orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org

“Yemen: The War the World Ignores At Its Peril” with Ambassador Stephen Seche

Wednesday, March 28th, 2018

 

“Yemen: The War the World Ignores At Its Peril”

 

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Ambassador Stephen Seche

Former Ambassador to Yemen

Executive Vice President of the Arab Gulf States Institute

 

What started as a Yemeni power struggle between competing domestic competitors, has morphed into a situation where Yeminis are the unfortunate pawns in a regional power-struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Even before war broke out between the Saudi backed government forces and Iranian backed Houthi rebels, Yemen was the poorest country in the Middle East.  Now the United Nations calls this the world’s worst current humanitarian crisis, with three quarters of its population in need of humanitarian aid.  With headlines being grabbed by Syria, Venezuela, and the threat of terrorist attacks, it is incredible to think that a country devastated by war, on the brink of famine, and experiencing the worst cholera outbreak in modern history would not get more attention.  Instead, in the shadows of these other global crises, Yemenis continue to be a victim of a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

What are the causes?  What are the solutions, if any?  Why should the world be concerned not just of the humanitarian tragedy, but of another failed state, a new Afghanistan or Somalia, that could foster the deadly combination of a proliferation of both weapons and global terrorism.

Ambassador Seche is uniquely positioned as a former US Ambassador to Yemen and still deeply engaged as the Executive Vice President of the Arab Gulf State Institute, to shine a spotlight on this true tragedy with no end in sight.

AMBASSADOR STEPHEN SECHE’S BIO

Stephen A. Seche is the executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

He spent 35 years as a career U.S. Foreign Service officer. From 2011-13, Seche served as deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, with responsibility for U.S. relations with the GCC states and Yemen. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Yemen from 2007-10.

During the 2006-07 academic year, Seche was a visiting fellow at the University of Southern California, where he taught public diplomacy in the master’s degree program. On his return from Yemen, he spent a year at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, leading a graduate seminar in the School of Foreign Service.

From February 2005 to August 2006, Seche served as charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria; he was deputy of chief of mission for the six months prior. This was his second tour in Damascus. From 1999 to 2002, Seche was the counselor for public affairs and the director of the American Cultural Center. He spent the two years between his Damascus assignments as director of the Office for Egypt and Levant Affairs at the Department of State in Washington, DC.

Seche spent the first seven years of his Foreign Service career in public diplomacy positions in Guatemala, Peru, and Bolivia. Other overseas assignments have included Ottawa, Canada and New Delhi, India. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and spent four years as a journalist before entering the Foreign Service.

5:30 PM RECEPTION

6:45 PM DINNER

 

Venue:  The Pacific Club

(4110 MacArthur Blvd, Newport Beach, CA 92660)

WACOC Member $75

Non-member $90

Student $50

Dietary Restrictions: Please e-mail orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org or call our office (949)253-5751 by Wednesday, March 21st, 2018. Accommodations cannot be made after this date.

Refund Policy: Refund requests will not be accepted after the registration deadline. Cancellations must be made no later than the registration deadline.

Paying by Check: If sending in a check, please call our office by Monday, March 19th, 2018

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Video: General David Petraeus at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum (2017)

This November 28, 2017 dinner was a partnership between the Richard Nixon Foundation and the World Affairs Council of Orange County. Dinner co-chairs were Nixon Foundation President William H. Baribault and World Affairs Council Chairman Judge James P. Gray (Ret.), while vice chairs were Ambassador and Mrs. George L. Argyros and the Mark Chapin Johnson Foundation.

The dinner was attended by nearly 400 guests, in the Library’s magnificent White House East Room.

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum Situated on nine rolling acres in Yorba Linda, California, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum offers visitors an insider’s glimpse into the events, people and world that shaped, and were shaped by, the 37th President.

