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2006 Annual Report Middle East Institute 2006 Annual Report The Middle East Institute (MEI) was founded in 1946 by Christian Herter, who would soon be named US Secretary of State, and George Camp Keiser, a Middle East scholar. The Institute was initially an adjunct of Johns Hop- kins University-School for Advanced International Studies but was then spun off as an independent non-profit organization. There were no organi- zations in the Washington area at that time that focused on the contempo- rary Middle East. MEI was designed to fill the void. The Institute’s charter promised: “…to increase knowledge of the Middle East among citizens of the United States and to promote a better understanding between the peoples of these two areas.” This remains the Institute’s objective. Traditionally, MEI has not taken positions on issues and does not identify with a particular political party or with a specific side on the many disputes that have wracked the region. The Institute continues that policy today. In- stead, MEI offers a forum for debate, opinion, and analysis through a va- riety of educational and informational programs, including briefings and seminars, media outreach, a scholars program, a quarterly peer-reviewed scholarly journal, a language program, a library, and various conferences. The Institute is supported by individual and corporate members, by in- dividual donors, and by foundations. MEI is a membership organization, but many of its programs are open to the public. Both policy papers and informational resources are available on its website. 1 Letter from the Vice President To celebrate the Middle East Institute’s 60th anniversary this year, we in- vited our scholars to look back over the decades and choose the most sig- nificant events and personalities that shaped the history of the region. Not surprisingly, their references were most always to a war or to an unresolved conflict. At a time when frustration with US policy is mounting both at home and abroad, MEI is more relevant than ever. Unlike other institutes that have a strong political bias, MEI offers a quality neutral forum for responsible dialogue — whether in addressing the crisis in Iraq or Sudan, peacekeeping in Lebanon or Afghanistan, or the never-ending Israeli-Pal- estinian conflict. For MEI’s 60th Anniversary Annual Conference this November, we en- couraged participants to look for fresh approaches to the policy debate. Attendance hit an all-time high of 500, compared with MEI’s first annual meeting in 1946, which was attended by fewer than 80. It is a sure sign of the soaring interest and concern for what is happening in the Middle East and the repercussions that events there will have on our national, corpo- rate, and individual interests. The high attendance also reflects the high quality of the panels and the first ever address to MEI by a US cabinet member, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman. For its regular briefings, MEI provided quality speakers who put the cur- rent conflicts into proper context. We intensified our efforts to reach into the American heartland through C-Span coverage and videoconference links for remote audiences, including the University of Texas at Austin and Portland State University. We continued to build on MEI’s reputation as a reliable source of analysis and commentary. Our scholars were in high demand. They fielded more than 3,000 queries from leading newspapers, magazines, and broadcast networks from around the globe. Op-eds by MEI scholars appeared in ma- jor media in key US and Middle East markets. Our scholars and staff also reached out to new audiences through their participation in conferences, speaking engagements, and reporting trips to the region. The Middle East Journal, which is publishing its 61st edition in 2007, in- creased its advertising revenues by 20% this past year. Newsstands sales were also up by 15% in 2006. The editors launched a CD series of pastMEJ articles on relevant topics to be sold at MEI lectures and other events. MEJ articles are now for sale on the website. MEI’s Language and Area Studies Department achieved a milestone at the start of 2006, winning accreditation as a post-secondary education insti- tute through the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Train- ing. The department enrolled more than 1,000 students in 2006 for Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Persian language classes, including many govern- 2 ment employees. We need to find more space to accommodate the grow- ing number of students. Under the leadership of new Executive Director Trudi Rishikof, the Sul- tan Qaboos Cultural Center continued to expand its activities, including a popular summer lecture series on Gulf heritage and a project that brought a visiting Omani librarian who spent three months cataloguing the Omani holdings of the George Camp