POMED Notes: “A Statesman’s Forum with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh”
January 26th, 2011 by Alec
The Brookings Institution hosted a forum on Monday with moderator Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Vice President and Director of the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and featured speaker Foreign Minister Nasser S. Judeh. Martin Indyk made brief introductory remarks acknowledging the presence of the ambassadors from Morocco, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority in the audience.
To read full notes continue below, or click here for pdf. For full audio, click here.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Israel, Jordan, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Iran Primer I: Domestic Politics”
December 15th, 2010 by Evan
On Wednesday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted presentations by three of the authors of the United States Institute of Peace’s (USIP) Iran Primer. Shaul Bakhash, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University, Geneive Abdo, Director of the Iran Program at The Century Foundation, and Robin Wright, joint Senior Fellow at USIP and the Wilson Center all delivered presentations on Iran’s domestic political scene. Director of the Middle East Program at Wilson Center Haleh Esfandiari moderated the event.
(To read the full notes, continue below or click here for a pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Iran | Comment »
POMED Notes “The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East”
December 14th, 2010 by Evan
On Tuesday, The Heritage Foundation hosted an event marking the released of Walid Phares’ new book “The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East.” Phares is currently a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a commentator on Middle Eastern affairs for Fox News. John Hilboldt, Director of Lectures and Seminars at Heritage moderated the event.
(To read the full notes, continue below or click here for a pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Corruption Challenges in Yemen”
December 10th, 2010 by Jason
On Friday the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) joined with the Embassy of Yemen to present “Corruption Challenges in Yemen,” a presentation by Dr. Bilkis Abouosbaa, Vice-Chairperson of the Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC). A portion of the documentary film “Destructive Beast: Corruption in Yemen” was also shown.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Foreign Aid, NGOs, Reform, Women, Yemen | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Opening Up: Aid Information, Transparency and U.S. Foreign Assistance Reform”
December 9th, 2010 by Evan
On Thursday, the Brookings Institution hosted a discussion on attempts to increase the level of transparency across U.S. foreign assistance programming. Karin Christiansen, Director of Publish What You Fund, presented her organization’s recent transparency assessment of 30 aid agencies. Ruth Levine, Director of Evaluation, Policy Analysis and Learning at USAID, addressed the U.S. government’s foreign assistance reform efforts. And Nancy Birdsall, President of the Center for Global Development, Daniel Kaufmann, Senior Fellow in the Brooking Institution’s Global Economy and Development program, and Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, the Liberian Minister of Finance, all delivered responses. The Brooking Institution’s Noam Unger moderated the event.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Foreign Aid | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Crisis in Lebanon: Sectarian Politics, Regional Dynamics, and the U.N. Special Tribunal”
December 8th, 2010 by Jason
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a panel discussion Wednesday titled “Crisis in Lebanon: Sectarian Politics, Regional Dynamics, and the U.N. Special Tribunal.” The speakers were Aram Nerguizian, a scholar with the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Randa Slim, an independent consultant and a board member of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue and the Project on Middle East Democracy, Andrew J. Tabler, a Next Generation Fellow in the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute, and Mona Yacoubian, head of the Lebanon Working Group at USIP and special adviser to USIP’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Hezbollah, Israel, Judiciary, Lebanon, Military, Political Parties, Saudi Arabia, Sectarianism, Syria, US foreign policy, United Nations | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Ahmadinejad’s Confrontation with the Iranian Parliament”
December 7th, 2010 by Evan
On Wednesday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a presentation by Bahman Baktiari, Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah, on the conflict between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the parliament. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Wilson Center’s Middle East program moderated the event.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Iran, Uncategorized | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Realities of Power Sharing in the Next Iraqi Government”
December 7th, 2010 by Jason
The Middle East Institute (MEI) held an event on Tuesday titled “The Realities of Power Sharing in the Next Iraqi Government” with Reidar Visser. The event was held to mark the release of Visser’s new book, “A Responsible End?: The United States and the Iraqi Transition, 2005-2010.” Visser was introduced by Kate Seelye, the Vice President of Programs and Communications at MEI.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Elections, Iran, Iraq, Kurds, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Unfinished Business: An American Strategy for Iraq Moving Forward”
December 2nd, 2010 by Jason
The Brookings Institution held an event on Thursday to mark the release of the analysis paper “Unfinished Business: An American Strategy for Iraq Moving Forward.” The event’s participants were all co-authors of the paper and included Kenneth M. Pollack, director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, J. Scott Carpenter, the Keston Family Fellow at the Washington Institute and director of Project Fikra, and Sean Kane, a program officer with the United States Institute of Peace’s Iraq Programs.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Elections, Foreign Aid, Iraq, Kurds, Military, Political Parties, Reform, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Egypt’s Political Future: The Parliamentary Elections and Beyond”
November 18th, 2010 by Jason
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace held an event on Thursday titled “Egypt’s Political Future: The Parliamentary Elections and Beyond.” The speakers for the event were Michele Dunne, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and editor of the online journal, the Arab Reform Bulletin, and Amr Hamzawy, research director and senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. The discussion was moderated by Jennifer Windsor, the associate dean for Programs and Studies at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf)
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political Parties, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “A Changing Middle East: Iran, Turkey, and Prospects for Peace”
November 16th, 2010 by Jason
