This is a special event to mark Rowman & Littlefield’s publication of Bill and Allison’s Book detailing Amb. Farrand’s work in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the tense aftermath of the 1992-95 Bosnian War, Amb. Bill Farrand was assigned the daunting task of implementing the Dayton Peace Accords in ethnically divided Brčko. On the gound between 1997-2000, he exercised wide authority in efforts to restore travel across former cease-fire lines, return thousands to their destroyed and confiscated homes, conduct free and fair elections, and re-establish multiethnic government bodies-all in a climate of obstruction and fear. His story is rich in lessons for all those engaged in or studying peace building abroad.

Opening Words: Dean Edwards Rhodes, School of Public Policy, GMU

Host: Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Peace Operations Policy Program, SPP/GMU

Leslie S. Lebl served for 24 years with the U.S. Department of State. Some of her postings included work as Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels; Political Advisor to the Commander of Stabilization Forces (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, first in the American sector in Tuzla and then at SFOR headquarters in Sarajevo; and assignments in Russia, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, Bolivia, Germany and Poland, as well as a year as diplomat-in-residence at Yale University. Her talk will focus on the roles and responsibilities of a political advisor, and the value of this position for military commanders. Lebl has a B.A. in history from Swarthmore University and an M.A. in foreign affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Host: Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Amb. (Ret.), Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

Paul H. Tyson has spent the last three years engaged in Iraq issues on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. He will join us to discuss his 15 months working as the senior U.S. Embassy official for the newly established Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity. Tyson is currently the Senior Director for International Business at PRO-telligent LLC. Prior to his Iraq work, he had been assigned to State’s Office of the Inspector General (1999-2003) where he evaluated and suggested improvements for the Front Offices, Economic, Political and Public Diplomacy sections of U.S. missions overseas and in Washington, D.C. Other past positions include work in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs Executive Office (1998) to draft an agreement on Department of Defense-State personnel exchanges; in the U.S. Embassy Kuwait (1993-96) where he tracked the $2 billion dollar foreign military sales program; in the U.S. Embassy London (1989-93) where he served as an expert on electricity privatization; and in the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (1988-89) where he negotiated Third World debt resolution. Tyson also served as a civilian observer with the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula (1985-86). He has a B.A. in Government-Urban Studies from Dartmouth College, a J.D. from George Washington University, and an M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National War College.

Host: Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

Speaker: Ian McLeod (CMG, OBE, MC, BA), Brigadier (ret.)

Ian McLeod has been engaged with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) since 1999, promoting training in the Law of Armed Conflict in more than 40 of the world’s armed forces. He has further been involved, both on training and operations, with NATO, UN and African Union forces to develop a better working understanding between them and humanitarian organizations. Prior to his coming to the ICRC, McLeod was employed in various posts in the peace process in the Former Yugoslavia, including the International Conference on Former Yugoslavia Monitoring Mission, the European Community Monitoring Mission, the Office of the High Representative (Brcko Supervisor’s Office), and the Kosovo Verification Mission (1995-99). Our speaker was a career officer in the British Army, retiring as a brigadier in 1995. He was commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1961 and saw early service in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, including operational service in Aden. He has commanded at all levels up to brigade and had been a company and battalion commander on internal security operations in Northern Ireland. McLeod has held staff appointments in the UK Ministry of Defence, in a brigade headquarters and at the British Army Staff College, and has served twice with the U.S. Army. His last military appointment was as Defence Advisor (Attache) in Pakistan. McLeod is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Royal Military College of Science, the Army Staff College and the National Defence College. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Open University.

Host: Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

Attendees gathered at the Civil Affairs Transitions Roundtable in Founders Hall.

Mason’s Peace Operations Policy program (POPP) and the Reserve Officers Association of the United States sponsored a roundtable on “Civil Affairs Futures,” at Founders Hall in Arlington.

The day-long meeting’s agenda included panels on “Planned Civil Affairs Futures,” “Civil Affairs Legislative, Policy and Doctrinal Changes,” and “Thoughts for the Future.” The meeting also included keynote addresses from Donald L. ‘Larry’ Sampler Jr., USAID principal deputy assistant to the administrator & deputy director of the office of Afghanistan & Pakistan Affairs; and BG Ferdinand Irizarry II, deputy commander of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Two Civil Affairs Association Awards were also presented at the roundtable to the following recipients:

• Col. (Ret.) Doug Nash was given the Ralph R. Temple Award for Outstanding Service Furthering Civil Affairs.
• BG Hugh Van Roosen was given the JohnH. Hilldring Award for Outstanding Civil Affairs Military Service.

For more stories, visit the Currents — Mason School of Public Policy’s online publication.