Keiser Library. The Board of Governors named Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin as Presi- dent following the July 2006 retirement of Ambassador Edward S. Walker. Ambassador Chamberlin was Deputy High Commissioner for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) where she spearheaded hu- manitarian missions during several emergencies, including the crisis in Darfur and South Sudan. Before that, Ambassador Chamberlin was As- sistant Administrator in the Asia-Near East Bureau for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from 2002 to 2004, where she led USAID reconstruction projects in Iraq and pioneered both private and public sector partnerships to support Islamic education in the Middle East and East Asia. She was US Ambassador to Pakistan in 2001-2002. Ambas- sador Chamberlin brings energy and experience to MEI and a commit- ment to our mission. Serious challenges at age 60 are to expand both our funding and mem- ber base. Never has MEI been more necessary to help assure that debates about the Middle East are based on objective scholarship and in-coun- try experience. Otherwise, ideological and special agendas will dominate. There is nothing wrong with passion in pursuing knowledge; I have been passionate about this region since I first turned my studies in that direction in 1962. But uninformed passion is a dangerous ingredient that creates demeaning stereotypes of other peoples. It also prepares the ground for policy blunders. With greater resources, there is still much that MEI can do to educate Americans about the complexities and conflicts of the Middle East and to break down the barriers of misunderstanding. We welcome your support. David Mack Vice President 3 MEI Programs Striking a balance between coverage of both Qubad Talabany, Representative to the United pressing conflict zones and areas of traditional States, Kurdistan Regional Government interest, MEI programming in 2006 covered Moderator: Bing West, President, GAMA diverse topics ranging from Iraq to Hizbullah, Corporation from Sudan to US interests in the South Cau- casus. MEI continues to serve as a source of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Regional Stability information on the Middle East for academics, Steve Coll, Staff Writer,The New Yorker analysts, the media, and policy-makers both in James Dobbins, Director, International Washington and across the country. Through Security and Defense Policy Center, RAND our conferences, panel discussions, book National Security Research Division launches, corporate briefings, and policy pro- Colonel Richard Giguère, Military Attaché, grams, in 2006 MEI remained an important fo- Royal Canadian Forces rum for discussion of some of the most difficult Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Brookings yet significant topics affecting global stability. Institution Moderator: Marvin Weinbaum, Middle East Major Symposiums Institute Scholar-in-Residence MEI 60th Annual Conference: New Engaging Political Islam Approaches to Enduring Issues Maysam al-Faruqi, Visiting Assistant Professor, Georgetown University Richard Murphy, Former Assistant Secretary of For its 60th anniversary conference, held on No- State for Near Eastern Affairs vember 13-14, 2006 at the National Press Club, S. Abdallah Schleifer, DC Bureau Chief, Al the Middle East Institute took a fresh look at the Arabiya past, present, and future of the Middle East and Moderator: Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair how we approach the enduring issues that con- of Islamic Studies, American University tinue to confront the region. Panelists discussed a number of key strategic issues facing the Mid- Making Peace in Sudan dle East and American policymakers, such as Tim Carney, Former US Ambassador to Sudan exit strategies for Iraq, South Asian regional John Prendergast, Senior Adviser, stability, Iran and the international community, International Crisis Group political Islam, Sudanese peace, US-Gulf rela- Adam Shapiro, Darfur Diaries tions, and Israeli foreign policy. Moderator: Peter Bechtold, Professor, College Keynote Address of William and Mary Samuel W. Bodman, US Secretary of Energy Policy Presentation Banquet Speaker John Hillen, Assistant Secretary of State, Karen Koning AbuZayd, Commissioner Political-Military Affairs General, UNRWA America’s Partnership with the Gulf Exiting Iraq Rachel Bronson, Senior Fellow and Director Jay Garner, General, United States Army (Ret.) of Middle East and Gulf Studies, Council on Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for Foreign Relations American Progress Jamal Khashoggi, Media Advisor, Embassy of David Satterfield, Senior State Department Saudi Arabia Coordinator for Iraq Moderator: Marcelle Wahba, Foreign Policy 4 Advisor to Chief of Staff, USAF Advisor, Covington and Burling Douglas Bell, Deputy Assistant
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