Edward Djerejian, the director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. ambassador to Israel, will debate Clovis Maksoud, former ambassador from the Arab League to the United Nations. The Arab League is the Near Eastern equivalent of the Organization of American States, of which the United States is a member.

The forum will also feature remarks by Mohammed Al-Shaali, the current ambassador to the United States from the United Arab Emirates.

"Our forum will be open to a multitude of views on the issue, with the aim of illuminating Rice and its surrounding community on a grand scale," Baker College sophomore Nawaf Bou-Rabee, a member of the committee, said.

In February, a unilateral U.S. military strike against Iraq appeared imminent. Rice students protested the use of force as well as U.S. sanctions against Iraq. The committee paid for a full page advertisement in the Feb. 20 issue of the Thresher .

The petition and ad generated considerable discussion on campus, including among people who supported the U.S. position toward Iraq. "Even though I didn't sign the initial petition, I read their pamphlets and I think their position is strong. The students were very understanding and non-confrontational," Hanzsen College junior Victor Young said.

"Clearly, Rice students view the events in the Persian Gulf with concern, and some, with alarm," Bou-Rabee said.

Bou-Rabee and the other student members of the committee seized upon the interest generated by the petition to organize the upcoming conference. Bou-Rabee's most daunting task was arranging to bring policy makers with credibility and prestige to campus. Djerejian was the easiest to locate and convince.

"When this idea came up, when the students came and said, `We would like to have a debate, would you be willing to be a part of it?' I said yes," Djerejian said.

The committee used personal contacts to locate the two other speakers. Wiess College freshman Abeer Al-Shaali, a member of the committee, asked his father to speak on behalf of the UAE. The UAE, like many Arab countries, relies on the United States for international support, but also questions the unilateral use of force against an Arab nation.

Maksoud currently works at American University in Washington, D.C., as a professor of international relations and director of the Center for the Global South. A committee member's brother worked with Maksoud in Washington and told him about the conference.

"I think it will be interesting to get the views of both Maksoud and Shaali on Arab attitudes toward the Iraqi crisis and U.S. policy in the Middle East," Djerejian said. "It is perceived that the United States is not playing its critical role in moving the Arab-Israeli peace process forward. In the Arab perception, the United States is not leaning hard enough on the Netanyahu government to move the Israeli-Palestinian talks forward."

Bou-Rabee will open the conference with a few brief remarks about the purpose of the conference. Al-Shaali will speak about the Arab perception of the Iraqi crisis followed by both Djerejian and Maksoud.

After the introductory speeches, Djerejian and Maksoud will participate in a debate moderated by Massoud Javadi (Wiess '97), a member of the committee.

"I'll be in charge of a moderated discussion between the two. It's going to be sort of a one-on-one debate, like the presidential debates," Javadi said. "There's an element of spontaneity. You won't know what one person might say or how the other one will respond."

A 30 minute question-and-answer session will follow the debate. Microphones will be set up for students to question panelists. "The forum is not just a boring lecture that students are used to -- it will be participatory, especially [during] the question-and-answer session at the end," Javadi said.

Both Djerejian and the students on the committee said they hope that this event will attract many students, setting a precedent for future student-initiated conferences.

"You have to remember this isn't a high profile student organization which has been making this happen, it has been from the start a grass-roots student response to the concern people have on this issue. This is why it is imperative that students come out to support this," Bou-Rabee said.

Javadi said that a successful conference may inspire other groups on campus to organize similar discussion forums on the issues that concern Rice students.

Djerejian said that the Baker Institute fully supports student-initiated activities and wants to integrate student ideas into its programming.

"If the students want to have ownership over a Baker Institute student lecture series, I would certainly welcome that.

We're going to see if this appeals to students, so that we could work with them so people that they want could come and debate issues," he said.

"It's amazing that a student organization organized something like this, especially since Rice is not considered an activist campus," Sid Richardson College senior Rangi McNeil said. "It would also be helpful, however, if such groups could use their momentum on global issues and turn it homeward, focusing on things that have [a] direct impact on campus."

This item appeared in the News section of the April 3, 1998 issue.