Sarasota World Affairs Council to Sponsor Program on the Middle East
Professor Derek Harvey, Director of the Global Initiative for Civil Society and Conflict at the University of South Florida, Tampa, will discuss “Beyond Crisis and Conflict: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Middle East,” at a program sponsored by the Sarasota World Affairs Council on Thursday, January 15, at 6:30 p.m., in the Mildred Sainer Pavilion on the campus of the New College of Florida, 5313 Bay Shore Road.
The lecture is free for the general public. Since seating is limited, call 941-487-4603 or email [email protected] or reservations. A reception with the speaker will follow for SWAC members at College Hall on the New College bayfront. Information about SWAC membership can be found at www.sarasotawac.org.
Professor Harvey is an internationally renowned analyst of social, cultural, political and conflict issues, with more than 20 years’ experience in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. A former U.S. Army Colonel and Senior Executive for the Defense Intelligence Agency, he served numerous tours in Iraq, to include the Special Advisor for Intelligence and Policy to Generals David Petraeus and current Army Chief of Staff Raymond Odierno. He is credited for practically single-handedly re-shaping intelligence analysis – from policy to the tactical levels – for the contemporary challenges of modern conflict. He sounded the alarm on the growing insurgency in Iraq in 2003, despite optimistic assessments by senior U.S. officials. Deeply independent in his analysis, he is respected across the political spectrum and is featured in Bob Woodward’s book, The War Within, which describes how he effectively moved among the tribes of Iraq and developed the deep cultural and social understanding so lacking in much of government and even academic disciplines.
Professor Harvey is a frequent contributor to the PBS News Hour, National Public Radio, CNN, FOX News, BBC, and Al Jazeera. He has briefed Congress and the Executive Branch, including The President and National Security Council principals, on Middle East issues. He is a graduate of Arizona State University and earned a Master of Arts in Political Science-Middle East Studies from the University of Utah, where he also did his doctoral studies on Islam and the Middle East. Professor Harvey was the Army Senior Fellow to the U.S. State Department and attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Intelligence and Policy Program, as well as L’Ecole e’Etat Majeur, the Moroccan Staff College. His U.S. Military education includes the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Foreign Area Officer Course – Middle East/North Africa.
The Sarasota World Affairs Council, or SWAC, is a member of the largest non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to educating and engaging U.S. residents on global issues. It joins nearly 100 councils across 40 states that reach more than half a million people yearly. SWAC is hosted by the New College Foundation and is a 501(c)3 organization.
Media contacts: Virginia Hitchcock ([email protected], 941-922-5303) or Lynne Partington ([email protected]) For more information: Professor Derek Harvey: www.cas.usf.edu/news/s/546 Sarasota World Affairs Council: www.sarasotawac.org
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Dr. Nat J. Colletta
President
Dr. Barbara Hicks
Vice-President and Education Chair
Virginia Hitchcock
Vice-President and External Affairs & Communications Chair
Lynne Partington
Vice President and Program Committee Chair
Dorothy Watson
Vice-President and Membership Committee Chair
George Keane
Treasurer
Suzanne Janney
Secretary
Margaret Gale
Kelly Kirschner
Jeffry Olesen
Dr. Donal O’Shea
Rabbi Howard Simon
Johannes Werner
