Pivotal changes gripped the Middle East over the last week. A day after Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a fragile cease-fire resting on enforcement by the Lebanese Army, fighting in Syria surged again, thawing the country’s partially frozen conflict and undermining the stability of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. How will these events change the region’s strategic landscape?
Our experts will discuss the competing geopolitical interests in the Middle East; what the developments in both Syria and Lebanon mean for the respective countries and the wider geostrategic environment; the impact on the power players in the region; and how the incoming Trump administration will deal with this new and changing Middle East.
Speakers
Amb. (ret.) Robert S. Ford
Fmr. US Ambassador to Syria and Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute
Paul Salem
Vice President for International Engagement at the Middle East Institute