The year 2014 represents the most troubling security challenges since 9/11. With the escalation of violent attacks by an expanding array of terrorist groups, such as the “Islamic State,” the question arises whether the worst is yet to come. Without more effective international cooperation to combat terrorism, the costs to the global community will continue to grow in 2015. The latest military operations led by Saudi Arabia in concert with its Gulf and other  allies against the Houthi rebels in Yemen demonstrate the emerging strategic partnership trend.

A panel of distinguished political, diplomatic, military, and academic experts analyzed last year’s lessons, assessed future threats, and offered “best practices” recommendations for the U.S. and its like-minded nations. Speakers included Michael S. Swetnam (CEO and Chairman, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies), Professor Yonah Alexander (Director, Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, and Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies), Ambassador Bonnie D. Jenkins (U.S. Department of State’s Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation), Dr. Alaa Abdalaziz (Political Counselor, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the U.S. Former Chargé d'Affaires, Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Syria  from 2012-2014), Wafa Bughaighis (Chargé d'Affaires, Embassy of Libya), Ambassador Husain Haqqani (Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States (2008-2011). Currently, Senior Fellow and Director for South and Central Asia at Hudson Institute), Ambassador Theodore H. Kattouf (Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Syria; President and CEO of AMIDEAST), Governor James S. Gilmore, III (Served as the 68th governor of Virginia; President and CEO, Free Congress Foundation), and General (Ret.) Alfred Gray (Twenty-Ninth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps; Senior Fellow and Chairman of the Board of Regents, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies).

A special event report will be published in May 2015.

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