The World Affairs Council of Jacksonville

Cordially Invites Its Members and Sponsors

To a Special Evening with Council Director

Diane DeMell Jacobsen, Ph.D.

Specialist in Foreign Policy and Peace Negotiations

“Prospects for Peace in a War-Torn Region: Insights from a Recent Visit to the Middle East and the Horn of Africa ” 

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Eventually all wars come to an end, and so will the conflict in Iraq. The challenge is to end the hostilities as quickly as possible, achieve some form of national reconciliation and, equally important, establish a stable Iraqi state that is not a threat to or threatened by any of its neighbors.

The solution will be as complex as the many parties involved and the centuries-old issues that plague the region. A rational, unbiased assessment of the current situation—coupled with a look back to review how past conflicts of similar complexity were brought to peaceful conclusion—may highlight a strategy that could facilitate and expedite our eventual disengagement.

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Earlier this year, at the invitation of Secretary of  Defense Robert M. Gates, Dr. Jacobsen attended briefings on U.S. strategy and operations, first at the Pentagon and then in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.

She also met with our troops in their final two weeks of exercises before going into Iraq and Afghanistan, and again after they returned. Hosted by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which manages coalition forces in 27 Middle East and Horn of Africa countries, she saw firsthand what the brave men and women of our military are experiencing, and had an opportunity to assess our military strategy as well as prospects for peace in this war-torn region.