The U.S. has key security and geopolitical interests that make access to the Persian Gulf region a critical national security priority. Ongoing conflict stemming from ISIL and in Yemen will continue to exacerbate regional instability. The U.S. should continue to engage GCC states, which remain critical allies in meeting the shifting security challenges in the Middle East.
Please join Dr. Khalid Al-Khater, Director of Planning and Policy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, USA (Ret.), and Colonel David Des Roches for a discussion on maintaining U.S. strategic presence in the Persian Gulf. This conversation will be moderated by Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.).
About the Speakers
Dr. Khalid Al-Khater
Dr. Al-Khater was tasked in early 2017 to establish the Policy and Planning Department after returning as Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 2014-2016 and Permanent Representative to the OPCW. Prior to that Dr. Al-Khater was leading climate change diplomacy as Head of the COP18/CMP8 Presidency Negotiation Team from 2012-2013 that resulted in the ‘Doha Climate Gateway’ agreements. From Sep 2006 until 2011 Dr. Al-Khater was posted at the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat in Riyadh. There he was tasked to establish and direct the Strategic Dialogues Department, to initiate systematic and comprehensive engagements between the members of the GCC and key countries and IGOs. In 2007 he was appointed Director of International Affairs Department at the GCC and was head of Strategic and Political Analysis in the Secretary General’s Office from 2006-2007. Prior to that he was the Director of Information and Research Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2003, which included Research, IT, Media among its responsibilities. Dr. Al-Khater started his career at the Amiri Diwan where he worked 11 years before joining the MOFA. He was Director of Studies and Research, head of Strategic Studies, and also worked in the Media department and political affairs Department. He has a PhD from the University of Zurich (2018), an Msc. in International Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (2001), and a B.A in Political Science from George Washington University (1992) with a minor in CIS.
Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, USA (Ret.)
Daniel William Christman is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and former Senior Vice President for International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. From 1996 to 2001, General Christman was Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has also served as President and Executive Director of the Kimsey Foundation. During his tenure with the U.S. Army, he was the assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and represented the United States as a member of NATO’s Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium.
Colonel David Des Roches
David Des Roches is an associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies. Prior to this, he was the director responsible for defense policy concerning Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Prior to this assignment, he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the DoD Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, as the senior country director for Pakistan, as the NATO operations director, and as the deputy director for peacekeeping. His first job in government was as a special assistant for strategy and later as the international law enforcement analyst in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
A British Marshall Scholar, he has also attended the Federal Executive Institute, the German Staff College’s Higher Officer Seminar, the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School, and the US Army Command and General Staff College.
An Airborne Ranger in the Army Reserve, he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan. He has commanded conventional and special operations parachute units and has served on the US Special Operations Command staff as well as on the Joint Staff.
Brigadier General Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret.)
President of the American Security Project
BGen Stephen Cheney USMC (Ret) is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and has over 30 years experience as a Marine. His career included a wide variety of command and staff positions with the operating forces and the supporting establishment. Gen. Cheney’s primary specialty was artillery, but he focused extensively on entry-level training, commanding at every echelon and at both Marine Corps Recruit Depots, to include being the Commanding General at Parris Island. He served several years in Japan and has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and Asia.
