Audio recording from MEI 62nd Annual Conference – US Middle East Policy: Pathways to Renewal
Audio recording from MEI 62nd Annual Conference – US Middle East Policy: Pathways to Renewal
Audio recording from A Briefing on Kuwait and Gulf Affairs with the U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait
Audio recording from Comparing the Politics of GCC Oil Booms and Busts
Audio recording from The Implications of the Final Election Results in Afghanistan for US Strategic Interests
Audio recording from The Struggle for a Democratic Future in Afghanistan
Mark N. Katz, examines the impact of the current and future US withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan on Islamic radicals. Katz argues that the US withdrawals from both countries will lead radicals to conclude they have defeated the US in the "War on Terror" and that US regional strength is on the decline. This, he argues, will spur Islamic radicals to seek further gains elsewhere. But regardless of the boost to their cause that the withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan may provide, they will likely meet three key obstacles in their pursuit of increased power and influence.
Andrew Exum, Fellow at the Center for A New American Security, assesses the possibility of a new Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and its ramifications for U.S. strategy there. The past six months have seen some remarkable successes in southern Afghanistan. But if hard-won security gains collapse in the face of a renewed Taliban offensive in 2011, the NATO strategy to secure Afghanistan will be in grave danger. Andrew Exum will discuss the situation in southern Afghanistan as well as how the American public can know whether the strategy is succeeding or failing this summer.