This week’s peace picks

Summer doldrums, but some interesting events nevertheless:

1. An Assessment of the Obama Administration’s Africa Strategy, Heritage Foundation, 10-11:30 am July 31

Venue: Lehrman Auditorium

When President Obama entered the White House in 2009, many in the U.S. and in sub-Saharan Africa believed his arrival heralded a major departure in U.S. policy toward the region. Expectations for America’s first African American president ran high. When President Obama visited Ghana, he delivered a message of faith and confidence in the African people. He also, delivered a message of tough love, encouraging Africans to take responsibility for the successes and failures of the continent.

Despite the anticipation for new a US-Africa strategy, the Administration required more than three years to deliver its U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa (June 2012). Customary policies – supporting trade and development, rendering security and humanitarian assistance, and combating poverty and HIV/AIDS – all mainstays of previous Administrations predominated, rendering an appearance of continuity rather than change in U.S. policy. To assess factors of continuity, change and shifting priorities towards an emerging Africa, please join The Heritage Foundation and its distinguished panel of experts for a lively presentation and discussion.

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

 

2. The Obama Administration’s Economic Strategy for Africa, Center for Global Development, 11 am-12 pm July 31

Featuring
Michael Froman
Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs

Hosted by
Nancy Birdsall
President, Center for Global Development

The Center for Global Development is pleased to host Michael Froman, President Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant for International Economics, for a discussion of the Obama Administration’s strategy to achieve poverty alleviation and sustained economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Froman recently led an interagency delegation to Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria to meet with a cross section of government officials, private sector leaders and young entrepreneurs on a range of issues and initiatives including the East African Community trade and investment partnership, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition; energy; and infrastructure.

Location: Center for Global Development, First Floor Conference Center, 1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

 

3. Syria in Crisis: Refugees and the Challenges of the Humanitarian Response, Islamic Relief USA, 12-1 pm July 31

Address

B-354 Rayburn House Office Building, U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

Speakers

Abed Ayoub, Islamic Relief USA CEO | Michael Kocher, International Rescue Committee Vice President | Michael Gabaudan, Refugees International President | Dr. Zaher Sahloul, Syrian American Medical Society President

Fees

FREE

Contact

RSVP@irusa.org

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

Presiding:

Senator Kerry

Location:

Senate Dirksen 419

Witnesses:
The Honorable Martin Indyk
Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy
Brookings Institution
Washington, DC
The Honorable James Dobbins
Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center
RAND Corporation
Washington, DC
Mr. Andrew Tabler
Senior Fellow, Program on Arab Politics
Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Washington, DC
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