MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
The big news in recent days has been President Trump’s very contentious decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. It was a decision roundly condemned by allies in Europe and the Middle East and marks a major shift in U.S. policy. MEI experts Eran Etzion, Yousef Munayyer, and Nathan Stock join host Paul Salem to discuss the fallout.
The killing of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh marks a major turning point in Yemen’s ongoing civil war. Nadwa Al-Dawsari (POMED) and Gerald Feierstein (MEI) join Paul Salem to discuss the immediate fallout and what lies ahead.
From mixed signals over U.S. policy toward Syria’s Kurds, to an alleged kidnapping plot involving Michael Flynn, to the implication of President Erdogan in an international corruption scheme, U.S.-Turkey relations have struggled to find solid ground. Nicholas Danforth, senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Gonul Tol, director of Turkish studies at the Middle East Institute, join host Paul Salem to explain these stories and what they mean for both countries.
The war in Afghanistan has dragged on for 16 years, appearing to many Americans to have no end in sight or positive outcome. However, as Defense Secretary James Mattis recently testified, “Violence and progress in Afghanistan continue to coexist.” What is that progress, and what does it mean for Afghans themselves? Saad Mohseni, chairman and CEO of Moby Media Group, and Ahmad Majidyar, director of MEI’s IranObserved project, join host Paul Salem to discuss the positive changes taking place in the country.
Hariri’s Resignation and the Saudi Corruption Crackdown
Last weekend’s arrests of prominent Saudi government officials and leading businessmen on charges of corruption has sent shockwaves through Saudi society as well as global center of finance and commerce. The developments also impacted Lebanon, with Prime Minister Saad Hariri announcing his resignation from the Saudi capital of Riyadh. MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Jean-Francois Seznec, and Randa Slim join Paul Salem to discuss these developments.
Last week’s terrorist attack in New York City utilized similar tactics to other low-tech attacks carried out in western Europe, closely following the ISIS playbook.
Jasmine El-Gamal, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, Charles Lister, director of MEI’s Extremism and Counterterrorism project, and Will Wechsler, MEI senior fellow on national security and counterterrorism, join host Paul Salem to discuss what the attack means for U.S. counterterrorism policy and the future of the fight against ISIS.
In their new report for the Atlantic Council, “U.S. Strategy Options for Iran’s Regional Challenge,” and an essay version published in the Washington Quarterly, Bilal Saab and Kenneth M. Pollack lay out a “pushback” strategy to weaken Iran’s regional influence. The co-authors join host Paul Salem to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of this and other strategies in this week’s podcast.
Who will win the spoils from ISIS’ demise in Syria? The Syrian civil war is entering a new phase with the liberation of Raqqa, as well as the Turkish intervention in the north. MEI experts Paul Salem, Charles Lister, Ibrahim al-Assil and Gonul Tol discuss the latest developments in Syria.
The Russians dramatically stepped up their involvement in the Middle East in 2015 when they intervened militarily in the Syrian conflict to support President Assad. Since then, Moscow has become a hot destination, with more heads of state from the Middle East visiting the Russian capital than Washington this year. MEI experts Robert Ford, Gerald Feierstein, and Gonul Tol join host Paul Salem to discuss what this trend means for the region.
On September 25 Iraq’s Kurdish region pressed ahead with a controversial independence referendum. It had a high voter turnout of 73%, 93% of whom voted in favor of independence. The referendum is technically non-binding but it has sparked a political crisis with threats of action against the Kurdish region from its neighbors, Turkey and Iran, as well as Iraq’s central government. The United States also opposed the vote. MEI experts Randa Slim, Gonul Tol, and Ahmad Majidyar join host Paul Salem to discuss the implications of the vote and what happens next.
President Donald Trump spent a portion of his first speech before the U.N. General Assembly attacking Iran. MEI experts Gerald Feierstein and Ahmad Majidyar join host Paul Salem for a discussion of the speech and what lies ahead for U.S.-Iran relations and the nuclear deal.
Ori Nir of Americans for Peace now will hold a conversation with Akiva Eldar on the current situation in Israel and Palestine.Akiva Eldar is a senior political columnist for Al-Monitor news service’s Israel Pulse. He was formerly a senior columnist and editorial writer for Haaretz and served as Haaretz’s US bureau chief and diplomatic correspondent in the 1980’s. His most recent book (with Idith Zertal), Lords of the Land, on the Jewish settlements, was a best-seller in Israel and has been translated into English, French, German and Arabic.
Decoding Al-Qaeda's Strategy: The Deep Battle Against America
The Middle East Institute is proud to host author and MEI adjunct scholar Michael W. S. Ryan for a discussion of his book, Decoding Al-Qaeda’s Strategy: The Deep Battle Against America (Columbia University Press, 2013). In his latest book, Dr. Ryan draws on extensive research of al-Qaeda’s Salafist roots and of the work of lesser-known al-Qaeda theoreticians, ultimately determining that jihadist terrorism strategy more closely resembles Maoist guerrilla warfare than mainstream Islam.
MEI 67th Annual Conference – Beyond the Street: Arab Youth in Post-Uprising Politics
Moderator: Brian Katulis, Center for American ProgressLina Khatib, Stanford UniversityAhmad Maher, April 6 MovementMabrouka Mbarek, Tunisian Constituent Assembly MemberAyat Mneina, Libyan Youth Movement
