A Diplomat's View of the MIddle East
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Come learn about the challenges facing our nation from someone who’s experienced them himself. With so much turmoil and upheaval in the Middle East and so many fears and uncertainties about how it affects us in the United States, this lecture is a must for any informed citizen.
Gary Grappo is Distinguished Fellow at the Korbel School for International Studies at the University of Denver in the school’s Center for Middle East Studies and CEO of Equilibrium International Consulting, LLC. His diplomatic postings are marked by some of the late 20th and early 21st centuries most difficult foreign policy challenges, from Nicaragua and the “Contra” War to the fall of the Soviet Union and the many crises of the Middle East. The latter include:
- Post-9/11 actions to combat Middle East terrorism.
- Establishment of the State Department’s hallmark Mideast assistance program, the Middle East Partnership Initiative.
- Re-building of US-Saudi ties after 9/11.
- Negotiations to implement a Free Trade Agreement.
- Leadership of the super-sized political affairs division at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
- Coordination of efforts to help resolve the Mideast’s most enduring struggle, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
An Arabic speaker, he served as:
- US ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman.
- Head of Mission of the Office of the Quartet Representative, the Honorable Tony Blair, in Jerusalem.
- Minister Counselor for Political Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq.
- Charge’ and Deputy Chief of Mission in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- Director of Regional Affairs of the Near East Bureau of the Department of State in Washington.
His postings included Nicaragua, Portugal, Jordan, Oman (twice), Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jerusalem and several in Washington, D.C.
