MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
Charles Lister and Mick Mulroy discuss the dramatic Feb. 3rd U.S. special operations raid that killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the group’s late January attack on the al-Sina prison, and ISIS’s broader trajectory in both Syria and Iraq.
Brian Katulis and Randa Slim join the program to discuss the Biden administration’s Middle East policy one year in, and look ahead to the challenges it will face in the region in the year ahead.
Eliza Campbell and Emerson T. Brooking discuss the Israeli government’s suppression of Palestinian online speech and activism, the surprising role that American social media companies play in the process, and their recent article for Foreign Policy, “How to End Israel’s DIgital Occupation.”
حلقة 55: ما بعد انتخابات العراق — مع مارسين الشمّري
ما الذي تعنيه نتائج انتخابات العراق وكيف ستؤثر على واقع ومستقبل حراك تشرين؟ يحاور إبراهيم الأصيل الباحثة مارسين الشمّري في هذه الحلقة. — Ibrahim Al-Assil Marsin Alshamary
What were the most significant developments in the Middle East and regional policy in 2021? MEI’s Paul Salem, Randa Slim, Bilal Saab, and Karen Young join the program to discuss the key events and what trends to watch in 2022.
Gerald Feierstein, Afshin Molavi, and Courtney Freer discuss the state of the United Arab Emirates as the country celebrates its 50th anniversary, including its history, economic development, and domestic and regional policy objectives.
Bilal Saab, senior fellow and founding director of MEI’s Defense & Security Program, discusses the recently completed Defense Department Global Posture Review (GPR), his thoughts on the review and process, and how it will impact the U.S. strategy in the Middle East.
Mohammed Mahmoud, director of MEI’s Climate and Water Program, and Abbey Krulik, who attended the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, as an observer, discuss takeaways from the conference and the Glasgow Pact that was signed there.
Alex Vatanka and Michael Metrinko discuss the Iranian hostage crisis, how it has shaped US-Iran relations, and what that history tells us about the present and potential future of the Islamic Republic. Metrinko also recounts his experience as a political officer at the embassy in Iran in 1979 and being one of the 52 hostages.
Marvin Weinbaum and Javid Ahmad discuss conditions in Afghanistan since falling back under Taliban rule, including worsening economic and humanitarian crises, the security situation, the role of international and regional actors, and where things might be headed moving forward.
Artists Helen Zughaib and John Halaka join MEI’s Lyne Sneige in conversation on the MEI Art Gallery’s current exhibition, “Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S.” They discuss the exhibition’s themes of exile, memory formation, changing identities, and the state of in-betweenness that often accompanies migration.