On Monday evening, as part of the 2010 Foreign Policy Initiative Forum, a panel discussion was held titled “A Changing Middle East: Iran, Turkey, and Prospects for Peace.” The discussants were Elliot Abrams, of the Council on Foreign Relations, Ambassador Eric Edelman, of the Foreign Policy Initiative and Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Reuel Gerecht of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The discussion was moderated by Lee Smith of the Weekly Standard.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Islamist movements, Israel, Middle Eastern Media, Palestine, Political Parties, Reform, Turkey, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship”
November 11th, 2010 by Evan
The Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted a discussion titled “The Future of the U.S.-Turkey Relationship” on Wednesday. Brian Katulis, senior fellow at CAP, moderated a panel composed of Steven Cook, senior fellow of Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Michael Werz, senior fellow at CAP. As part of the larger discussion of Turkey-U.S. relations, the panelists addressed the development of democracy in Turkey.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Political Parties, Turkey | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Roads Not Taken: AKP Trajectories Since 2007”
November 11th, 2010 by Evan
On Wednesday, Dr. Nora Fisher Onar, professor of Politics and International Relations at Bahcesehir Unverisity in Istanbul and visiting research fellow at Oxford University’s Centre for International Studies, spoke on differing schools of thought within Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Elections, Legislation, Political Islam, Turkey | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Iraq’s Development Challenges”
November 2nd, 2010 by Jason
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held a roundtable discussion Tuesday titled “Iraq’s Development Challenges.” The discussants were Christine McNab, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General & UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, John Desrocher, Director, Office of Iraq Affairs, US Department of State, and Leslie Campbell, Regional Director for the Middle East & North Africa, National Democratic Institute (NDI). The discussion was moderated by Frederick Tipson, Director of UNDP/Washington.
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Iraq, Political Parties, Public Opinion, Reform, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women Are Transforming the Middle East”
October 28th, 2010 by Evan
On Wednesday Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, presented her new book “Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East” at an event sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East and Environmental Change and Security Programs. Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East Program, moderated the event.
(To read the full notes, continue below or click here for the pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Women | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Human Rights in Iran”
October 28th, 2010 by Jason
The Brookings Institution held a panel discussion on Thursday titled “Human Rights in Iran.” The discussion was moderated by Kenneth Pollack, Senior Fellow and Director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. The panelists were Geneive Abdo, Director of the Iran Program at the Century Foundation, Philo Dibble, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Markus Löning, Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, and Mojtaba Vahedi, political advisor to former Iranian presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Diplomacy, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »
POMED Notes: “19th Annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference”
October 22nd, 2010 by Jason
The National Council on US-Arab Relations held its 19th annual Arab-US Policymakers Conference on Thursday. Opening remarks were made by Dr. John Duke Anthony, President and CEO of the National Council on US-Arab Relations and Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, chairman of the Board of Directors at the National Council on US-Arab Relations. The first talk on the agenda was entitled “Arab-US Relations: Misadventures Past and Present,” and was given by The Honorable Chas W. Freeman Jr., former Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of Defense.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf.)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Diplomacy, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islam and Democracy, Military, Neocons, Political Parties, Sectarianism, Terrorism, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “What Next for Afghanistan? A Post-Election Analysis”
October 20th, 2010 by Anna
On Monday, October 18th, the Brookings Institution held an event called “What Next for Afghanistan? A Post-Election Analysis.” The panel was moderated by Martin Indyk, Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution. The panelists were Thomas Garrett, Vice President for Programs at the International Republican Institute; Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow and Director of Research in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution; Vanda Felbab-Brown, Fellow at the Brookings Institution; and Gerard Russell, Former Senior Political Adviser for Afghanistan. The group discussed the recent parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, focusing on polling irregularities, voter intimidation, tabulation errors, prospects for peace talks between President Hamid Karzai and Taliban leaders, and the future of the U.S. and NATO role in the country.
(For the full notes, continue reading below. Or, click here for the PDF.)
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Posted in Afghanistan, DC Event Notes, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Events, Taliban, US foreign policy | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge”
October 14th, 2010 by Jason
The New America Foundation (NAF) held an event today marking the release of Hooman Majd’s new book, “The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge.” Majd was introduced by Steve Clemons, Senior Fellow and Director of the American Strategy Program at NAF.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf)
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Posted in DC Event Notes, Elections, Freedom, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Political Islam, Protests, Public Opinion, Reform, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Sudan Referendum: Dangers and Possibilities”
October 13th, 2010 by Jason
The Brookings Institution held an event today entitled “The Sudan Referendum: Dangers and Possibilities.” The featured speaker for the event was Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States House of Representatives. The discussants for the event were Richard Williamson, non-resident fellow on foreign policy at Brookings, and Mike Abramowitz, director of the Committee on Conscience at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
(For full notes, continue below the fold or go here for pdf.)
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Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Human Rights, Oil, Political Parties, Sectarianism, Sudan, US foreign policy, sanctions | Comment »