“Thank you for an excuse to visit this Library for the very first time,” said General David Petraeus, a retired four-star Army General, and one of the most consequential and effective military leaders of our generation. Speaking in a packed East Room at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum on November 28, the General offered his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s foreign policies, the North Korea nuclear issue, US-China relations, continuing troubles in the Middle East, President Nixon’s strategic vision, and leadership. Commenting on whether the United States should continue to lead the world’s rules-based international order, General Petraeus said that doing so is “something that I am firmly committed to and think we should strongly do, and it’s something that the man around whom this Library is built was absolutely committed to, and did so much to help forge and then to help evolve, particularly with, of course, as it’s termed here – ‘the week that changed the world’ with his opening to China… The One China policy still is the policy of the United States, and it began as the brainchild of an individual – only he could have gone to China.” “Someone told me one time, ‘Don’t tell me how high the guy jumped; tell me how high he jumped back after getting knocked down,’ and that’s what this Library, I think, above all says… It’s really how you respond to adversity that counts… This is a truly extraordinary national treasure.”

General Petraeus graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the United States Army for 37 years. His four-star assignments included serving as Commanding General, Multi-National Force – Iraq from 2007 to 2008 (during which he oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq), the 10th Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) from 2008 to 2010, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from 2010 to 2011. He was appointed by President Barack Obama as Director of the CIA in 2011, and served until 2012. He is now the Judge Widney Professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

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WACA 2017 National Conference – Scholarship Opportunity

WACA and Councils to provide 25 Student Scholarships for 2017 National Conference

 

The National Board of Directors of the World Affairs Councils of America is pleased to announce that WACA will offer 25 scholarships for undergraduate students from the Council network to attend our 2017 National Conference – The Future of American Leadership  November 15-17 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.

 

This year’s WACA Conference promises to be a special opportunity for our network of Council leaders, members, friends, and students to engage with many leading policy makers and analysts about critical national security issues and America’s role in the world.

 

This is a competitive program. The scholarship includes registration fees plus $1,000 per student to be used towards travel, lodging, and/or incidentals. The Scholarship will be implemented as follows:

  •  WACOC will select one student who will be nominated for 2017 WACA National Conference
  • Nominated student will be reviewed by the National Office in consultation with the WACA
  • National Board of Directors. 25 students from around the country will be selected to attend the 2017 WACA National Conference
  • The candidate must be an undergraduate student-18 years and older. High school and graduate student are NOT eligible
  • Student must submit the Nomination Form along with their college transcript
  • Nominations are due by Tuesday, October 10th, 2017. Send the nomination form and the transcript to orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org
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“Myanmar: The Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya & Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s Reaction” with Dr. Azeem Ibrahim – Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College

November 2017

“Myanmar: The Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya & Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s Reaction”

with

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Dr. Azeem Ibrahim

Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is author of the recently released, “The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide.”  Over 400,000, 1/4 of the Rohingya population in Rakhine State, have fled their homes since the long simmering conflict between the Myanmar military and the Rohingya boiled over on August 25th.  The United Nations has described the situation as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing and world leaders have pleaded with Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to speak out more forcefully about the crises.

Dr. Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy and Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has previously been appointed an International Security Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a World Fellow at Yale University.

 

DATE & LOCATION: TBA

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“The New Diplomacy: 21st Century Challenges in Foreign Policy” with Ambassador Cameron Munter

Thursday, March 1st, 2017

 

“The New Diplomacy: 21st Century Challenges in Foreign Policy”

 

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Ambassador Cameron Munter

President & CEO of East West Institute

Former US Ambassador to Serbia & Pakistan

 

In the 21st century, many problems defy simple state to state solutions.  For example, what do we do about the ongoing refugee crisis, climate change, and cyber-security? Cyber-security for example, is the ultimate trans-national threat. It is a challenge that is understood by few, but impacts everyone.  It’s something to be dealt with by business, finance, governments, and individuals.  It’s something abused by terrorists, and something used by nation-states as a new means for weak nations to take on more powerful adversaries.

