“Bringing the World to USF”

5 YEARS AFTER THE ARAB SPRING: US-UK POLICY, THREATS, CHALLENGES

AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

MARCH 1, 2016

In Collaboration withHer Majesty’s Consul General of the United Kingdom in Miami

Presents

5 YEARS AFTER THE ARAB SPRING: US-UK POLICY, THREATS, CHALLENGES AND

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

9:30 - 10:00 A.M. REGISTRATION10:00 - 10:10 A.M. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Dr. Mohsen Milani, Professor and Executive Director, USF World Center for Strategic and Diplomatic studies Dr. Roger Brindley Vice Provost and USF System Associate Vice President for USF World Mr. David Prodger Her Majesty’s Consul General of the United Kingdom in Miami, Florida 10:10 - 11:50 A.M. CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

5 YEARS AFTER THE ARAB SPRING: US-UK POLICY, THREATS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Panel Chair: Dr. Mohsen Milani

Presented by:

Lieutenant General William D. Beydler, Took command of U.S. Marine Forces, Central Command at MacDill Airforce Base in Tampa

Mr. Patrick Davies, Deputy British Ambassador to the USA

Dr. Richard L. Russell, Professor of National Security Affairs at the Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Denise Natali, Senior Research Fellow at the National Defense University, Washington, D.C.

Mr. David Prodger, Her Majesty’s Consul General of the United Kingdom in Miami, Florida

SCHEDULE

Dr. Roger Brindley, leads USF World overseeing system wide global engagement for the University of South Florida (USF),

currently ranked 43rd among all public and private universities in research expenditures (NSF) and in the top five “Up and Coming” Universities in the United States today (U.S. News & World Report). In 2013, USF was a recipient of the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization.

A USF professor for nineteen years, Brindley has received the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award and the USF President’s Award for Faculty Excellence, and he was identified as an Honored Professor by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars in 2001. Brindley has written numerous articles in North American and European publications on policy and practice in higher education, has served as editor for three national/international journals, and frequently speaks at international conferences around the world.

This year, Brindley was elected to the American Public Landgrant Universities (APLU) Commission on International Initiatives, and has spoken at national conferences of the APLU, the Association International Education Administrators, as well as the British Council Going Global conference.

BIOGRAPHIESUpon graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1981, Lieutenant General William D. Beydler was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps and trained as a pilot. He is a graduate of Navy Fighter Weapons School and the Marine Aviation and Weapons Tactics Squadron One Weapons

and Tactics Instructor course. He commanded at the Fighter Attack Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group, Marine Aircraft Wing, and Joint levels.

Lieutenant General Beydler’s staff assignments include Headquarters, United States European Command where he served as the Division Chief of Joint Training, Readiness and Exercises. Lieutenant General Beydler served in Headquarters, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing in July 2005 and deployed to the United States Central Command Combined Air Operations Center in Al Udeid, Qatar as the Senior Marine Liaison Officer. At United States Joint Forces Command, Lieutenant General Beydler served as the Director, Standing Joint Forces Headquarters and, following a major reorganization and operationalization of the unit, Lieutenant General Beydler became the first commander of the United States Joint Forces Command, Joint Enabling Capabilities Command on 1 October 2008. At Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, Major General Beydler served as the Director, Strategy and Plans Division within the Plans, Policies and Operations Directorate in 2010. Most recently, he served as Director, Strategy, Plans and Policy, United States Central Command from 2012 to 2014. Major General Beydler took command of II Marine Expeditionary Force on 17 July 2014.

Lieutenant General Beydler attended the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy in 2002. He has accumulated approximately 4000 flight hours in tactical jet aircraft with over 3000 in the F/A-18. His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal with two Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three Gold Stars, the Air Medal-Strike Flight with Numeral One, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with one Gold Star.

BIOGRAPHIESPatrick Davies, OBE is the Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Washington and UK Permanent Observer at the Organization of American States.

