Press Briefing: Questioning Military Aid to Israel

The National Press Club- The Council for the National Interest Foundation is sponsoring a press briefing on the topic “Questioning Military Aid to Israel,” in the Zenger Room of the National Press Building, on Monday, May 23, at 10am. Four distinguished speakers will participate:

• Robert V. Keeley, had a 34-year career in the US Foreign Service including serving three times as Ambassador: to Greece, Zimbabwe, and Mauritius. In 1978-80 he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, in charge of southern and eastern Africa. He received the Christian Herter Award from the American Foreign Service Association for “extraordinary accomplishment involving initiative, integrity, intellectual courage, and creative dissent,” and a Presidential Distinguished Service Award for his service in Zimbabwe.

• Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel whose assignments included duties as a Pentagon desk officer and a number of roles for the National Security Agency. She writes for a wide variety of publications including Salon.com, The American Conservative, and Mother Jones. Author of two books, Ms. Kwiatkowski holds an MA from Harvard University and a PhD from The Catholic University of America.

• Alison Weir, President of the Council for the National Interest Foundation (CNIF), writes and speaks about a variety of Israel-Palestine issues. Ms. Weir has given talks at numerous universities, including Harvard Law School, Stanford, Yale, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the Naval Postgraduate Institute, and the Asia Media Summit in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. Former U.S. Congressman Tom Campbell has observed: “Ms. Weir presents a powerful, well documented view of the Middle East. She is intelligent, careful, and critical.”

• Philip Giraldi, Executive Director of CNIF, is a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer who served 18 years in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and Spain. He was Chief of Base in Barcelona from 1989 to 1992, and designated as the Agency’s senior officer for Olympic Games support. His media appearances include “Good Morning America,” “60 Minutes,” National Public Radio, BBC, Polish National Television, al-Jazeera, and al-Arabiya. Mr. Giraldi holds an MA and PhD from the University of London. He speaks Spanish, Italian, German, and Turkish. Read more