January 2010

NESA Hosts Yemen Roundtables

On January 19, the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies hosted a roundtable discussion entitled “U.S. Policy in Yemen: Dispelling Myths,” hosted by Distinguished Professor James Larocco, retired U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait.
Four dozen distinguished guests representing the United States and two dozen foreign countries engaged in a spirited discussion of U.S. policy in Yemen with Dr. Colin Kahl, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, and AMB Ron Shlicher, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Near East.
Questions from participating officials energized the lively two-hour session.
On January 21, the roundtable reconvened at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., where Distinguished Professor AMB (ret.) Craig Dunkerley hosted the discussion, which featured AMB Larocco and Gregory D. Johnsen, former Fulbright Fellow in Yemen and current Ph.D. candidate in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University.
The two sessions represent the NESA Center’s new initiative to promote greater dialogue and understanding between policymakers and Yemen observers regarding U.S. policy towards the Republic of Yemen government; to increase participant understanding of U.S. national security policy formulation, development and application towards Yemen and to provide officials a forum to share their views on USG policy and the role of the international community in helping Yemen combat terrorism in general, and Al-Qaeda in particular.

Recent NESA Events and Programs

On 19 January, NESA commenced an Executive Seminar which will run through 11 February. Professor Roger Kangas is directing the seminar. NESA faculty who are facilitating or speaking include Academic Dean John Ballard, Military Fellow LTC David Alley, Professors Gawdat Bahgat, Robert Boggs, James Clad, Dan Curfiss, Craig Dunkerley, Jack Gill, Sami Hajjar, Murhaf Jouejati, James Larocco, ichael Lemmon, Anne Moisan, William Olson, Tyler Rauert, Richard Russell, Lawrence Velte, John Wood, and Michael Yaffe. There are 38 participants from 20 countries.

NESA Fellow Addresses Conference

Distinguished Research Fellow Najim Abed Al-Jabourey, a retired Iraqi Major General, and NESA Research Associate Sterling Jensen presented a paper on the Iraqi and al-Qaeda roles in the Sunni Awakening at a conference sponsored by the Center for New American Security and the College of William and Mary. Key U.S. government officers, both civilian and military, attended the conference in Tampa, Florida. MG Al-Jabourey represented the Iraqi point of view and shared some of his experiences as mayor of Tal Afar in Northern Iraq, during the rise of the Sunni Awakening, when the new counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq was first introduced.
MG Al-Jabourey known as Mayor Najim since President Bush so referred to him in a speech in March 20, 2006, when he said that the United States was "proud to have allies like Mayor Najim," served as police chief in the city of Tal Afar in Nineveh province before becoming its mayor, from 2005 through 2008. In 2005 and 2006 he and BG (then-Col.) H.R. McMaster initiated a counterinsurgency campaign that became the strategy that was employed throughout Iraq in 2007 and 2008.

Additional Activities...

Outreach Chief Bill Turner and Deputy Outreach Chief Craig Lancto

Called on Egyptian Defense Attache Mohammed Elkeshky to discuss NESA programs and to coordinate office calls in Cairo.
They also made office calls at the Pentagon to discuss NESA programs and update contact information. Officials with whom they met included:
Jeffery Dienno, Deputy Director, EUCOM Liaison Office
COL. John Sullivan, CENTCOM Liaison Office
Michael Krause, Deputy Director, CENTCOM Liaison Office
Donna Watson, Protocol/Administrative Assistant for PACOM’s Washington Liaison Office
Paul Hanley, Senior Advisor to the PACOM Commander for Communication Integration.
CAPT William Sanders STRATCOM Liaison Office
John Provost, Deputy Director, SOCCOM Liaison Office

Professor Boggs, Professor Clad and RA David King:

Met with Mohan Guruswarmy, chairman of Indian think tank Center for Policy Alternatives for a briefing of India-China relations. · Participated in a half-day-long “PACOM Strategic Focus Group Roundtable Session” on “The Indian Security Dynamic” organized by INSS. The Purpose of the roundtable was to provide a brainstorming discussion in support of PACOM’s new India Strategic Focus Group.

Professor Velte gave a speech on Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb at a symposium conducted by the African Federation of Strategic Studies Centers in Marrakech, Morocco. Professor Fariborz Mokhtari addressed a National Security Institute seminar at the University of Delaware on US-Iran relations. The audience consisted of 20 international participants sponsored by the US Department of State.

Chief of Outreach Bill Turner, LTC Alley and Professor Larry Velte met with John AbiNader of the Moroccan American Center. They briefed Mr. AbiNader on a range of NESA programs and the unique opportunities for education and engagement at the NESA Center with a special focus on what the Center has done with the Royal Kingdom of Morocco in the past.

USA Today quoted Distinguished Research Fellow Najim Abed al-Jabourey effect of recent candidate disqualifications on elections and Iraq’s future in “Excluding candidates 'could move Iraq backward.’

