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Sarin Gas Used in Syria? Regional Challenges Post-Arab Spring (VIDEO)

Roger Cressey — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:30:42 +0000

Syrian people support rebel forces and have posted pictures of Assad’s victims on Facebook.

The violence in Syria has escalated to the point that deadly nerve agents likely have been used in the country’s civil war that has been raging against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, according to news reports.

U.N. official Carla Del Ponte says there are strong suspicions that Syrian rebel forces have used sarin gas, a colorless, odorless liquid, used as a chemical weapon; it is considered a weapon of mass destruction. Del Ponte, the commissioner of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry for Syria, said it wouldn’t be too surprising, given the infiltration of foreign fighters into the Syrian opposition. The opposition says it hasn’t used any such weapons – nor does it desire to. The news comes one week after the United States said it had “varying degrees of confidence” that sarin had been used by Syria’s government on its people; but Del Ponte says there’s no evidence of the government’s use of such substances. Meanwhile, the Syrian government said that recent Israeli air strikes against military targets around Damascus amounted to a “declaration of war” and threatened retaliation.

Watch Roger Cressey, senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, talk about Booz Allen Hamilton’s efforts in the Middle East and challenges facing those countries post-Arab Spring:

Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and consulting firm, has a presence in Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“What we’re seeing are the governments there trying to adjust to the reality of the Arab Spring and how it’s impacted that part of the region,” Cressey said. “That’s the most stable area in the Middle East right now … and they’re looking at two things.”

One of which is how those governments can ensure their citizens are being taken care of as they see uprisings in countries such as Syria, Egypt and Tunisia. Booz Allen Hamilton wants to make sure there is enough investment, health care and education in these countries, which form an island of stability amidst a volatile region, to remain so.

“They’re in a rough neighborhood,” Cressey said. “They have Iran on one side and all the instability on the other side and so they’re trying to carve out a role for them.”

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Wal-Mart Commits to Buy More U.S. Goods, Hire Vets (VIDEO)

Roger Cressey — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:30:37 +0000

Wal-Mart will buy an additional $50 billion in U.S.-made products over the next decade in such areas as sporting goods and high-end appliances to help boost the U.S. economy, the superstore will announce Tuesday – and it also commits to hire 100,000 new veterans over the next five years.

Wal-Mart, the largest private employer and retailer in the United States, has taken a lot of heat of late from critics who say the company doesn’t pay its workers enough and sells too many cheap goods made in China and other low-labor cost countries. But on Tuesday, the nation’s largest retailer will lay out a plan to launch on Memorial Day, to hire every veteran who wants a job if he/she has left the military in the previous year and did not receive a dishonorable discharge. The announcement represents among the largest hiring commitments for veterans in history. It also plans to buy $50 billion more of U.S. products over the next 10 years.

“Let’s be clear: Hiring a veteran can be one of the best decisions any of us can make,” Wal-Mart U.S. CEO William S. Simon will say in his keynote speech to the National Retail Federation. “These are leaders with discipline, training and a passion for service.”

WATCH: IAVA Says 20 Percent of Iraq, Afghanistan War Veterans Are Unemployed

Governments, corporations and communities need to work together on how to assimilate veterans back into everyday life and help them find employment, says Roger Cressey, senior vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. Watch Cressey discuss the role of government and the community in helping veterans return to the workforce:

WATCH: Transportation of the Future and Helping Vets Find Work

One idea on how to help veterans find jobs is to certify them in their job skills area before they are even discharged, so they can get hired right away once they get home. “We need to do a better job re-integrating veterans into the workforce here, easing the transition, making it more likely that they’ll get employment right away,” Cressey said.

WATCH: Our War Veterans – ‘Invest in Generational Leaders’, Says Paul Rieckhoff

Another idea is to accelerate the process involved when veterans returning home, apply for, and receive health care. Many of our nation’s warriors not only have physical injuries, but mental ones, as well, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. “There’s such tremendous urgency here,” Cressey said. “We’re all in agreement as Americans we need to do more for our veterans; now is the time to take action.”

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Help Our Veterans Get Back Into the Workforce (VIDEO)

Roger Cressey — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:00:22 +0000

As war veterans continue to return home from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s much talk about how much the government is doing at the federal level to assimilate them back into everyday life, what more it needs to do, and how we can help these men and women at a community level, as well. Governments, corporations and communities need to work together on this very important issue, says Roger Cressey, senior vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. Watch Cressey discuss the role of government and the community in helping veterans return to the workforce:

WATCH: Transportation of the Future and Helping Vets Find Work

Booz Allen Hamilton helps military personnel and wounded warriors make the transition to a civilian career and life through a variety of forums and programs, including mentoring by hundreds of Booz Allen volunteers. The company and its employees also participate in a number of other programs and activities to support war veterans.

genConnect was credentialed press at the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colo., where we interviewed the premier speakers and attendees at the conference. For more of our video interviews and articles from the Ideas Festival, click here.

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‘Innocence of Muslims’ Film Ignites ‘Rough Neighborhood’ (VIDEO)

Roger Cressey — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:45:42 +0000

“Innocence of Muslims” movie to blame for violence sparked in the Egypt and Libya, Middle East against U.S. embassies; Booz Allen Hamilton’s Roger Cressey on challenges that remain in the region post-Arab Spring

U.S. embassies in the Middle East are under siege. On Thursday, hundreds of Yemeni demonstrators stormed the U.S. embassy in Sanaa in protest of the film, “Innocence of Muslims,” made in California, which they consider blasphemous to Islam. ”Innocence of Muslims,” a tiny, independent Internet video that hadn’t been even a blip on the radar until now, is also blamed for inciting mobs in Egypt and Libya.

Watch Roger Cressey, senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, talk about Booz Allen Hamilton’s efforts in the Middle East and challenges facing those countries post-Arab Spring:

WATCH: U.S. Ambassador to Libya Killed; America Needs to Pursue Peace

Protesters at U.S. Embassy in Yemen

Protesters in Egypt climbed into the U.S. embassy in Cairo this week, tore down the American flag, and battled with police. This even comes soon after Tuesday’s September 11 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, which killed American Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. On Thursday, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton tried to put distance between the U.S. government and the makers of “Innocence of Muslims,” calling it “disgusting and reprehensible” but also condemning violence in response to it.

Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and consulting firm, has a presence in Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Roger Cressey

“They’re in a rough neighborhood,” Cressey said. “They have Iran on one side and all the instability on the other side and so they’re trying to carve out a role for them.”

Civil war continues to rage in Syria in the uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, while kidnappings occur, and Syria’s prime minister appears to have defected with three other government Cabinet members. Meanwhile, 24 United Nations monitors in Aleppo, Syria, have pulled out because of the worsening situation.

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Challenges in the ‘Rough Neighborhood’ Post-Arab Spring (VIDEO)

Roger Cressey — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:30:12 +0000

The situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. At least 17,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, when government forces cracked down violently on peaceful protesters inspired by the Arab Spring.

Watch Roger Cressey, senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, talk about Booz Allen Hamilton’s efforts in the Middle East and challenges facing those countries post-Arab Spring:

Booz Allen Hamilton, a strategy and consulting firm, has a presence in Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

“They’re in a rough neighborhood,” Cressey said. “They have Iran on one side and all the instability on the other side and so they’re trying to carve out a role for them.”

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