Speaker: Governor Mohammed Iqbal Azizi

Governor Mohammed Iqbal Azizi is visiting the United States on a U.S. Department of State grant this autumn and will be sharing his thoughts on the challenges he has experienced managing Lagham Province in Afghanistan. Azizi succeeded Lutfullah Mashal as governor in March 2010, amid criticism by some that he was not a native Laghmani. He quickly showed himself to be a skillful politician with a growing appreciation of the conservative nuances and political loyalties that underlie conservative Laghman society. Azizi has worked hard to connect with people and regularly meets with district elders both in his office and across the province. Shortly after taking office, he won praise for sacking the notoriously corrupt provincial chief of police; and now seeks to establish an anti-corruption task force including representatives from the Governor’s Office, Provincial Council, Prosecutors Office, UNAMA, and the Coalition. Before becoming coming to Laghman, Azizi served for three years as Director of Education in Nangarhar Province, one of Afghanistan’s largest and most developed. Earlier, he served as Director of Education in Paktika and then in Wardak Province. Azizi holds a master’s degree in international relations from Karachi University, and a bachelor’s in political science from Baluchistan University.

Host: Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

Speaker: Robert Crowley, Executive Vice-President, Halcyon Group International, LLC

Bob Crowley recently returned to the U.S. after serving as the senior governance and development advisor to General David Petraeus’ Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team in Afghanistan (2010-11), primarily focused on efforts taking place in Kandahar, Helmand, and Kabul. Prior to that, he commanded a Civil Affairs brigade with four subordinate battalions providing full spectrum civil-military planning and execution capabilities to Corps and below elements in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations (2008-10). Crowley was the lead military planner for all Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq (2007), where he developed, implemented, and resourced comprehensive operational concepts for the employment of 24 teams supporting stabilization and counterinsurgency efforts. He also served as chief, Civil Affairs and deputy chief, Information Operations, U.S. Southern Command (2003-2005), where he was responsible for theater-wide civil affairs and demining operations in Latin America and the Caribbean; influence operations designed to reduce ungoverned spaces throughout the area, with a focus on counterinsurgency and stability operations in Colombia, Ecuador, and Haiti; and the interagency synchronization necessary to achieve U.S. government policy objectives. Crowley holds a M.S. National Security Strategy from the National War College, and a B.S. Political Science from the State University of New York. He will be speaking to us about his time serving as a civilian advisor to General Petraeus, and his observations on multinational and interagency operations in conflict environments.

Host: Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

Ginger Cruz has been serving with SIGIR since 2004, interacting with U.S., Coalition and Iraqi officials at every level to examine accountability challenges affecting the Iraq reconstruction program. She has supported the production of over 300 audits and inspections, the publication of 30 quarterly reports to the Congress, and the development and execution of SIGIR’s complex lessons learned regime. Cruz has also testified before Congress and spoken at numerous national and international venues. Prior to joining SIGIR, she served as a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; a news director, investigative reporter, anchor and producer for two NBC affiliates; a communications and policy director for the Governor of Guam; and a vice president for a federal consulting firm. Cruz holds a M.A. International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and a B.A. International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania. She will be speaking to us about the latest development in oversight of overseas contingency operations.

Host: Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand, Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

Amb. Robert Geers Loftis, Acting Coordinator

U.S. Department of State, Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS)

Ambassador Robert Geers Loftis has been serving as Acting Coordinator at S/CRS since 2010, leading the development of U.S. Government civilian capacity to promote conflict prevention, reconstruction, and stabilization efforts in countries on the brink of, in, or emerging from crisis.  He joined the Foreign Service in May 1980.  Previous overseas assignments include Deputy Chief of Mission in Maputo, Mozambique; Political Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland; Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand; Political/Economic Officer in Brasilia, Brazil; and General Services Officer in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.  Loftis further was appointed U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Lesotho (2001-04), where he focused on the promotion of democratic institutions, economic and trade development, and the fight against HIV/AIDS.  Domestically, he served as the Senior Advisor for Security Negotiations and Agreements in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs in the Department of State (2004-07); the Deputy Commandant and Senior Advisor for International Affairs of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at National Defense University (2007-09); and the Special Representative for Avian and Pandemic Influenza at the Department of State in 2009.  Loftis holds a B.A. Political Science from Colorado State University.  He will be speaking to us about the latest organizational changes to S/CRS, the Civilian Response Corps, and the Office’s other recent overseas initiatives.

Host:

Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand

Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU

LTG James M. Dubik

Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General James M. Dubik is presently a senior fellow at the Institute for the Study of War where he conducts research, writes, and briefs, primarily focusing on the training of indigenous security forces and counterinsurgency doctrine.  Between June 2007 and July 2008, Dubik commanded Multi National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I), as well as the NATO Training Mission-Iraq, overseeing the development and training of all Iraqi security forces, military and police.  Other assignments include two command positions at Fort Lewis, Washington, where he was instrumental in the development of Stryker Brigade Combat Teams; serving with 1st Cavalry Division as Deputy Commanding General of Task Force Eagle and Multi-National Division North, in Bosnia-Herzegovina; and commanding 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, where he led U.S. and multi-national forces into northern Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy.  Dubik holds a masters in military arts and sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, an M.A. Philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, and a B.A. Philosophy from Gannon University.  He will be speaking to us about the training of indigenous security forces in conflict and post-conflict environments.

Host:

Amb. (ret.) Robert W. “Bill” Farrand

Peace Operations Policy Program, GMU