Inside Perspectives on the ISG
Featuring:
As American political leaders seek a way forward in Iraq, the recommendations of the Congressionally-mandated Iraq Study Group (ISG) continue to dominate the headlines. For insights and perspectives on the ISG's recommendations, the Middle East Institute invites you to a presentation featuring three members of the Iraq Study Group Expert Working Groups.
Panelists include: Ambassador David L. Mack , Acting President of the Middle East Institute, who participated in the ISG's Expert Working Group for Political Development.Paul Hughes , Senior Program Officer, Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations with the US Institute of Peace, who participated in the ISG's Expert Working Group for Military and Security.James Placke , Senior Associate, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, who participated in the ISG's Expert working group for Economy and Reconstruction.
FULL BIOGRAPHIES
David Mack is Acting President of the Middle East Institute. His career with the US Foreign Service includes diplomatic posts in Iraq, Jordan, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia. He served as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 1986-1989. As Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under President George H.W. Bush, Ambassador Mack directed relations between the United States and twelve other governments, including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.
Paul Hughes is a senior program officer in the Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations at the United States Institute of Peace. Prior to joining USIP, he served as an active duty Army colonel and as the Army's senior military fellow to the Institute for National Security Studies of the National Defense University. From January to August 2003, Hughes served as the chief of the Special Initiatives Office for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance and as the director of the Strategic Policy Office for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
James Placke is an authority on Middle East politics, economics, and energy strategy. He directed the Cambridge Energy Research Associates Middle East research for ten years prior to retiring from full-time employment to become a Senior Associate in July 2001. He is author of numerous CERA reports on oil economics and politics. A US Foreign Service Officer for nearly three decades, he was previously Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, with broad responsibility for US relations with the states of the Persian Gulf region and for US-Middle East economic relations.