How do we get beyond the traditional diplomats in an embassy working in a 19th century fashion?  Who are the people who should be involved in the new conversations that need to be taking place?  Are they young people?  Are they women?  Are they people who have been disenfranchised in the past?   The overriding question is, “Can we get the answers that we want?”  Can we get beyond the simple question that defines country to country?

As someone who has worked both as a diplomat at our nation’s highest levels, and as a CEO and President of a nonprofit, addressing these new questions, Ambassador Cameron Munter is uniquely positioned to explain the challenges, and contribute to the conversation of how the world can work together to solve these new 21st century issues.

 

VENUE: Center Club

(650 TOWN CENTER DRIVE, GARDEN LEVEL, COSTA MESA, CA 92626)

TIME: Registration/ General Reception 5:30 PM

             Dinner/Speaker Program 6:45 PM

 

WACOC MEMBER $67/ NON-MEMBER $82/ STUDENT $50

Dietary Restrictions: Please e-mail orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org or call our office (949)253-5751 by Thursday, February 22nd, 2018. Accommodations cannot be made after this date.

Refund Policy: Refund requests will not be accepted after the registration deadline. Cancellations must be made no later than the registration deadline.

Paying by Check: If sending in a check, please call our office by Tuesday, February 20th, 2018

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WACOC’s 50th Anniversary with Ambassador Ryan Crocker – “Middle East Meltdown: Causes & Consequences for the U.S.”

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018

 

 WACOC’s 50th Anniversary

*Black tie optional*

 

“Middle East Meltdown: Causes & Consequences for the U.S.”

 

Ambassador Ryan Crocker

Former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon

Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom

 

Ryan Crocker

The World Affairs Council of Orange County will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary with one of the highest profile American diplomats of our generation, Ambassador Ryan Crocker.   Dubbed, “America’s Lawrence of Arabia” by former US President, George W. Bush, Ambassador Crocker has held our nation’s highest diplomatic positions throughout the Middle East, having served as US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Kuwait.

For decades, Ambassador Crocker has courageously and dutifully served our nation in leadership positions throughout the Middle East and South Asia.  In August 1990, Crocker served as Director of the Iraq-Kuwait Task Force following the Iraq invasion of Kuwait.  In 2002, he led a team that secretly worked with Iranian counterparts to capture Al Qaeda operatives in the days after 9/11.  Prior to the invasion of Iraq, he co-authored a memo for Secretary of State Colin Powell warning that overthrowing Saddam Hussein could unleash long-repressed ethnic and sectarian tensions in Iraq, potentially pulling in Iran and Syria, and warning that the US would be left to rebuild the country’s economic and political systems.  Most recently he was General David Petraeus’s civilian partner as US Ambassador to Iraq during the US troop surge in 2007.

Ambassador Crocker in his speech to our Council will address the causes and consequences of the current “meltdown” in the Middle East including the ongoing crisis in the various nations there.

Venue: Hotel Irvine

 (17900 JAMBOREE ROAD, IRVINE, CA 92614)

Time: 5:30 PM Registration/Reception

            6:45 PM Speaker/Dinner

 

$85 WACOC MEMBER & GUEST/ $100 NON-MEMBER/ $50 STUDENT/$1250 TABLE SPONSOR

 

 


WACOC 50TH ANNIVERSARY AD SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY!

Please take out a personal or company AD to honor our Council and its members and receive recognition for your contribution!

Full Page $175

1/2 Page $100

1/4 Page $50

 

Please fill out the Ad Sponsorship form and follow the instructions for sending logos/business cards and messages and payment methods.

SPONSORSHIP AD PAYING BY CHECK

 

SPONSORSHIP AD PAYING BY CARD

(If you are paying for  the Ad via credit/debit card please e-mail your logo/business cards to orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org)

 

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Annual Holiday Party & Sir Eldon Griffith’s Around the World Talk

Tuesday, December 19th, 2017

 

Annual Holiday Party & Sir Eldon Griffith’s Around the World Talk

“Global Challenges for the US & The World in the Coming Year”

with

Nubar Hovsepian, PhD.

