WAC-DC

On December 15^th, the World Affairs Council-Washington, DC hosted a Foreign Policy Series Event on the crisis in Russia. The Honorable William Courtney, an executive with Computer Sciences Corporation and a retired American diplomat, moderated the discussion and asked insightful, probative questions to Russian affairs experts  Dr. Nadia Diuk ( Vice President of Programs for Europe and Eurasia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy), Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr. ( a member of the Federal Council of Solidarity, Russia’s democratic opposition movement);  and Mr. Robert Nurick ( Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council).

Ambassador Courtney introduced the speakers and opened the discussion by referring to the recent protests in Russia in response to the alleged fraud and voter intimidation by the government regarding of the recently held parliamentary elections. He then asked Mr. Kara-Murza how he would define the political crisis in Russia. Mr. Kara-Murza answered the question by emphasizing the fact that there is an inaccurate stereotype maintained by the American public that the protests by Russian people were about economic issues.   Not so.  He strongly argued that what the mass public wants in Russia is dignity and self-respect. They realized that it is time to rise up, expressing “enough is enough”. He also said that these protests will trigger the necessary political changes in Russia, and mark the turning point in its political history.

Dr. Diuk discussed Russian influence on “near abroad” countries and the effect of current turmoil to them. She pointed out that the “near abroad” countries, mostly former Soviet republics, feel pressure and are paying close attention to the protests and the outcomes. Even though no one can predict the result of the Russian presidential election in March, Dr. Diuk said, if Vladimir Putin ends up being the next president, he will have to be a totally different person as the Russian public has strongly expressed their demands and overwhelming discontent through the protests.

Mr. Nurick commented on the potential impact to the US-Russia relations. To the question of what it would mean for U.S. diplomacy if Putin is re-elected, he answered that he would suspect more contentious and problematic relations between the two countries. Putin’s rhetoric and propagandizing would make it more difficult to tackle the issues that the two countries have at the moment. He also expressed his concerns regarding the spread of terrorism and insurgency in Russia with 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics ahead. He said there is possibility that the protesters can become violent and tension continue.

Mr. Kara-Murza was hesitant to admit that the Arab spring motivated Russian protesters. He said that the nature of the protest is different from most of the protests in Arab countries, even though in the case of Egypt the protests were triggered by the election fraud. He said currently the protests in Moscow are very peaceful, and the mentality of the people protesting is quite different from those of Arab countries.

The event was taped and will be produced into an episode that will air on “World Affairs TODAY”, to be broadcasted on MHz Worldview at a later date.

On Monday evening, scores of guests gathered as Lynn Abercrombie, accomplished photographer and contributor to National Geographic, shared both captivating stories and breathtaking images from the life of her late husband, Tom Abercrombie, who also spent years capturing the world on film and in writing as part of National Geographic’s foreign editorial staff.  With the assistance of her family, Mrs. Abercrombie pored over literally tens of thousands of photographs from their travels to produce Traveling the World for National Geographic, a 352-page volume brimming with photographs that cover more than 40 years of travel that spanned all seven continents.  Mrs. Abercrombie, along with her daughter Mari and son Bruce, treated a captivated audience to an enticing sampling of stories and photographs included in the book — a volume that Mrs. Abercrombie described as “a picture story of two very lucky people”.

Lynn and Tom Abercrombie, self-described high school sweethearts, began their photography adventures in their teens.  Throughout the program, Mrs. Abercrombie recounted the career path of her husband, a renaissance man with guts, guile and innate adaptability that made him well-suited to exploring different cultures and climates, from his first trip to Lebanon and the deserts of the Middle East to his assignment in Antarctica.  Taking in slide after slide of phenomenal photographs, it is clear that the Mr. Abercrombie had immense talent and an impressive resume.  For instance, after converting to Islam, he was the first western photographer at record the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and the first photographic correspondent to reach the South Pole.  But beyond the impressive list of assignments, locations and accomplishments, one thing is clearly evident: that in addition to cameras and photography equipment, Lynn and Tom Abercrombie also traveled with an undying passion and sense of wonder for the people and places around them.  Mrs. Abercrombie noted that Tom liked to think of his work as adding planks to the bridges of understanding between countries.  After an evening of stories and photographs, the audience could only heartily agree when Mrs. Abercrombie noted, “I think Tom added more than one plank.”

 Mrs. Abercrombie was available to sign copies of Traveling the World for National Geographic at this event; while guests at the event had the opportunity to purchase the book on site, is also currently available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-National-Geographic-Thomas-Abercrombie/dp/B005MK2ALU

On Tuesday, November 15, 2011, HRH Prince Turki al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia gave a riveting address to a large contingent of members of the press and media during a Newsmakers Program at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.  Peter Hickman, Director of the Newsmakers Programs, moderated the program and introduced the Prince who is a former Saudi Ambassador to the United States, and the current chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.

