Iran's latest missile tests point to a new generation of rocket, one potentially capable of delivering a first-generation nuclear warhead, and defeating advanced missile defenses, to targets up to 2,000 kilometers away with pinpoint accuracy. Farzin Nadimi, a longtime student of Iranian military capabilities and doctrines, joins us to explain the significance of Tehran's new missile and what it tells us about Iranian intentions. Also see Farzin's January report, "Iran’s Continued Push for a Nucl...
Feb 01, 2019•21 min
Dana Stroul, The Washington Institute's newest research fellow, is a veteran Pentagon and U.S. Senate foreign policy staffer. In this podcast, Dana shares her insights about Capitol Hill's role in making foreign policy, from the fraying bipartisan consensus on vital Middle East issues to the conflicts between the legislative and executive branches that transcend administrations. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jan 18, 2019•27 min
"Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Period. It has held that dubious distinction for many years now and shows no sign of relinquishing the title." Speaking at The Washington Institute on November 13, State Department Counterterrorism Coordinator Ambassador Nathan Sales announced new diplomatic and financial sanctions against Tehran and its terrorist proxies. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Nov 14, 2018•19 min
Since the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), November 4 has loomed large as the date on which significant U.S. sanctions on Iran, and on third parties doing business with Iran, return to force. Former Treasury Department sanctions expert offers a guide to what the new sanctions mean for U.S. strategy, for global markets, and for American businesses and citizens. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near Eas...
Nov 02, 2018•21 min
Do the counterterrorism partnerships that Washington has developed with Middle Eastern states since the 9/11 attacks helped or hindered the global war on terror? Four leading CT scholars debate the past success and future utility of counterterrorism partnerships in this latest episode of Near East PolicyCast. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Sep 30, 2018•1 hr 35 min
In early August, the Trump administration issued sanctions against Turkey for its continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson. Ties between the two governments have been under strain for years, but the latest incident has seemingly touched off the most severe crisis in recent memory. What are the future prospects and pitfalls for U.S.-Turkish relations? Listen to analysis from an expert panel as they debate how to salvage the bilateral relationship - and even whether the alliance is wo...
Aug 31, 2018•28 min
When he passed away in May, Bernard Lewis—the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton and inaugural recipient of The Washington Institute’s Scholar-Statesman Award—left behind a legacy of unparalleled scholarly consequence that crossed disciplines, centuries, continents, governments, and generations. To discuss his influence on the study, politics, and policy of the Middle East, the Institute hosted a forum with three of his former students: Martin Kramer, the Institute...
Aug 23, 2018•55 min
U.S. Army Lieutenant General Michael Nagata, director of strategic planning at the National Counterterrorism Center, delivered a hard-hitting address at the Institute earlier this month. After nearly two decades and much success, General Nagata said it's time for Americans to ask ourselves had questions: Why is terrorism today more widespread and complex than ever? Why have terrorists proven so resilient and adaptive in the face of massive military pressure from the United States and its global ...
Jul 27, 2018•1 hr 30 min
Barbara Leaf served as U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2014-2018 and recently joined The Washington Institute as Rosenblatt Distinguished Fellow. In this episode, Ambassador Leaf looks back at her time as American envoy in Abu Dhabi, what the future holds for American interests in the Gulf, and her own transition from policymaker to scholar. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jul 05, 2018•9 min
On June 24, Turks voted for president and parliament for the first time under their new constitution, handing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP party narrow victories that may reshape Turkish politics and society for years to come. Did Erdogan win fairly, and what does his victory mean for the future of Turkey, the Middle East, and American relations with this key NATO ally? Turkey scholar Soner Cagaptay joins us to explain the elections and their implications for the future. Near East ...
Jun 26, 2018•16 min
How can policymakers deal with the urgent crises of the day without neglecting important issues of long-term strategy? Ambassador Dennis Ross has advised presidents from both parties since the 1980s, and he literally wrote the book on diplomacy and statecraft. In this episode, he connects the dots between immediate policy challenges in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, as well as the rising threat of a regional war, to chart a wider policy agenda for securing the mos...
May 08, 2018•31 min
In a rare public address in Washington, D.C., Israel's defense minister explained his government's strategy for dealing with challenges including the emergence of a direct Iranian front to the north and recurrent mass protests along the Gaza border to the south. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Apr 27, 2018•56 min
In military terms, what did the April 13 allied airstrikes on Syria accomplish? Will deterring the Assad regime from using chemical weapons change the Syrian battlefield? Veteran military analyst Michael Eisenstadt shares his insights into the tactical and strategic effects of the coalition airstrikes and the future course of the conflict there. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Apr 16, 2018•27 min
Amid dimming hopes for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and growing disarray in the Palestinian political scene, one bright spot remains the growing effectiveness and professionalism of the Palestinian Authority's 30,000-man security services. Neri Zilber and Ghaith al-Omari, coauthors of a new study of the past, present, and future of PA security forces, discuss the evolution of Palestinian domestic security services as well as whether and how they can retain morale and competence. Near East Po...
Apr 04, 2018•44 min
David Cattler, the U.S. government's national intelligence manager for the Near East, recently shared a survey of the Middle East and American security and interests there. Will there be a "peace dividend" from the defeat of ISIS? What keeps the U.S. intelligence community up at night? How likely is war on Israel's northern border? Where do human rights rank among America's security priorities? Does the Middle East really matter to the United States? Cattler addressed these questions, and more, ...
