The Rumi Forum presented "Piracy and Terrorism in Somalia" with Stuart J. D. Schwartzstein.

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Stuart J. D. Schwartzstein has worked as a foreign-affairs professional for more than 30 years, having served in the Defense and State Departments in a wide range of capacities, including as a diplomat, an analyst, negotiator, advisor and planner. He has also held positions in several think-tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS) in Washington D.C. His work has ranged broadly, both geographically and in subject matter, including defense industrial cooperation with European allies, technology transfer and export control issues, "information revolution" issues, encryption policy, international science and technology policy, chemical and biological weapons issues, refugee policy, Horn of Africa issues, relations with European allies, ASEAN countries and the Middle East. While at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (1992-96), he did a good deal of work on Iraq issues, particularly focusing on human rights violations by Saddam Hussein and his regime. In 2004, he served in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad as an advisor to the Minister for Science & Technology and to the president of the Iraqi National Academy of Sciences. He has continued to follow events in Iraq and has maintained contact with a number of Iraqi friends, including several in senior Iraqi government positions, as well as officials and experts in the US. Mr Schwartzstein is currently an independent consultant based in Washington, D.C.