done to stem the violence and what counterterrorism implementations can be made.
  3. The Escalating Shi’a-Sunni Conflict: Assessing Arab Public Attitudes| Wednesday February 18th | 9:30-11:00 AM | Stimson Center| REGISTER TO ATTEND | Sectarianism has been a driving force of conflict in the Middle East for many years. From Iraq to Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, conflict and confrontations between Shi’a and Sunni Muslims are on the rise. The emergence of extremist groups such as Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State has further deepened this divide. Each of these groups claims to offer the correct interpretation of Islam. In this tense climate, how do Shi’a and Sunni Muslims in the Arab world view each other? Part of the conversation will present findings on religious tolerance, views toward the current governments, and the role religion should play in politics and international relations based on polling in Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. Speakers include: Ambassador Peter Galbraith, Michael Robbins, Project Director, Arab Barometer Neha Sahgal, Senior Researcher, Pew Research Center.
  4. Turkey’s Economic Transition and Transatlantic Relations | Wednesday February 18th | 10:30-12:oo PM | Brookings Institute | REGISTER TO ATTEND | The panel will consider how modernizing the customs union and expanding U.S.-Turkey economic relations—through either a bilateral free trade agreement or the possible inclusion of Turkey in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)—could play a key role in Turkey’s overcoming the middle income trap. Brookings TÜSİAD Senior Fellow and Turkey Project Director Kemal Kirişci will moderate the conversation.  Panelists will include Martin Raiser, the director of the World Bank Office in Turkey; Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, professor of economics at the University of Maryland; and Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the EU, former deputy secretary of the Treasury and current partner at Covington & Burling LLP.
  5. Examining Syrian Perspectives on Local Ceasefires and Reconciliation Initiatives |Thursday February 19th |REGISTER TO ATTEND | Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Rome Auditorium | The launch of a new report detailing Syrian perspectives on locally-based conflict resolution initiatives, “Maybe We Can Reach a Solution”: Syrian Perspectives on the Conflict and Local Initiatives for Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation marks the second phase of a comprehensive research initiative launched by SJAC to investigate the opinions of a diverse group of Syrians on the transitional justice process.  An accompanying panel discussion will highlight the opinions of ordinary Syrians regarding locally-brokered ceasefire and reconciliation efforts while providing an in-depth analysis of Syrian perspectives on conflict resolution since the collapse of Geneva II. Speakers include: Daniel Serwer, Senior Research Professor of Conflict Management School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Joseph Bahout,Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Mohammad Al Abdallah Executive Director Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, and Craig Charney President, Charney Research. 
  6. The Future of Energy in the Eastern Mediterranean| Thursday February 19th | 2:00-3:30 | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Brookings Institute | Beginning in 2009, major natural gas fields have been discovered in the Levant Basin of the Eastern Mediterranean. These discoveries have the potential both to transform the energy outlook of the countries in which they were found, and foster regional energy cooperation. The first issue that will be covered is the Palestinian Gaza Marine gas field and its importance to the Palestinian economy. The second discusses the evolution of Israel’s energy policy since large discoveries were made in Israeli waters, and the effect of this process on regional cooperation. The third issue explores the hydrocarbon findings offshore Cyprus and their effects Cypriot relations with its neighbors. Speakers include: David Koranyi, Director, Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative, Harry Tzimitras, Director PRIO Cyprus Centre. 

