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November 10, 2003
Middle Eastern Conflicts to be Addressed at Next Falmouth Forum, December 5

Robert H. PelletreauWOODS HOLE, MA—Ambassador Robert H. Pelletreau, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, will present a lecture titled "Challenges for the United States in the Middle East" on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Marine Biological Laboratory's (MBL's) Lillie Auditorium, MBL Street, Woods Hole. The lecture, sponsored by the Associates of the Marine Biological Laboratory, is the second in the 2003-2004 Falmouth Forum season.

The presentation will discuss the current situation in Iraq and the conflict between Israel and Palestinians from the point of view of U.S. interests and involvement.  Responses to the challenges posed by Iran and Libya will also be examined.  Pelletreau will draw on his career of 35 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, including assignments in nine Arab countries, three as U.S. Ambassador, and serves as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs in President Clinton’s first term.

Ambassador Robert Pelletreau served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from 1994 to 1997, capping a 35-year career in the Foreign Service including Ambassadorships in Egypt, Tunisia and Bahrain. His other assignments in the Foreign Service included Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, and Syria, as well as senior positions in the Departments of State and Defense.

Pelletreau attended Phillips Academy, the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, Yale University, and Harvard Law School.  He practiced law for five years with the international firm of Afridi, Angell & Pelletreau and is now a private consultant and commentator on Middle East issues. Ambassador Pelletreau speaks Arabic and French.  He is married to Dr. Pamela Day Pelletreau and they have three children.  He and his wife are summer residents of Woods Hole.

Admission to this Falmouth Forum presentation is free and open to the public. A buffet dinner is available before the lecture at 6:00 p.m. in the Swope Center located near the auditorium. Dinner tickets are $16 and must be purchased in person and in advance at either Eight Cousins Children’s Books, Main Street, Falmouth, or at the MBL's Communications Office in the Candle House in Woods Hole. Dinner seats are limited and tickets are only available until they sell out or until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 2. All tickets are nonrefundable. For more information contact the MBL's Communications Office at 508-289-7423.

The MBL Associates were founded in 1944 to provide an opportunity for friends of the Laboratory, both scientists and non-scientists, to support the MBL.  Over the years the Associates have taken on a wide range of projects, including providing fellowships for young scientists, supporting the MBL/WHOI Library, renovating the Lillie Auditorium, and landscaping the Whitman-Loeb quadrangle on the Woods Hole campus.  The Associates also help bring the work of the Laboratory to a broader public by sponsoring the Falmouth Forum Series and operating the MBL Gift Shop.  Membership is open to anyone with an interest in the Laboratory.


The Marine Biological Laboratory is an internationally known, independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to improving the human condition through creative research and education in the biological, biomedical and environmental sciences. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest private marine laboratory in the Western Hemisphere.