 As Prince Turki al-Faisal began, he framed his speech using a sailing metaphor – “tour d’ horizon;” indicating that after carefully considering and viewing “ seas of change,” that while the conditions for Saudi Arabia currently may be stable, the “weather” forecast appears very troubling. Prince Turki referred to Saudi Arabia as the “calm in the eye of a storm,” caught up in the midst of “Arab troubled seas,” commonly known as the Arab Spring, as Middle East governments crumble and rapid changes occur in the social world, as Saudi addresses its own internal issues and confronts long-standing practices and changes that need to be re-examined and adjustments made.

According to Prince Turki,  Syrian President Bashar Assad’s refusal to halt his government’s violence against its own people has made his departure from power inevitable. As the former chief of Saudi intelligence services, Prince Turki said Assad had made his position clear by failing to live up to commitments made under an Arab League initiative to stop the bloodshed and start political dialogue.

The Prince said the Arab League had given Assad a “last chance” to comply with its proposal to resolve the situation and would now be expected to take further steps — citing Libya as a precedent. He also said that Saudi Arabia and its partners in the Gulf first brought Libya to the Arab League in March “and pushed the Arab League to take a decision to move the issue to the United Nations Security Council and bring about the resolution that allowed for intervention in Libya.” “Whether the Arab League will go that route (on Syria), I really can’t say, but it is an option and it has been practiced by the Arab League,” he said.

With regards to Iran’s alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United, Prince Turki claimed that there was “ample and heinous” evidence that Iran was behind it. He said that if Tehran failed to investigate and prosecute Iranians linked to the plot, Saudia Arabia would take its case to the United Nations.  The Prince encouraged a concerted regional and global effort to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapon production capability, and warned of dire consequences for Iran if it continues to engage in regional mischief and pursue its nuclear weapons ambitions.

While the “Arab Troubles” are an example of new troubles for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors, Prince Turki al-Faisal also addressed longstanding problems; mainly that of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. His Royal Highness noted that the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S., while continuing to be strong, is strained because of a strong disagreement on how to resolve this persistent  issue.   Prince Turki emphatically stated his continued support for the recognition of a Palestinian state. He believes that in order for there to be a just, enduring resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian dispute, meaningful, productive negotiations peace must involve both parties sitting at the negotiating table as equals – one sovereign state negotiating with another.  Therefore, he advocated strongly in favor of the Palestinian quest to seek and secure recognition as a sovereign state, and UN membership.

 As the press conference concluded, Prince Turki al-Faisal reassured the audience Saudi Arabia was in “quite good sailing conditions,” as prospects of alternative energy, social progress, and economic growth took the forefront in new policy.  The Prince then responded to questions from the press and TV media for approximately 20 minutes.

Following the announcement that the U.S. unmanned drone aircraft program’s computerized systems had been breached and possibly compromised with a “virus,” the World Affairs Council – Washington DC, hosted “The Cyber Realm – A New Way Forward for US Policy” on Thursday, October 13, 2011.  The Honorable Franklin Kramer, a leading expert in national security and international affairs, moderated a discussion between Robert Butler, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, and Samuel Visner, vice president of Computer Science Corporation.

Mr. Kramer began the program by highlighting the importance of the event’s topic. Cyber security, he explained, is the most important area concerning national security, noting the fact that almost the entirety of US infrastructure – including water treatment plants, power plants, and other necessary services – are linked to the internet and are, therefore, inherently vulnerable. Mr. Kramer also claimed that despite the many positive steps the U.S. has taken in the past few years in regards to cyber security, we still lack the prerequisite level of trust, confidence and reliability in the systems needed to have a successful defense against critical attacks.

The discussion that followed Mr. Kramer’s opening remarks covered a wide range of topics including the “internet of things,” intellectual property, international cooperation and regulation, state versus non-state actors, and the collection and analysis of information. Yet there were two major areas that both Mr. Butler and Mr. Visner focused on. The first is that the U.S. needs to accept the fact that perfect security is unobtainable. Mr. Visner explained that cyber security follows the same theoretic principles as car safety. Even though the technology in cars has improved tremendously, there are still fatal accidents; no amount of technological improvements will make a car 100% safe. With this in mind, the U.S. needs to understand that networks will continue to be breached even as our technology and policy improve. The second point both speakers agreed on is the best way to develop and implement policy. Mr. Butler stated that everyone, including the private sector, needs to work together to develop and implement a successful cyber security policy. Since private companies are at just as much of a risk as the public sector, the two working together to share incoming security threats and their strategies to prevent them would provide an environment suitable for mass protection. Moreover, the recognition that a perfect system cannot be obtained is critical to policy development.

