Fifth Workshop with Iraqi National Security Officials

The fifth USIP workshop with Iraqi Officials held in Washington, DC was from September 13 through September 23, 2004. The group of 52 participants included men and women from a variety of ministries including Finance, Justice, Planning, Foreign Affairs and Interior. The workshop not only gave participants an opportunity to develop and enhance their negotiation and conflict resolution skills, but it gave them the opportunity to meet their fellow citizens from the various ministries with whom they would be collaborating.

The training sessions were led by Training Director George Ward and program manager Mike Lekson, with a focus on conflict analysis and resolution, styles and techniques of negotiating, and understanding the roles that third parties can play in helping resolve disputes. The program included field trips to The State Department, Federal Reserve Board and Congress, to give an opportunity for the group to meet some of their counterparts in this country, as well as give a better understanding of the way our system functions.

Highlights of the program included the SENSE simulation and the systematic development by the Iraqis of action plans to achieve concrete objectives in building a new Iraq, based on their own identification of their country´s priority interests.