NESA Center Continues to Grow

In 2009, the NESA Center increased the number of alumni produced by 85% (270 to 499), offered 50% more alumni-producing seminars (10 to 15) and doubled the overall number of programs offered by the Center from 21 to 42 over the previous year. By the end of 2009, NESA had more than 2,200 alumni.
In March 2010, NESA will celebrate its first decade of service to the nation and regional stakeholders with a senior executive alumni symposium scheduled for March. Also in 2010, the Center will institute an International Military Fellows Program with 13 fellows a year, offer 13 core seminars, 4 Defense Attaché luncheons, 10 alumni meetings and 10 Washington Seminars.
To keep pace with an increasing full schedule of programs, the Center has more than doubled the size of its facilities, including a second plenary room, and increased personnel from 51 to nearly 70. We are pleased to introduce some new personnel below.

Dr. Gawdat Bahgat joined the NESA faculty in December 2009. Before joining NESA Bahgat was director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. For 20 years, Bahgat has taught political science and international relations in several universities. His areas of expertise include energy security, counter-terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, International political economy, the Middle East, Caspian Sea/Central Asia, and American foreign policy. Bahgat is the author of six books and about 200 scholarly articles. His work has been translated to several foreign languages. Bahgat has been invited and presented papers in conferences in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. He is a frequent contributor to media outlets including Voice of America and Wall Street Journal. He holds a Ph. D. in Political Science from Florida State University 1991, an MA in Middle Eastern Studies, American University Cairo 1985, and a BA in Political Science, Cairo University, 1977.

Emmanuel Benhamou is a research associate focusing on counterterrorism issues. He comes to NESA from the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he conducted research and analysis on Middle East issues. Prior to that, Emmanuel was a co-founder and outreach director for the Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance (HAMSA), a project of the American Islamic Congress that focuses on advancing individual rights in the Middle East. At HAMSA, he worked with Diaspora communities and colleges to build human rights group networks. He has also worked with the Center for Freedom in the Middle East, where he was an advocate for the rights of the region’s indigenous Jews.
Emmanuel has a broad range of specialties, including terrorism and counter-terrorism, energy security, US national security, media and public diplomacy in relation to democratic and human rights movements, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He holds an MS from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where he focused on the economics of petroleum and energy security issues in conjunction with US national security, democratization and public diplomacy. Emmanuel is fluent in English and French.

Brianne Todd is a NESA research associate focusing on Eurasia and Russia, and an editor for the Regional Network of Strategic Security Centers (RNSSC) and International Fellows Program policy papers.
Before joining NESA in January 2010, Brianne worked as a research assistant for the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, where she analyzed foreign, defense, intelligence and homeland security and counterterrorism policy. She also worked as a editor for Georgetown University’s Journal of International Affairs and as a research assistant for Georgetown University’s Eurasian Strategy Project, where she focused on Eurasian political and security issues.
Brianne has experience working with the Department of State in Washington, D.C., where she was awarded the Franklin Award for superior performance in 2004, and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia.
Brianne’s areas of expertise include the political elite and regime change in Russia and the Central Asian states as well as European security issues. She holds a BA in Political Science, Russian Language and Literature, and Russian and East European Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.A. in Eurasian, Russian, and East European studies from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.
Brianne speaks both English and Russian.

Also This Month…

COL (ret.) John Wood, Afghanistan-Pakistan Coordinator at NESA; AMB Bob Loftis, (ret.), former Representative for Avian and Pandemic Influenza at U.S. Department of State, former Deputy Commandant, of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) and R. James Caverly, Director of the Partnership and Outreach Division, Department of Homeland Security, were panelists for the ICAF Pandemic Influenza Inter-Agency Exercise.

COL (ret.) John Wood:

Attended the Pakistan-Afghanistan Federation Forum at Joint Staff, the Pentagon.
Gave a presentation on Afghanistan to approximately 20 NESA Washington alumni.
Hosted the Pakistani Military director of Training Brigadier Muhammad Azam Agha and a delegation of 7 Pakistani Officers.

Professor Richard Russell was:

Quoted in a New York Times article, “Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Maze of Tunnels,” January 6, 2010.
Quoted in an NPR article, “Risky Business: U.S. Must Rely on Foreign Spies.”
Interviewed by BBC Radio on the Iranian nuclear program and regional reactions.
Quoted in a Christian Science Monitor article, “CIA Killings in Afghanistan Spotlight Jordan as Key U.S. Intelligence Partner.”

Professor Gawdat Bahgat was interviewed by Sanlian Life week, a weekly magazine with a circulation of 300,000 in China, on Iranian nuclear issues.

Ambassador James Larocco was interviewed by Voice of America (VOA) on Yemen.