Discussion was followed by a question and answer session in which the defining moment of the event was asked: what is the greater national security threat to the United States, state or non-state actors? Mr. Butler insisted that, in terms of importance, we cannot rank one above the other because they are not always mutually exclusive. Mr. Visner, on the other hand, argued that the U.S. should be more concerned with state actors since it is very difficult to distinguish between state and non-state actors thus providing no type of deterrence for attacks and if it were a non-state actor we would have the resources of the state they were in to help find them (which is something that we would obviously not receive if it were done by the state). Discussion between the audience and the panel provided added depth to the topic.

The event was videotaped for a TV broadcast, “World Affairs TODAY”, that will air on Sunday , October 30, 2011 at 8:00am on the MHz Network. For local channel listings, please visit: http://www.mhznetworks.org/how-to-watch-mhz/

On September 22^nd, the World Affairs Council – Washington, DC hosted a debate program: “To Seal or Not to Seal: Addressing the U.S.-Mexico Border” at George Washington University. Joining our members and guests were Dr. James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation’s Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies; Dr. Andrew Selee, director of the Woodrow Wilson Center Mexico Institute; and moderator Manuel Roig-Franzia of The Washington Post.  As the beginning of the debate grew nearer, the auditorium filled with anticipation of the ideas and viewpoints to be shared.

The topic of border security, as Mr. Roig-Franzia pointed out, “needs no introduction.” The first segue into the debate was made by Dr. Selee, who mentioned the notion that the real confusion about border security was that we all thought it meant securing our borders. On that point, Dr. Carafano agreed. He even pointed out that this was not going to be much of a debate because they agreed on that essential question – border security does not occur at the border. Real border security can only be derived from a realistic, coherent, comprehensive policy consistently implemented over time.

Dr. Carafano introduced the first point of contention in the debate, which he characterized as “Broken Windows Theory.” His explanation of this theory offered a way to create a “culture of compliance” by enforcing petty laws in order to encourage people to obey all laws. Relating it back to the debate, he said “Immigration enforcement is a broken windows problem.” Meaning, there is not sufficient enforcement. Dr. Selee disagreed, saying “It’s simply a choice of [how to apply] limited resources.”

Both men agreed upon the importance of immigration to our economy, citing the need for agricultural workers and the net benefit to our economy by those who perform essential and beneficial work for lower wages. The continuing support for a proposed 1,200 mile border security wall or fence constitutes “a symbolic slap in the face to our colleagues in Mexico” Dr. Selee stated. Not only would that installation hurt our relationship with Mexico, it would interfere with cross-border commercial transit, thereby further damaging our already unstable economy; as most of our trade with Mexico consists of a back-and-forth nature, with almost 40% of imported goods from Mexico made with some component from the U.S.

While both parties to this debate agreed that the system needed to be fixed, Dr. Carafano and Dr. Selee disagreed on how. Dr. Selee proposed changing the system all at once with a three part solution: creating legal avenues, such as a functioning guest worker program; amnesty or earned regularization of in-country status; and diligent enforcement of a changed visa system. Dr. Carafano adamantly protested that the system could not be changed all at the same time. He strongly asserted that granting amnesty to illegal immigrants sends a “big strong signal – we’re never going to fix the system.”

But the government has consistently failed to change the system, a fact both men blame on people playing politics. Mr. Roig-Franzia brought up the question of “who benefits from the status quo?” The answer was simple: politicians. But Dr. Carafano does not believe that opinions on immigration laws are drawn along party lines, rather local issues drive initiatives for law revision. The place you are from forms your stance on immigration. But with everyone from different places, no one can please everyone. Mr. Roig-Franzia bluntly concluded that we are “stuck.”

Reluctantly, moderator Roig-Franzia called the debate to a close, just having ‘scratched the surface’ of these difficult and complex issues relating to border security between the U.S. and Mexico. Because of time constraints, the panel could not engage in a formal question-and-answer exchange with the audience.  However, audience members capitalized on an opportunity to speak with Dr. Selee and Mr. Roig-Franzia at the reception following the debate.

The event was taped and will be produced into an episode that will air on “World Affairs TODAY”, to be broadcasted on MHz Worldview at a later date. 

For local channel listings, please visit: http://www.mhznetworks.org/how-to-watch-mhz/