General Zebari will share firsthand information on Iraq Security and Regional Stability after US Army withdrawal. He will also be available for One-to-One Meetings throughout the two-day summit scheduled for 1-2 March 2012 at Sheraton Premier at Tysons Corner in Vienna, Virginia.
General Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari is the Chief-of-Staff of the Iraqi Joint Forces (JF). He began his military career in 1970 at the Iraqi Military Academy at Rustamiyah in Baghdad. He had served as Commander of the 1st Platoon, 3rd Battery and Iraqi Light Air Defense Artillery Battalion in Jordan. He also served in a variety of leadership and technical positions in Baghdad, Taji and Habiniyah (Iraq) from 1971 to 1973.
In 1979, he returned to Iraq and joined the Kurdish revolution as the Military Commander of the Kurdish Army HQ and member of the Kurdish Democracy Party (KDP) Military Office. He became a member of the Central Committee of KDP in charge of the Liaison Office with the Government of Iraq in 1989. Between 1980 and 1991, he commanded the Shekhan and Agra districts in Kurdistan. During the Operation Iraqi Freedom, General Zebari played a major role in the assistance of Coalition Forces operating within the Kurdistan region.
In January 2010, General Zebari received the military decoration, Legion of Merit (United States), and prior to this, he also received the highest Kurdish award - the Barzani Award.
General Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari’s military education includes Light Air Defense Artillery Course, Iraqi Commando School, Thunderbolt School (Ranger), Airborne School and Battlefielding (Special Forces). He is trained on several Anti-Tank weapon systems to include COBRA, SSII and SAKER.
In addition to featuring speakers from Iraqi Air Force, National Security Council and Iraq Civil Aviation Security, the 6th Iraq Aviation and Defense Summit will also be featuring addresses from key experts from the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) who were responsible for developing, organizing, training, equipping and sustaining the Iraqi Security Ministries namely Ministry of Defense (MOD), Ministry of Interior (MOI) and their associated Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).
Other confirmed speakers at the 6th Iraq Aviation and Defense Summit include:
- General Anwer Ahmed, Iraqi Air Force Commander, Ministry of Defense
- General Dheyaa Abdul Jabbar Saeed, Director General, Armament & Supplies Directorate, Iraqi Ministry of Defense
- General Kareem Saloom, Secretary General, Supplies & Finance Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- Brigadier Pilot Wameed Mahmood, Director General, Air Force Planning Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- General Shwan Ali, Director General, Air Force Supplies Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- Brigadier Pilot Sahee Serhan, Director General, Air Force Training Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- Colonel Engineer Ahmed Abbas, Air Force Engineering Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- Mr. Basheer Maaliyo, Armament & Supplies Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- Brigadier General Ali Muslih Hamad Abead, Director for Public Affairs, Joint Headquarters, Ministry of Defense
- Brigadier General Riyadh Al-Garbawi, Director, General Relations Directorate, Ministry of Defense
- General Nasar Al-Ganam, 17th Division Commander,
- Mr. Adnan Zibari, Executive Director, Office of the Chief of Staff
- MG (Ret) Faisal Gdhban, Former Iraqi Air Force Chief of Staff, Ministry of Defense
- Dr. Mowaffak al Rubaie, National Security Advisor, Government of Iraq
- Dr. Amer Al-Khuzaie, Minister of National Reconciliation, Iraqi Government
- Lt. General Hamid Al-Maliki, Iraqi Army Aviation Commander, Iraqi Joint Forces
- General Nasier A. Abadi, Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Iraqi Joint Forces
- Mr. Zuhair Garbawi, Director, Iraqi National Intelligence System
- Engineer Hassan Abass, Deputy General Manager of Technical Affairs, Iraqi National Intelligence Service
- Mr. Naser Sabti, Chief Senior Air Traffic Controller, Baghdad International Airport
- Mr. Mohammed Alwarde, Manager, Office of the Vice President of Iraq
- Dean Khadar Mohammed Saeed, Brigade’s Commander, Second President of the Republic
- Mr. Shwan Taha, Iraqi Parliament Member, Security and Defense Committee
The 6th annual IADS 2012 will welcome experts and cover a wide range of subjects. Key topics at the two-day summit include:
- Iraq Security and Regional Stability
- Civil Aviation Overviews
- What have we Learned from the Iraq Reconstruction Experience?
- Reconciliation among Armed Groups and Militia under the Government Support
- Iraq Defense Challenge after US Withdrawal
- Counter-Narcotics and Terrorism
- Justice and Security Dialogue in Iraq
- Building Stability and National Reconciliation