Peace picks February 9-13

Posted in Svenn Wroldsen, Yael Mizrahi - February 8, 2015 - 0 Comment
  1. A Visit to Tehran: former Congressman shares his outlook for U.S.-Iran Relations | Monday February 9 | 2:00 – 3:00 | Atlantic Council | REGISTER TO ATTEND | As nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) enter what could be their final stage, former Rep. Jim Slattery will provide insights about the attitudes in Iran toward an agreement and the obstacles a deal may face both in Tehran and in the U.S. Congress. Slattery, who made his first visit to Iran in December, will also discuss his extensive experience promoting interfaith dialogue with Iran as part of an effort coordinated by the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, Norway and the Catholic University of America. The event will also feature Bharath Gopalaswamy, Acting Director, South Asia Center, Atlantic Council and Jim Moody, Associate Director-Investments, Oppenheimer Company and will be moderated by Barbara Slavin, Senior Fellow, South Asia Center, Atlantic Council.
  2. Leaderless Revolutions and their Challengers with Srdja Popovic | Tuesday February 10 | 10-11:30 am | Rome building of SAIS | RSVP to itlong@sais.edu | Blueprint for Revolution is not only a spirited guide to changing the world but a breakthrough in the annals of advice for those who seek justice and democracy. It asks (and not heavy-handedly): “As long as you want to change the world, why not do it joyfully? It’s not just funny. It’s seriously funny. No joke.” – Todd Gitlin, author of The Sixties and Occupy Nation
  3. Egyptian Women: Small Steps Ahead on a Very Long Journey | Tuesday February 10 | 12:00-1:00 | Woodrow Wilson Center | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Women were pivotal cogs in the wheel of Egypt’s political development over the past four years. Whether it was the popular uprisings against former President Hosni Mubarak or Islamic rule, or referenda or elections, women were called upon at times of the country’s greatest need and never failed to heed the call. Now that the country is gearing up for parliamentary elections, will women’s efforts finally be recognized with appropriate political representation and will their voices be heard? The Wilson Center invites to a discussion with Moushira Khattab, Chair of Women in Foreign Policy Group, Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs; former Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center; former Minister of Family and Population, Egypt; and former Egyptian Ambassador to South Africa and to the Czech and Slovak Republics.
  4. Making Sense of Yemen’s Power Crisis | Tuesday February 10 | 12:00 – 1:30 | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Houthi advances in Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a and the subsequent resignation of the president and his cabinet have thrown the country into chaos in recent weeks. In this new reality, will Yemen be able to find a balance of power, or will it descend into greater violence and instability? This event will explore the factors driving the Houthis, the current government, the former regime, the Islamist Islah party, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and address how these forces will shape Yemen’s domestic political map going forward. Carnegie invites to a discussion on Yemen’s political players and the outlook for the country’s future. The discussion features Nasser Arrabyee, a Yemeni journalist based in Sana’a and founder and president of Yemen Alaan, a media production company, Nadwa Aldawsari, co-founder and executive director of the Sheba Center for International Development and Laura Kasinof, freelance journalist and author of ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen’. Carnegie’s Intissar Fakir will moderate.
  5. The State of Islamism: The New Generation | Wednesday February 11 | 9:30 – 11:00 | Woodrow Wilson Center | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Over the past year, Islamists have triggered tectonic shake-ups across the Middle East. Borders have been redefined. Tactics have turned bloodier. States are unraveling under the pressure. Moderate Islamists are being sidelined as militants alter the region more than any trend since modern states became independent. Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Egypt’s Sinai are flashpoints, but no country is exempt. The impact has rippled worldwide, evident in the Charlie Hebdo attack. The Woodrow Wilson Center, in cooperation with the U.S. Institute of Peace, is hosting a debate on the state of Islamism, with Robin Wright, USIP-Wilson Center Distinguished Scholar, Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, David Ottaway, Senior Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center and Les Campbell, Senior associate and regional director, Middle East and North Africa, National Democratic Institute. Opening remarks will be made by Jane Harman, Director, President, and CEO, Woodrow Wilson Center.
  6. Managing Conflict in a World Adrift | Wednesday February 11 | 14:30-17:00 | USIP |REGISTER TO ATTEND |The recent eruptions of violence in the Middle East, parts of Africa and Eastern Europe illustrate the high hurdles of conflict management amid rapidly shifting power dynamics. Rafe Sagarin, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, will open the event with a keynote address on what we can learn from nature about the important role of institutions in adaptive approaches to conflict management. Pamela Aall, senior fellow at Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and senior advisor for conflict prevention and management at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), will lead a lively and thought-provoking conversation examining these forces and potential approaches with one of her co-editors and two contributing authors of the new book, Managing Conflict in a World Adrift co-published by USIP and CIGI. The volume is the fourth in a landmark series by Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall.
  7. Conflict and Convergence: Toward Common Interests in the Troubled Middle East | Wednesday February 11 | 4:00-5:30 | Atlantic Council | REGISTER TO ATTEND | The Paris attacks earlier last month were the most recent in a spate of violence connected to the proliferation of extremist groups throughout the Middle East. When coupled with trends like rising sectarianism, the dark side of individual empowerment, the diffusion of power, and demographic shifts, the outlook for the region remains murky: ISIS and other terrorist groups are upending regional security; Iran is moving closer to having a nuclear weapons capability; Libya is disintegrating; and the “promise” of the Arab Spring has clearly been unfulfilled. While ISIS’s advances have led to the formation of an international coalition led by the United States to counter this virulent extremist group, some of the underlying causes of ISIS’s rise and growth – state failure, political illegitimacy, and economic underdevelopment – remain unaddressed.  Too often, the West attends to the region in reaction to its ills, with a view to containing them. The Atlantic Council invites to a discussion on the major strategic issues at stake in the Middle East and a long-term assessment of the opportunities and challenges for 2015 and beyond. Panelist are Salam Fayyad, Former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, The Hon. Stephen J. Hadley, Former Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and The Hon. Francis Ricciardone, Vice President and Director, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council.
  8. 2015 Sheikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel Symposium: An Energy Revolution? The Political Ecologies of Shale Oil in the Middle East, US and China | Wednesday February 11 – Friday February 13 | Georgetown University | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) is hosting its annual Sheikh Abdullah Saleh Kamel Symposium, this year looking at the impact of the shale oil revolution on the Middle East. The symposium will feature panels on environmental, social and political economy implications of shale oil as well as ramifications on foreign policy issues. It also features a wide range of scholars, including Osama Abi-Mershed, Director Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, Dr. Peter Gleick, President and Co-founder, Pacific Institute, Dr. Jeremy Boak, Director of the Center for Oil Shale Technology and Research at the Colorado School of Mines, Dr. Mark Giordano, Director of the Program in Science, Technology and International Affairs, Georgetown University, Dr. Mohamed Ramady, Visiting Associate Professor of Finance and Economics at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Eckart Woertz, Senior Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs and Mr. Fawzi Aloulou, Energy Economist at the Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy.
  9. High Stakes: How This Year’s Climate Negotiations Will Impact National Security | Thursday February 12 | 9:00 – 10:30 | Woodrow Wilson Center | REGISTER TO ATTEND | “The Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national security. We should act like it,” said President Obama in his recent State of the Union Address. But what does that mean for international climate negotiations? The Wilson Center invites to a discussion with Nick Mabey, chief executive of the environmental NGO E3G, who will present new analysis on the relationship between successful climate diplomacy and national security. Mabey will discuss how critical the next year is in climate diplomacy and how the UNFCCC and Montreal Protocol processes can help improve international risk management. As climate change negotiations accelerate leading up to this fall’s UN climate conference in Paris, it is essential that decision-makers in the executive and legislative branch understand these delicate connections and how their actions may have unintended security consequences.
  10. Nuclear Bargains Reviewed: Washington’s Cold War nuclear deals and what they mean for Iran | Friday February 13 | 1:00 – 2:30 | Woodrow Wilson Center | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Or Rabinowitz, author of ‘Bargaining on Nuclear Tests’, will discuss her research in the context of the looming dead-line for the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Bargaining on Nuclear Tests demonstrates that the 1969 bilateral American-Israeli deal on Israel’s nuclear ambiguity was not an exception; it served as the model for two following nuclear bargains with Pakistan and South Africa. Dr. Rabinowitz’s research demonstrates that Washington’s willingness to reach such nuclear bargains is influenced by superior geo-strategic considerations that override non-proliferation policies. The fate of the Pakistani and the South African deals should serve as a stark reminder to Israeli policymakers that understandings can expire when bilateral interests no longer converge.
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Corruption continues to erupt

