Panel Discussion

"In the Crucible of Geopolitics: Cutting Through the Fog of War in Syria"

Thursday, October 25 - 4:00pm
On the campus of The University of Arizona
Memorial Student Union, Rincon Room

The Southwest Initiative for the Study of Middle East Conflicts (SISMEC), in conjunction with the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies (MENAS), the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and the School of Government and Public Policy (SGPP) at the University of Arizona, will host a panel on Syria, entitled “In the Crucible of Geopolitics:  Cutting through the Fog of War in Syria,” Thursday October 25th.

The panel includes Dr. Leila Hudson, Director of SISMEC and Associate Director of MENAS, Dr. Faten Ghosn, Assistant Professor in SGPP, Ambassador David Dunford, Adjunct Instructor in MENAS, Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution and Muhammad al-Khudair, MA student in MENAS.

Dr. Leila Hudson believes that this event is necessary to inform the university and greater Tucson community of the complex dynamics currently unfolding in Syria:  “The situation in Syria is the most explosive threat to global stability in the world today.  On the one hand a popular uprising against dictatorship reveals the limitations of US willingness to support genuine democratic movements in the Middle East, leaving Gulf monarchies and Turkey, a frontline NATO member, to manage rebel support.    On the other hand, hardline opponents, most prominently Iran, Russia and China have blocked international coordination through the UN and given life support to the Assad regime which has killed 30,000 of its own citizens in the name of state sovereignty.  With hundreds of Syrian civilians dying each week, the threat of a chemical arsenal, a growing refugee crisis and exchanges of fire across the Syrian-Turkish border, it is imperative that the US public be aware of the stakes in what has become a civil war.”

Sponsored by:

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies

The Southwest Initiative for the Study of Middle East Conflicts

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies

The School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies

The University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy