Near East Policycast

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.

For years, Jordan has been surrounded by an arc of instability, from Iraq to Syria to Lebanon to the West Bank. Yet the kingdom remains, for now, an island of relative calm. Institute scholar David Schenker discusses how the kingdom has weathered regional storms and what the future holds for this vital American friend in the Middle East.

Donald Trump is making his first foreign trip as president to the Middle East, with his initial stop in Saudi Arabia. President Trump will arrive in a kingdom on the precipice of major changes, including a youth boom, technological revolutions, a possible succession to a younger generation of royal leadership, and an ambitious economic reform program dubbed “Vision 2030.” Gulf and energy policy scholar Simon Henderson explains thepolitical, economic, and social changes facing Saudi Arabia, and what the future holds for the kingdom, for its Arab neighbors, and for Washington’s relations with Riyadh.

To assess the new U.S. administration's approach to Middle East policy at the conclusion of its first 100 days in office - and on the eve of a presidential trip to the region - The Washington Institute hosted a keynote conversation at its 2017 Soref Symposium on Middle East policy between Gen. John M. "Jack" Keane, USA (ret.), Adm. James G. Stavridis, USN (ret.), and Institute Executive Director Robert Satloff. The Soref Symposium is an annual conference of Institute experts, supporters, and policymakers to explore U.S. policy in the Middle East. Gen. John M. "Jack" Keane, USA (ret.), is a retired general and former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army. Adm. James G. Stavridis, USN (ret.), is a retired U.S. Navy admiral who served as NATO's supreme allied commander. Robert Satloff is executive director of The Washington Institute and Howard P. Berkowitz chair in U.S. Middle East Policy.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is in Washington, DC, for only the second time since 2010, and meets with President Trump at the White House on May 3. How should the U.S. administration approach Abbas as they begin to lay the groundwork for a new push to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Can Turkish democracy - and Turkey's strategic relationships with Europe and the United States - survive Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasing consolidation of domestic political power? Three Turkish experts, including the author of a timely new book on Erdogan's rise and ambitions, discuss the country's likely future.

Defending against terrorism requires more than stopping or catching terrorists. Just as important as military and law-enforcement actions against active terrorists are broader government and community efforts to prevent individuals from adopting extreme ideologies in the first place, and countering the attraction of violent methods for those already radicalized. Counterterror expert Matthew Levitt discusses a new bipartisan report that aims to help the new U.S. administration improve and broaden our efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism (PCVE). Read their report at http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/pcve.

The countries of northwest Africa – Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria – may look like islands of stability in a sea of Middle East turmoil. But perhaps better to see them as low coral atolls – and the sea around them is rising fast. Soref Fellow Sarah Feuer, coauthor of a presidential transition study of American challenges and policy options in northwest Africa talks about why these countries matter to the United States, what Washington can do to help preserve reform and democracy there, and what the stakes are should these islands of regional stability sink below the waves of chaos lapping at their shores.

Less than a month into the new U.S. administration, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be the fourth foreign leader to confer with President Trump in Washington. How will the bilateral relationship change in the Trump administration? What is on the Israeli premier’s agenda on this first visit to the Trump White House? And how does the alliance with Israel serve America’s broader interests in the Middle East? Join us as two veteran observers preview the Trump-Netanyahu visit and the near-term agenda for bilateral relations.

A veteran American diplomatic and strategic advisor to presidents of both parties, Ambassador James Jeffrey discusses the vital U.S. interest in the Middle East and how the Trump administration can protect and advance them.