Posted in Yael Mizrahi - February 7, 2015 - 0 Comment

Twenty years have passed since Moses Naim coined the phrase, “the corruption eruption.” As Sarah Chayes outlined this week in a talk at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, there is no sign of the eruption ending anytime soon. Promoting her book Thieves of State, Sarah outlined the push and pull factors driving corruption’s omnipotence in conflict environments. Systemic corruption is not merely the byproduct of war, but often an accelerant of conflict.

She opened the discussion with two common misperceptions of corruption:

1. Corruption is not merely “chump-change” siphoning off small amounts of money. It has real economic significance and implications for the social wellbeing of society. In Afghanistan for example, corruption amounts to a daily attack on people’s dignity. It creates an atmosphere of hopelessness and despondency that often leads to rage and violence.

2. There is a tendency to think of corruption as a sort of corrosion eating away at government. She turns this theory on it’s head: corruption is in fact a system created by the government. The levers of state power are put into the service of vertically integrated kleptocratic networks. It is not merely that state weakness can give space for corruption to seep in. Corrupt networks purposefully weaken institutions that will not work with them.

The policy community in Washington needs to wake up and realize that pervasive corruption has real and dangerous security implications. By enabling corruption, as the US has done in Afghanistan, it is only making the security problem more severe.

Sarah spent seven years living there. She helped Afghans rebuild homes and established a cooperative that aimed at encouraging Afghan farmers to produce flowers, fruits and herbs instead of opium poppies. It is through this work, and through her interactions with the American aid establishment, that she became aware of the extent to which corruption is destroying American efforts for peace in Afghanistan.

Anti-corruption assistance aimed at civil society can help build the expertise of local reformers who are challenging the government. But if the bulk of the US government interaction with a country reinforces corruption then these programs don’t stand a chance. Chayes believes that not enough emphasis is put on good-governance strategies, which are too often trumped by strategic considerations.

A survey conducted by the US military in Kabul asked captured Taliban prisoners why they joined the insurgency. The most common response was not anger at the US presence in their country, or a religious claim, but rather that the Afghan government was irreversibly corrupt. This sense of grievance and hopelessness has the power to fill ordinary citizens with feelings even worse than anger. They want revenge.

