The Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination held a lunch seminar on "Crisis Diplomacy in Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan," on Thursday, April 5 at 12:00 p.m. in 012 Bendheim Hall. The seminar was led by Sam Gardiner, US Air Force (retired); Daniel Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor in Middle East Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School; and Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, LISD Director.

Col. Sam Gardiner, US Air Force (retired), works on strategic issues. He has taught a course on strategy at the National War College for 20 years. He has taught strategy at the Air War College, Army War College and Naval War College. In addition, he was a visiting scholar at the Swedish Defense College. He has been involved with and facilitated State Department strategy reviews on Burma, Kosovo, Haiti, Bangladesh, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Sudan and Afghanistan. He designs and conducts war games. He has conducted games for the Air Force, Navy, Army, CIA, and Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department. He has conducted numerous war games on the military options for Iran and written extensively about the issue. He recently conducted a war game focused on Syria.

Amb. Daniel C. Kurtzer is S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor in Middle East Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson School. He is retired from the U.S. Foreign Service with the rank of Career-Minister. From 2001-2005 he served as the United States Ambassador to Israel and from 1997-2001 as the United States Ambassador to Egypt. He served as a political officer at the American embassies in Cairo and Tel Aviv, Deputy Director of the Office of Egyptian Affairs, speechwriter on the Policy Planning Staff, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research.

Prof. Wolfgang Danspeckgruber is the Founding Director of the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University and has been teaching on issues of state, security, self-determination, diplomacy, and crisis diplomacy at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of Politics since 1988. He is also founder and chair of the Liechtenstein Colloquium on European and International Affairs, a private diplomacy forum in Liechtenstein.