GSI at TBCFR Dinner with Dr. James Zogby
Source/Author: Kurt Wahlgren, Social Studies Department Chair
November 01, 2019
Upper School students who participate in Shorecrest’s Global Scholars Initiative attended a lecture by Dr. James Zogby. The Tampa Bay Council on Foreign Relations remarks were titled, “Update on Yemen and the Arab Peninsula.”
Dr. Zogby founded the Arab American Institute in 1985. He was also a President Obama appointee to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. In addition, Dr. Zogby is the director of Zogby Research Services, a firm that collects polling data from across the Middle East. Dr. Zogby argued several key points over the course of the evening:
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The “Project for a New American Century,” a neoconservative think tank, sent a letter to President George Bush after 9/11 that advocated for regime change in Iraq. Their logic was that the U.S. should use extreme force in order to exert dominance in the post - Cold War era. Dr. Zogby noted that this upset the power balance between Iran and Iraq and led to the U.S. losing prestige and moral clout in international affairs.
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The Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) left out key regional players such as Saudi Arabia. Dr. Zogby argued that the Obama administration should have been able to get Saudi Arabia to the negotiating table and possibly other countries like the UAE.
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President Obama did not hold U.S. led torture and interrogations in Iraq accountable, thereby making it difficult for the U.S. to have influence in current Iraqi and regional politics.
Matthew Danielson '20 had the following to say about Dr. Zogby’s remarks, “I really enjoyed my first TBCFR dinner, and I was fascinated by Dr. Zogby’s comments that President Trump pulling out of the Iranian nuclear deal initially made the other Sunni Arab countries happy, but Trump then angered many Middle Eastern countries by not restructuring the nuclear deal.”
Asher Rovin '20 said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the environment and the talk given by Dr. Zogby at the TBCFR dinner. He did a great job covering the history of relations between the U.S. and the Middle East. His first-hand experience in the field held my attention and furthered my knowledge regarding past and present events in that area of the world. Dr. Zogby’s talk opened my eyes to a multitude of questions and solutions for the present and for the future.”
Lucas Murphy '20 noted, “There are, on average, 22 suicides a day of Afghan and Iraq War veterans. This opened my eyes on how detrimental this conflict has been at home in the USA.”
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