Intelligence collection and analysis should play a major role in fighting corruption, but that is not now the situation. She suggests subjecting intelligence agency payments to key members of corrupt governing networks to high level interagency debate, increasing the number of personnel assigned to study the structure, manning and other characteristics of corrupt governing networks (including corruption in annual assessments of security risks compiled by intelligence communities), and to design new collection requirements to fill knowledge gaps regarding corrupt networks, especially the ways in which Western governments and private-sector actors enable such systems.

The solutions are not simple or straightforward, but a better understanding of the nature of corruption and it’s implications for international security would contribute to improved policy and practice in government, civil society and business.

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Peace picks February 2-6

Posted in Yael Mizrahi - February 2, 2015 - 0 Comment
  1. Fighting ISIS: News from the Front Lines in Kurdistan | Tuesday February 3 | 10:00-11:30 | The Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS | REGISTER TO ATTEND | The Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS is hosting a discussion with Aziz Reza, senior advisor to the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government. The talk will also feature Mousa Ahmed Agha, Deputy Head, Barzani Charity Foundation and will be moderated by Sasha Toperich, Senior Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations SAIS
  2. Yemen – If this is a policy success, what does failure look like? | Tuesday February 3 | 12:30-1:45 | Georgetown University | REGISTER TO ATTEND | Last September, in announcing military operations against ISIS/ISIL, President Obama referred to Yemen as a US policy success, to the bafflement of many within and outside the country at the time. The jury was still out on our drone-dependent security/CT operations, the economy was in disarray and the political transition – a relative bright spot – was dimming. Recent events call the September judgment into even more question. What is really happening, and what does it mean for the US, the region, and the Yemenis? Georgetown University invites to a discussion with Ambassador Barbara K. Bodine, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and the Director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
  3. Countering Violent Extremism: Improving Our Strategy for the Future | Wednesday February 4 | 14:00-15:00 | Brookings Institute| REGISTER TO ATTEND | The recent deadly attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices and the Jewish market in Paris were sharp reminders of the continuing threat of violent extremism in the West. With similar attacks in Ottawa and Sydney, and a concerning number of Westerners moved to fight in Syria, preventing acts of violence by extremists has become a top priority. To help the United States and its allies move forward, the White House announced that it will host a Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on February 18. Bringing together a panel of experts on counterterrorism and radicalization, the conversation will raise questions about the efficacy of the current U.S. approach, successful practices of counterterrorism programs both domestically and abroad, and strategies for countering violent extremism going forward.
  4. Subcommittee Hearing: The Palestinian Authority’s International Criminal Court Gambit: A True Partner for Peace? | Wednesday February 4 | 2:00-5:00 | Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa | The House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa is holding a hearing on the issue of the Palestinian Authority’s pursuit of membership in the International Criminal Court. Among the witnesses called to speak are Jonathan Schanzer, Vice President for Research, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Eugene Kontorovich, Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law, Danielle Pletka, Senior Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute and David Makovsky, Ziegler Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
  5. Why Corruption Threatens Global Security | Wednesday February 4th | 16:00-17:30 | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | REGISTER TO ATTEND The world seems to be on fire—the spread of the Islamic State in Iraq; the endurance of Boko Haram in Nigeria; the East-West standoff in Ukraine. Is there a common thread tying these events together? Sarah Cheyes, who spent a decade living and working in Kandahar Afghanistan, and serves as special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will demonstrate how governments that resemble criminal organizations drive their indignant constituents to extremes. Drawing on her personal experience in some of the most venal environments on earth, Chayes will present examples of what emerges where kleptocracy prevails: Afghans returning to the Taliban, Egyptians overthrowing the Mubarak government (but also rebuilding Al-Qaeda), and Nigerians embracing both radical evangelical Christianity and the Islamist terror group Boko Haram.
  6. Advancing U.S-Afghan Ties: A discussion with Senator Tom Cotton| February 5 |9:oo -9:45| USIP  | REGISTER TO ATTEND |The election of a reformist national unity government in Afghanistan and the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States have restored bilateral relations that had badly deteriorated under President Karzai. The Afghan government, facing huge economic and security challenges, has requested significant and sustained assistance from the United States and the international community over the next decade. The United States has committed to provide civilian and military support up to the end of 2016. Several weeks before an anticipated visit by President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah, the question of future of U.S.-Afghan relations becomes more critical. USIP and the Alliance in Support of the Afghan People is pleased to host Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), a U.S. Army veteran who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq and a newly elected member of the U.S. Senate, to provide his views on the shape of future U.S.-Afghan relations. Senator Cotton serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence.

 

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