Conference Report

September 6-8, 2007, 20 leading experts on US / Iranian
relations met at Wye River for a retreat facilitated by conflict resolution
expert, Dr. William Ury. The group included a wide range of foreign policy
perspectives by individuals from Heritage Institute, AIPAC, Hoover Institution,
the New America Foundation, the National American Iranian Council, the Center
for Arms Control and Nonproliferation and others. (Retreat participant list and
schedule are attached.)
Reuniting America and the participants are
exceptionally grateful to the Fetzer Institute, which supported this retreat
financially.

Chief Facilitator

William L. Ury co-founded Harvard's Program
on Negotiation where he currently directs the Global Negotiation Project. He is
the author of The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No & Still Get to Yes
(2007) and co-author, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, a
five-million-copy bestseller translated into over twenty languages, and author
of The Third Side.

Facilitation Team

Ana Micka, Co-director, Reuniting
America
Michael D. Ostrolenk, Co-director, Reuniting America
Samah
Norquist, Global Partners LLC
Richard Hodapp, The Mapping Alliance
Inc.
Ben Gass, Reuniting America

At the closing of the retreat,
participants unanimously stated that this forum for respectful dialogue among
leaders with different approaches to policy was critical and that more of this
type of conversation is direly needed. Participants at the end of the Wye River
Conference stated that they “learned a lot”, “had new conflict resolution
tools”, “felt heard”, “saw real progress and real opportunities to make a
difference … to even make history” and that this process allowed “surprising
convergences to emerge”.

NEXT STEPS

Reuniting America is
supporting a follow up program to strengthen the field of support for a
diplomatic solution, reduce support for a military strike (especially a military
strike without robust diplomatic efforts) and directly influence President
Bush.

Distrust and fear between the United States and Iran is escalating. The
next year presents both an opportunity to create a diplomatic solution and the
real threat that military strikes and even an accidental war could
occur.
Reuniting America is implementing programs to increase support for
diplomatic efforts, deepen understanding and forge collaborative action among
foreign policy experts from across the political spectrum and catalyze and
coordinate educational efforts in Washington, DC focused on US / Iranian
relations during these next nine critical months.