LTC David Alley attended:

A special address by Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The session was entitled “Security Challenges in the Broader Middle East.”
An off-the-record, roundtable discussion between a select group of participants and Dr. Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Hosted Raed El-Khadem at the NESA Center. Mr. El-Khadem is the Second Secretary and Consul at the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, DC. The visit included a briefing on the NESA Center’s roles and responsibilities, a tour of the Center’s facilities, and discussions on how to diversify Lebanese participation in NESA events.

Professor Tyler Rauert:

Gave a lecture to the Cyber Crime and Terrorism Course at the Information Resource Management College on “National Security Law in Cyberspace.”
Participated in a symposium held by the African Federation of Strategic Studies Center in Marrakech, Morocco.

Chief of Outreach COL (ret.) Bill Turner and LTC David Alley USA, met with the Yemeni Defense Attaché to Washington, DC, Colonel Tayseer Saleh and Yemeni Embassy Political Officer Khaled Al-Kathiri (NESA Embassy Orientation 01-09 participant). They briefed Colonel Saleh and Mr. Al-Kathiri on the range of NESA programs and the unique opportunities for education and engagement at the NESA Center.

Ambassador Larocco and LTC David Alley hosted Paul Stares from the Council on Foreign Relations at the NESA Center. Mr. Stares is the General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and Director of the Center for Preventive Action. Mr. Stares’ visit included a briefing on the NESA Center’s roles and responsibilities, a tour of the Center’s facilities, and discussions on possible collaboration with the Council.

Professor Murhaf Jouejati was:

Interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor on defense cooperation between Syria and Iran.
Interviewed by Al-Majalla (Saudi Arabia) on the personality of Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
Met with Massoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Ambassador Lemmon:

Participated in a conference call briefing organized by the New America Foundation and the SETA on the latest crisis in Turkish-Israeli relations.
Chaired the third Language Policy Roundtable co-sponsored by the Language Flagship Group and the Stimson Center. Discussion focused on strategies for more extensive offering of global languages in US elementary and secondary education.
Participated in an Iran Policy luncheon discussion at the Nixon Center.

LTC Alley and Professor Lawrence Velte met with Harvard Kennedy School of Government masters candidates, Matt Siller and Jeff Treistman. The visit included a discussion of their research agenda on ways to increase African-related expertise within AFRICOM, particularly at the operational and tactical levels.

Distinguished Research Fellow MG (ret.) Najim Abed Al-Jabouri and Research Associate Sterling Jensen presented a paper on the Iraqi and al-Qaeda roles in the Sunni Awakening at a conference held in Tampa, FL by the Center for a New American Security and the College of William and Mary. MG Al-Jabouri represented the Iraqi point of view and shared some of his experiences as the Mayor of Tel Afar where the “clear, hold and build” strategy was first introduced.

Professor Clad:

Was interviewed by BBC TV World Service on the Secretary of Defense’s visit to South Asia.
Joined a two hour panel discussion about U.S.-India relations in the aftermath of the conclusion of the civilian nuclear accord, hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center.

Professor Boggs participated in a two-day workshop sponsored by the National Intelligence Council on “Afghanistan Futures.” Dr. Boggs prepared a paper and chaired a session on the implications for Afghanistan’s future of its relations with Pakistan and India. Participants included six other South Asia specialists and a number of U.S. government Afghan analysts.

January Transitions

Mr. Amin Lashkari (ES 02-08) from Afghanistan is currently undertaking his Master’s of Arts program in international security policy in Geneva, Switzerland. He will return to Afghanistan in June 2010.

LTC Kawser Ahmed (ES 04-09) from Bangladesh recently published a book titled Conflict in Western Sahara and Quest for Peace. LTC Ahmed is the Commanding Officer in the 6th Calvary with the Bangladesh

CAPT Francois Rebour (CT 01-07) from France was recently assigned to the National Military Command Center in Paris as part of the Commander’s Assessment Group. Previously, CAP Rebour worked at the French Joint Center for Concept and Doctrine.

COL Salam Sarhan Ali (ES 02-04) is now the Iraqi Associate Military Attache at the Embassy of Iraq in Romania. Previously, COL Ali was the training and doctrine officer in the Coalition of Iraq Department of the Ministry of Defense.

Mr. Mouaad Ibriz (CT 03-09) is now the Political Counselor at the Embassy of Morocco to Washington, DC. Mr. Ibriz previously served as the Counselor/Advisor in the Secretary General Cabinet with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Narayan Thapa (CT02-09) is now the Head of the Finance Division with the Armed Police Force of Nepal. Previously, he served as the APF Senior Superintendent.

CSM Cynthia Pritchett (SES 01-07) is now the Central Command (CENTCOM) Liaison Officer at the NESA Center. Previously, CSM Pritchett served as the Senior Enlisted Leader in CENTCOM’s Security Cooperation Program.