As a career diplomat, he has worked in various environments around the world, often in times of crisis or transition. He has played a pivotal role in British policy-making around the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Arab Spring, Iran, its nuclear programme and human rights. In recognition of his outstanding record of service, in 2012 Her Majesty The Queen awarded him the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Dr. Mohsen Milani is the Executive Director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies and Professor of Politics at the University of South Florida. He also was a research fellow at Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Foscari University in Venice, Italy. He has

authored more than 80 publications in top peer-reviewed academic and respected journals. His works have been translated into Persian, French, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese. His book on Iran’s Islamic Revolution has been used as a required book in many universities in the U.S., Iran, Europe, Canada and Japan.

His most recent publications include “Iran’s Policy Toward Central Asia and the South Caucuses (Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.), “Iran’s Strategy in the Syrian Civil War (The Washington Quarterly), and the following articles in Foreign Affairs: “Saudi Arabia’s Desperate Measures: The Domestic and Regional Fears Fueling Riyadh;” Iran’s Politics after the Deal;” “Why Tehran Isn’t to Blame for the Civil War in Yemen;” “What If at First Rouhani Doesn’t Succeed;” “Rouhani’s Foreign Policy;” “The Ayatollah’s Game Plan;” “Meet Me in Baghdad;” and “Iran’s US Policy.”

Since 2000, he has been invited to 180 conferences and workshops in 26 countries. His advice is solicited by private and governmental entities. He has testified before U.S. Congress as a subject matter expert. He is a regular commentator on current affairs. Among others, he has been interviewed by or quoted by more than 140 national and international media outlets, including in The New York Times, Le Monde, The Economist, Der Spiegel (Germany), BBC World News, CNN, AlJazeera America, CCTV (China), TO VIMA (Greece), Radio Israel, Chuo-Koron (Japan), Toronto Star (Canada), The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Avvenenire (Italy), Publico (Portugal), B1 TV (Romania), Chunichi Newspaper (Japan), Il Reformista (Italy), Nepszabadsag (Hungry), Globo News (Brazil), and ABC Nightline Live.

BIOGRAPHIESDavid Prodger is Her Majesty’s Consul General of the United Kingdom in Miami. He took up his appointment as British Consul General in August 2014. David has served in a

number of roles, both in the UK and overseas, within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) since joining in 1999.

His previous post was as Deputy Head of Security Policy in FCO London where his prime responsibility was leading UK European security policy. This included: overseeing UK policy towards NATO including in preparation for the 2014 UK-hosted NATO Summit in Wales; leading the UK’s EU common security and defense policy; overseeing bilateral security policy relations between the UK and other European countries; and relations between the UK and the EU and NATO Allies, as well as other partners; conventional arms control in Europe policy; and UK space policy.

Denise Natali is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) where she specializes on the Middle East, trans-border Kurdish issue,

regional energy security, and post-conflict state-building. Dr. Natali also specializes in post-conflict relief and reconstruction, having worked on the Gulf Relief Crisis Project for the American Red Cross International Division in Washington D.C., and as director of cross-border operations for a non-governmental organization (INGO) in Peshawar Pakistan.

Dr. Natali is the author of numerous publications on Kurdish politics, economy and energy, including The Kurdish Quasi-State: Development and Dependency in Post-Gulf War Iraq (Syracuse University Press, 2010) and The Kurds and the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey and Iran (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2005), which was the recipient of the Choice Award for Outstanding Academic Title (2006) (Trans to Turkish Kurtler ve Devlet: Iraq, Turkiye ve Iran’da Ulusal Kimligin Gelismesi (Istanbul: Avesta Press, 2009). Dr. Natali is currently writing a book on regional energy politics in Iraq (Kurdistan Region and Turkey), the East Mediterranean Basin, and the Caspian Region.

Richard Russell is Professor of National Security Affairs at the Near East and South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He also has appointments as Non-Resident Senior

Fellow for Strategic Studies at the Center for the National Interest and Lecturer for the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Russell received his doctorate in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia, previously served as a political-military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, and was an adjunct professor of security studies at Georgetown University. Dr. Russell’s teaching and writing focuses on the most acute challenges and threats facing the United States and aims to fill the wide gap between scholars and practitioners in international security. He is the author of three books, sixteen chapters in edited books, and more than forty journal and magazine articles. Russell is expert at developing and directing educational programs for executives and professionals in corporations, businesses, and military institutions working around the globe.

BIOGRAPHIES

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“Bringing the World to USF”

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