Foreign Policy Classroom: The Implications of the Arab Spring on US Foreign Policy
Monday, April 23, 2012 6:00 PM EDT
Buchanan Hall, D 3A &B
On Monday, April 23rd, the Global Affairs Program will host US Department of State Near Eastern Affairs Spokesperson, Aaron D. Snipe, to discuss with students the implications that the Arab Spring has had and will have on US foreign policy.
BIO:
Aaron D. Snipe is a career member of the U.S. Department of State Foreign
Service and currently serves as Spokesperson for the Department’s Bureau of
Near Eastern Affairs (NEA). In his capacity as Spokesperson, Aaron speaks
extensively to the U.S., regional, and international press to explain U.S. policy
in the Middle East, particularly on Iran, Iraq, the Middle East Peace Process, and Syria.
Aaron’s most recent Foreign Service assignments include two tours in Iraq where he served as the
Public Diplomacy Officer (PDO) and Spokesperson for the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)
in Muthanna Province from 2008 to 2009, and as the Deputy Spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy
in Baghdad where he coordinated the U.S. Government's civilian media and messaging efforts in Iraq from 2010 to 2011. Prior to his tours in Iraq, Aaron served in the State Department's Office of Iranian Affairs where he worked with the Department’s Press Office, as well as with Western and foreign media organizations, to coordinate U.S. government policy messaging on Iran. Aaron also worked as a Watch Officer in the Department's Executive Secretariat Operations Center where he routinely briefed the Secretary of State and other senior department officials. In addition to his work in the Middle East and Washington, Aaron served as a Consular/Political-Economic Officer at the United States Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 2003 to 2005. In his capacity as Second Secretary, Aaron managed the relations of the four U.S. Government agencies implementing PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) programs in Ethiopia as post's interagency PEPFAR Coordinator.
Before joining the State Department, Aaron worked in the financial services industry as an analyst at UBS
PaineWebber, and more recently as an Assistant Compliance Director at MetLife Securities in New York City.
Aaron's commitment to public service began 1994 when he served as a National Park Service Park Ranger in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, where he conducted historical walking tours of the city of Boston, along with writing and research on the 19th Century community of Beacon Hill. Aaron is a graduate of Emerson College and Suffolk University Law School, and speaks Arabic and some Japanese.
Please RSVP by Friday, April 20th.
Light refreshments will be available
Sponsored by Global Affairs Program and US Department of State.