Chair & Associate Professor of Political Science at Chapman University

 

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 &

Special Guest Performance by:

Cesar Sanchez

 

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Francis Fukuyama declared that the end of the Cold War, was the triumph of liberal democracy. This triumph has fostered populist ideologies as evidenced by Brexit and Trump’s ascendance to the US presidency. The bi-polar international system enabled the emergence of unipolar world dominated by the US. However, this did not last. Instead, we have a new multipolar world that has weakened American hegemony. In view of these changes, will the US become more isolationist, and if so what are the implications for international trade, democracy, and major international conflicts?

Dr. Nubar Hovsepian is chair of Political Science at Chapman University. He teaches courses on Middle East politics, democracy and de-democratization, and globalization’s implications for democracy and peace. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the Graduate Center—City University of New York. He edited: The War on Lebanon (2007). His book: Palestinian State Formation: Education and the Construction of National Identity, was published in 2009. He is currently working on a book on Edward Said as a Oppositional Intellectual. In addition, he has written and edited four books (in Arabic), most notably on the Iranian revolution of 1979. He served as Political Affairs officer at the United Nations (1982-84), and has worked as publisher, journalist, and development specialist.

 

Venue:

The Pacific Club

         4110 MacArthur Blvd, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Time:

5:30 PM Registration/Hosted Champagne Reception

6:45 PM Dinner/Speaker Program

$72 WACOC Members/$87 Non-Members/$58 Student

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“Global Disaster Relief & Responding to Humanitarian Crises” with Kerri Murray – President of ShelterBox USA

Thursday, October 19th, 2017

 

REGISTER NOW!

 

“Global Disaster Relief & Responding to Humanitarian Crises”

 

with

 

Kerri Murray

President of ShelterBox USA

 

Currently, there are approximately 65 million people or close to 1% of the global population displaced due to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico, Caribbean, and US states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, the earthquakes in Mexico, and the millions of refugees in war-torn countries.  Since 2000 Shelterbox has been providing emergency shelter to people affected by disasters and humanitarian crises around the world.  Hear how they are reacting to the current crises closer to home, and how they have emerged as a major player in the field of international disaster relief.

 

$14 Student/ $30 WACOC Member/ $42 Non-Member

(20 % of YOUR ticket price will be donated directly to ShelterBox USA)

 

Location: Orange County Mining Company (10000 S Crawford Canyon Road, Santa Ana, CA 92705)

Time: 5:45 PM Registration/General Reception

7:00 PM  Lecture/ Q & A

Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served

REGISTER HERE!

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Annual Trustee Luncheon 2017

Sunday, September 10th, 2017

 

REGISTER NOW!

 

Annual Trustee Luncheon 2017

 (Trustees Only)

 

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The Annual Trustees Meeting is an important event for the Council. Attending Board of Trustees will be asked to elect the Council’s Executive Board and Officers for the coming year. In addition, Board Chairman, Serge Tomassian, will provide the overview of the “State of the Council,” and special reports will be provided by our Council’s officers on our finances and investments, our program results, our educational outreach efforts, and our membership status. There will also be time for you, as a member of  the Board of Trustees to ask questions, comment, and offer suggestions and recommendations for the Council’s activities over the coming year.

WACOC Trustee – $65

 

Balboa Bay Club & Resort

 (1221 West Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, CA 92663)

 

 11:30 AM – 3:00 PM

 

If you wish to attend, please call WACOC office at (949)-253-5751 or e-mail us at orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org

 

Please RSVP and send in your dietary restrictions by Thursday, August 31st, 2017

 

REFUND POLICY:

Refund request will not be accepted after registration deadline

Cancellations must be made no later than the registration deadline

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