May 2009 Highlights

NESA and U.S. Military Health System Co-host Health Security Conference

On 13, 14 May 2009, Professor Anne Moisan directed the first ever joint ASD/HA (Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs) -NESA conference, “Coping with Health Security Challenges in Contemporary Afghanistan,” for 225 participants. NESA professors Craig Dunkerley and Ali Jalali, Afghanistan’s former Interior Minister, moderated panels. Ms. Alexis Lewis and Ms. Marlene Ryan led the support team. This was the third in a series of NESA Center health conferences since 2006. The symposium provided an opportunity for the policy/security and the medical and humanitarian communities to exchange views on security topics focused on policy, health, and the way ahead for Afghanistan in an academic ‘non-attribution’ setting. Senior health and security policy makers from the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and the Afghan Ministry of Public Health and Offices of the Surgeons General of the Afghan National Army and National Police explored the role of health in establishing and sustaining security and stability in a nation or region. Participants also discussed the role of the military in providing health services to a civilian population and identified and developed the role of the U.S. military in support of the overall U.S. government effort to develop the Afghan Health System.

 

Faculty/Staff activities

NESA Director David Barno, Professors Ali Jalali and Jack Gill, and Research Associate David King attended CEIP event marking the release of a new report on Afghanistan. Event included talks by Afghan AMB Said T. Jawad and Senator Joe Lieberman.

Faculty activities

Professor Ali Jalali

• spoke at a panel at Carnegie on "Finding the Right Grand Strategy in Afghanistan>"
• met with Dr. Terry Kelly of RAND to discuss his study on Security Forces in Afghanistan

NESA hosted a delegation of 47 students and faculty members from the Israeli National Defense College at a day-long conference. Major General Gershon Hacohen, INDC Commandant, and Colonel Eitan Arad, INDC Academic Dean, led the delegation. A representative from the Embassy of Israel in Washington joined the group for the entire seminar.

Professor James Clad met with:

• the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Strategy Unit to discuss program development looking at regional actor intentions and interests in the Af-Pak area. The discussions were meant to inform the development of UK policy.
• senior Qatari officials and received commitment to host a meeting of GCC Think Tank Directors to discuss perceptions and programs on regional security issues.
• senior Saudi security officials and discussed opportunities to integrate the Saudi perspective into the U.S. defense community.

Professor Craig Dunkerley hosted a small working dinner for Marc de Brichambaut, visiting Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with various current and former ambassadors to discuss developments in current Russian policy.

Professors Robert Boggs and Jack Gill accompanied Dean John Ballard to brief the Special Operations commanders’ conference at Bolling AFB. Dean Ballard described NESA, its role, and its significance for Special Operations Command (SOCOM); Profs Boggs and Gill presented remarks on South Asian security issues from a strategic perspective. Attendees included SOCOM commander, Admiral Eric Olsen, his deputy commander, subordinate commanders and principal staff officers.

Professors Robert Boggs and Jack Gill met with

• OSD country director for Pakistan to give NESA overview and discuss upcoming events involving Pakistan.
• Atlantic Council South Asia program director (Shuja Nawaz) and two retired Pakistani ambassadors to discuss current developments.

Professor Michael Lemmon

• chaired a panel on "Science and Language as Cultural Diplomacy" at the Languages in the Disciplines Symposium sponsored by the National Science Foundation, The Language Flagship and the American Councils for International Education.
• addressed the Annual Delegate Assembly of the Joint National Committee for Languages and National Council for Languages and International Studies.

Publications

Professor Ali Jalali ’s article, "Winning in Afghanistan," was published in Parameters, the U.S. War College quarterly publication. The former Afghani Interior Minister’s article is reprinted on our public website (http://nesa-center.org) under Regional Reports.

 

Transitions 

• Rodney Perera (ES 03-02), formerly the Director of the Political Affairs (East) Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is now Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Norway.
• Rachid Ouali (ES 03-08), formerly Deputy Director for United States in the North America Department of the Inistry of Foreign affairs, is now an advisor in the Office of the President to Algeria's Permanent Mission to the United Nations. .
• LTC (ret) Michael Segall (ES 04-03) formerly a Middle East analyst in the J2 section of the Israeli Defense Forces, has retired from the (IDF). He now works as a Middle East analyst for an Israeli private firm.
• Mohammed Al-Qamzi (SES 01-03) formerly Director of the Department for Arab Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is now the UAE's Ambassador to Pakistan.