Since its formation in 1981, the Middle East Policy Council has provided political analysis of issues involving the greater Middle East. Through its programs, publications and website (www.mepc.org), the council strives to ensure that a full range of US interests and views are considered by policymakers. The council aims to fulfill its objectives through three major activities:
• Middle East Policy — a quarterly journal of political, economic and social analysis.
• The Capitol Hill Conference Series — forums for members of the US Congress, their staffs, federal government officials, foreign policy experts and the media.
• Workshops for US high school teachers — daylong training sessions to build a fact-based foundation for educating America’s youth about the Arab world and Islam. About 18,000 teachers have been trained.
In support of MEPC’s mission, former US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said: “We applaud (the Middle East Policy Council’s) efforts to present the full spectrum of views and, occasionally challenge the conventional wisdom regarding the Middle East. As we face new and old — but always difficult — challenges there, the work of the Middle East Policy Council in disseminating information and stimulating thoughtful debate has become more important than ever.”
On Jan. 13, 2006 in Washington, D.C., at the 42nd in the Capitol Hill Conference Series on US Middle East Policy, “Saudi Arabia’s Accession to the WTO: Is a ‘Revolution’ Brewing?” MEPC President Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman stated: “Saudi Arabia has, because of its history and its oil wealth, been able to make up its own rules for investment and foreign trade, and to play by its own rules. But it is now embracing international norms for the first time. It’s doing so in its own interest and in furtherance of King Abdullah’s effort to promote reform in the Kingdom. WTO accession really marks the end of an era in many respects. That was an era where some people quipped that the national motto in Saudi Arabia was ‘progress without change.’ This era has come to an end and much change is now in store.”
For the full text of the session click to www.mepc.org.
