Arab-US Policymakers Conference (AUSPC) 2006
Washington, DC -- October 30-31, 2006

Day Two - The 25th Anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): A Forum on the Future of the GCC

Session #8 - Luncheon Keynote Address: A Vision of the Future of the GCC 

Keynote Speaker: “The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Way Forward” -- HE Nasser bin Hamad bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Qatar to the United States of America and Non-Resident Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States of Mexico. Former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom, and Non-Resident Ambassador to Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, 2000-2005; Permanent Representative to the United Nations; and Non-Resident Ambassador to Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Nicaragua, 1996-1998; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Italy, and Non-Resident Ambassador to Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Malta, 1994-1996; and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Korea, 1992-1993.    

Panelists: 

• "A Geo-Strategic and Defense Cooperation Perspective of the United States and Southwest Asia” -- Lt. Gen. David Barno (USA, Ret.), Director, Center for Near East and South Asian Studies, National Defense University, U.S. Department of Defense; former Commanding General, Task Force Warrior, to train Iraqi armed forces in conjunction with Operation Iraqi Freedom; Commanded more than 20,000 U.S. and Coalition Forces in the Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, with responsibilities to the US Central Command for regional efforts in Afghanistan, most of Pakistan, and the southern parts of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. 

• “American-GCC Relations: An Assessment of Reforms, Elections, Challenges and the Prospects for Regional Peace and Stability” -- The Hon. W. Chas Freeman, Jr., President, the Middle East Policy Council; Chairman of the Board, Projects International; Co-Chair of the United States-China Policy Foundation; Vice-Chair, Atlantic Council of the United States; former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; and former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990-91.   

• Panel Questions and Answers