This piece was co-authored by Bilal Saab and Kenneth M. Pollack, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Read the full op-ed on the Wall Street Journal.
November 15, 2017 – Panel 2 of MEI’s 71st Annual Conference, held at the Capital Hilton in Washington D.C.
Panelists:
Amb. (ret.) Gerald Feierstein
Director for Gulf affairs and government relations, MEI
Randa Slim
Director for conflict resolution and Track II dialogues, MEI
Jonathan Winer
Scholar, MEI
Amb. (ret.) Robert Ford
Senior fellow, MEI
Paul Salem (moderator)
Senior vice president for policy research and programs, MEI
Read the full article on the American Interest.
It takes a certain level of political naiveté or blindness to continue to believe that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned last week of his own volition.
Relations between Turkey and Germany have become increasingly fraught over the past few months. They hit a new low following the August 19 arrest of Turkish-born German writer Dogan Akhanli in Spain. Akhanli, a frequent critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was held by Spanish authorities in connection with criminal proceedings in Turkey. Germany’s foreign minister has urged Spanish officials not to extradite the writer.
The Middle East Dialogue, a regional Track 1.5 group in which officials and non-officials from the region and beyond meet to discuss current issues in their personal capacities, met May 12-13 in Malta. Read the full report (PDF).
Executive Summary
On September 23-24, the Middle East Institute’s Initiative for Track II Dialogues convened its ninth meeting of the Middle East Dialogue in Muscat, Oman. Participants included current and former officials and senior experts from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, Iran, Russia, China, the United States, and the United Nations.
October 14, 2016 – In this interview Randa Slim discusses the latest diplomatic and political developments in the Syrian crisis and the regional battle against ISIS, including challenges to be dealt with in the aftermath of an offensive to retake Mosul, with host Paul Salem.
Audio Version
For the full article visit Foreign Policy
After first surprising the world by entering the fray in Syria last year, Vladimir Putin again shocked observers by announcing he was partially pulling out. On March 14, the Russian president declared his objectives “generally accomplished” and announced the withdrawal of part of his Russian military forces in Syria.
This article was first published on The World Post.
Under the pall cast by the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, the U.S., Russia and other world powers met in Vienna Saturday and agreed on a timetable for a political process in Syria. However, the principles and steps they set conjure a sense of déjà vu.
Read the full article on CNN.com.
Lebanese have long suffered through water shortages, regular electricity blackouts, a leaking sewage system and poor health and education services. But as trash has piled up on the streets in recent weeks, it looks like the people of Lebanon have had enough.
“You Stink” is the message they are sending. And the campaign might just succeed where others have failed.
The Middle East Dialogue on New Political and Security Dynamics Shaping the Arab Region met in Beirut May 30-31 to consider the situation in Syria, which has deteriorated further since the last meeting of the Dialogue in Berlin last December. Violence has risen, government-controlled territory has been lost to both opposition and extremist forces, Syrians are suffering and the Syrian government is reaching the limits of its military and civilian capabilities.
How are Iraq and the United States responding to the capture of Ramadi by ISIS?
The Middle East Dialogue is a regional Track 1.5 forum that meets twice a year under Chatham House rules. It brings together current and former officials as well as senior experts from the Middle East, the United States, Russia, China, and the EU to discuss emerging political & security trends in the region. What follows is a report from the latest meeting of the Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, December 5-7, 2014.
