UCF Newsroom:
By: Chad Binette
Weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, security, religion and other key issues that the next U.S. president will encounter in the Middle East will be the focus of a University of Central Florida political symposium on Monday, Sept. 29.
The Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government’s fall symposium will feature Scott Ritter, a former U.N. chief weapons inspector; retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, former director of the reconstruction efforts in Iraq; and Lisa Myers, a senior investigative correspondent with NBC News.
The symposium also will include national experts on terrorism, Central Florida religious leaders and UCF political science professors. The daytime session will begin at 9:30 a.m. and conclude at 3:20 p.m., and the evening session will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Both will be free and open to the public in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union.
Keynote speakers and panel discussions throughout the day will focus on some of the most significant issues facing the Middle East and important foreign policy challenges that either John McCain or Barack Obama will face after moving into the White House in January.
“Since the dawn of civilization, the Middle East has been central to human affairs,” said Lou Frey, founder of the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government and a congressman who represented Central Florida from 1969 to 1979. “We will consider how that region continues to affect the world stage and what policies might be enacted to address the critical issues impacting all of us.”
The Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government is a nonpartisan organization housed in the UCF Department of Political Science. The institute promotes civic education and engagement, particularly among young people. Institute programs encourage informed discussion of issues from diverse viewpoints, stimulate participation in the political process and support research on politics and policy. Visit www.loufrey.org for more information.
Co-sponsors of the fall symposium include Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A.; The United States Association of Former Members of Congress; the UCF Global Perspectives Office; the UCF Department of Political Science; Industrial Enterprises of America; the U.S. Department of Education; the UCF College of Sciences; the UCF Middle Eastern Studies Program; the UCF Kurdish Political Studies Initiative; the UCF Terrorism Studies Program; and the Global Connections Foundation.
Symposium Schedule:
9:35 a.m. – Weapons of Mass Destruction. Scott Ritter, former chief weapons inspector for the United Nations Special Commission, and Aubrey Jewett, UCF Department of Political Science.
10:30 a.m. – Religion and the Middle East. Robert Andrescik, director of communications, Northland – A Church Distributed; Imam Muhammad Musri, president, Islamic Society of Central Florida; Rabbi Jonathan Siger, executive director, Central Florida Hillel; and Terri Fine, UCF Department of Political Science.
11:30 a.m. – Security, Conflict and Solutions. Retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, former director of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Post-War Iraq, and John Bersia, UCF Global Perspectives Office.
1:30 p.m. – Terrorism and Political Violence. Bernard Finel, senior fellow and director of research on counter-terrorism and defense policy, The American Security Project; Bilal Y. Saab, senior research analyst for foreign policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution; and Bersia.
2:30 p.m. – Policy Perspectives. Stephen Day, professor of Middle East international affairs at Rollins College’s Hamilton Holt School; Najmaldin Karim, president, Washington Kurdish Institute; and Scot Schraufnagel, UCF Political Science Department.
7 p.m. – “What the New President Will Confront in Washington and the World (With an Eye Toward the Middle East).” Lisa Myers, senior investigative correspondent, NBC News; and Reagan Smith, UCF Department of History.
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