Mar 15, 2018•1 hr 18 min
From February 12 to 14, representatives of governments, NGOs, and private businesses from around the world met in Kuwait for a conference that was intended to raise $85 billion for rebuilding destroyed areas and resettling displaced Iraqis in formerly ISIS-controlled territory. In the end, the Kuwait conference raised $30 billion. Was this a failure for Iraqi reconstruction, or the start of a longer process? Is Baghdad equipped to handle and spend even that lower amount of reconstruction funding...
Feb 26, 2018•31 min
What is the Shia Crescent, and how does Iran’s government exploit it to spread its influence and sow division across the region, from the Karun River to the Mediterranean Sea? Lebanese journalist Hanin Ghaddar, a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute, discusses the Shia Crescent, Iranian influence, and the loss of the Lebanon she once knew. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jan 30, 2018•18 min
During an eventful week in the Middle East – which included President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the death of Yemen’s former president Saleh – a fifty-person delegation from The Washington Institute traveled to the capitals of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates to meet with senior leaders, engage with a broad range of local society, and learn about important changes under way in each country. Institute scholars Robert Satloff and Katherine Bauer...
Dec 21, 2017•33 min
On December 5, 2017, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy honored three former Israeli ambassadors who fought for justice and fairness at the United Nations: Dore Gold, Dan Gillerman, and Ron Prosor. The annual Scholar-Statesman Awards ceremony, held in New York City, took place on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the ratification of the UN's Partition Plan for Palestine. Institute executive director Robert Satloff led a lively conversation with Ambassadors Gold, Gillerman, and Prosor...
Dec 12, 2017•43 min
Do Turkey’s political and social upheavals following that country’s 1980 military coup have anything to tell us about Turkey under President Erdogan today? Journalist Ece Temelkuran believes so, and in her new novel, “The Time of Mute Swans,” she tells a story of post-coup Ankra in which divisions and bloodshed blur the lines between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness. Listen to a conversation about authoritarianism and literature with Temelkuran, distinguished American di...
Nov 27, 2017•39 min
Seventy-five years ago, in November 1942, American troops made their first landing in the modern Middle East. Operation Torch, the allied invasion of French North Africa, set the stage for subsequent offensives against Axis forces in Sicily, Italy, Greece, and France. Did American decisions during and after Torch also set the stage for the next eight decades of U.S. policy across the broader Middle East? Institute executive director Robert Satloff and historian Eliot Cohen explore the choices ma...
Nov 13, 2017•57 min
Functioning as a state within the Lebanese state, Hezbollah has accumulated more rockets than many European militaries. But it is also an irregular army that uses terrorism as a strategic weapon against adversaries at home and abroad. Today, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have reconfigured Hezbollah and other forces in ways that could lead to a new war, one far more destructive than previous Middle Eastern conflicts. In this episode, we'll hear from three senior European military leaders who ha...
Oct 26, 2017•22 min
On October 13, President Trump announced a new Iran strategy, including decertifying the 2015 nuclear deal and asking for changes from Congress and from international partners. Does this mean the end of the nuclear deal? What comes next for the executive branch and for Congress? Can the administration bring our allies on board for a comprehensive push to counter the full range of Iran's destabilizing activities? Institute scholar and former National Security Council senior official Michael Singh...
Oct 17, 2017•26 min
Iraqi Kurds voted overwhelmingly to seek national independence - and their neighbors, as well as the Baghdad government, have responded with a rapidly escalating war of words. Iraqi politics expert Bilal Wahab joins us to explain what comes next, whether armed conflict can be avoided, and how the United States can best approach the rising tensions between its vital partners, the Iraqi Kurds and the Iraqi national government. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Wash...
Sep 27, 2017•35 min
On September 7, distinguished Israeli general Yair Golan, who recently completed service as the IDF’s deputy chief of staff, delivered The Washington Institute's 2017 Zeev Schiff Memorial Lecture. General Golan’s remarks focused on three themes: the role of vision and founding values in Israeli society, the overall contours of Israeli national security policy, and military defense as a component of that policy. In assessing the current military situation, the general emphasized the threat posed ...
Sep 14, 2017•1 hr 5 min
Institute scholar Michael Knights says that the upcoming independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region is already yielding positive results in the form of compromise and cooperation among parties and movements whose enmity has long gridlocked Iraqi Kurdish politics. While a pro-independence result is a near certainty for the September 25 vote, the shape of an eventual settlement between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq’s national government in Baghdad could take many forms, ...
Aug 31, 2017•38 min
Why is the most successful and powerful leader in modern Turkey's history driven by insecurity and grievances? Author and Turkey expert Soner Cagaptay unpacks the ways in which Recep Tayyip Erdogan's biography shapes his politics and the fate of his nation. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Aug 17, 2017•27 min
Although terror attacks conducted by individuals are not a new phenomenon, recent years have seen an alarming increase in these "lone-wolf" incidents. The Islamic State, for instance, has been proactive in using its global tentacles to inspire individuals to carry out attacks in its name. Meanwhile, in Israel, solo operators unaffiliated with organized terror groups have taken to carrying out attacks with the weapons at hand—cars, knives, homemade. Are such attacks a growing trend and the future...
Aug 04, 2017•52 min
Gulf politics scholar and former intelligence analyst Lori Plotkin Boghardt explains the Qatar crisis - what it is, why it's happening now, and how it could affect American interests and alliances in the Middle East. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jul 20, 2017•26 min
Jihadism scholar Aaron Zelin explains how al-Qaeda survived drones, revolutions, and the rise of ISIS to persist and re-emerge as a primary local, regional, and global terrorist threat. Near East PolicyCast: Conversations on Middle East issues from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Jul 11, 2017•35 min
