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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

Setting the Record Straight

Determined to Reach a Common Objective

“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

Middle East Analysis

Upcoming Events

The Road Forward on Middle East Peace

Event: October 1, 2009 - 12:00pm-1:00pm

Introduction:
Winnie Stachelberg, Senior Vice President for External Affairs, Center for American Progress

Featured speaker:
Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)

Moderated by:
Moran Banai, U.S. Editor of Middle East Bulletin

WATCH HERE

Events

Policy Toward Gaza: A Discussion With Taghreed El-Khodary and Ghaith al-Omari
Thursday, June 17, 2010, 9:00am-10:30am
Private Discussion
Featuring:

  • Taghreed El-Khodary, New York Times correspondent in Gaza and Carnegie Endowment visiting scholar
  • Ghaith al-Omari, adviser to Middle East Progress (MEP) and advocacy director for the American Task Force on Palestine

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, MEP policy director

The Role of Independent Media in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities
Thursday, April 8, 2010, 10:00am-11:00am
Introduction by:

  • Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President, National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress

Featuring:

  • Nabil Al Khatib, Executive Editor, Al Arabiya
  • Howard Schneider, Staff Writer and former Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Washington Post

The Current Predicament in the Middle East: Opportunities and Risks–A Conversation with Yossi Gal
Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 8:45am-10:15am
Private Roundtable
Featuring:

  • Yossi Gal, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Moderated by:

  • Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress

Realizing a Two-State Solution: A Briefing by Ami Ayalon
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 1:00pm-2:00pm
Private Roundtable
Featuring:

  • Ami Ayalon, former Member of Knesset (Labor) and head of Shin Bet

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor, Middle East Bulletin

The Road Forward on Middle East Peace
Thursday, October 1, 2009, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Featuring:

  • Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)

Introduced by

  • Winnie Stachelberg, Senior Vice President for External Affairs, Center for American Progress

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor of Middle East Bulletin

Turkey in the 21st Century: A Roundtable with Today’s Zaman
Friday, June 26, 2009, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Private Roundtable
Featuring:

  • Delegation from Today’s Zaman, led by editor-in-chief Bulent Kenes

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor, Middle East Bulletin

Assessing the Results of the Iranian Elections: A Briefing by Meir Javedanfar
Tuesday, June 16, 2009, 12:00pm-2:00pm
Private Roundtable
Featuring:

  • Meir Javedanfar, Iran expert, director of the Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company and co-author of “The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and The State of Iran.”

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor, Middle East Bulletin

Briefing with Hagit Ofran
Thursday, June 11, 2009, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Private Briefing
Featuring:

  • Hagit Ofran, director of Peace Now’s Settlement Watch

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor, Middle East Bulletin

The Status of Jerusalem
Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 1:30pm-2:30pm
Featuring:

  • Ambassador Michael Bell, co-director of the Jerusalem Old City Initiative at the University of Windsor, and former Canadian ambassador to Jordan, Egypt, and Israel
  • Marshall Breger, professor of law at the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America, co-author of Jerusalem’s Holy Place and the Peace Process and consultant to the Jerusalem Old City Initiative

Introduced by:

  • Rudy deLeon, senior vice president for national security and international policy, Center for American Progress

Moderated by:

  • Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt

Restarting Mideast Diplomacy: A Briefing by Avi Issacharoff
Monday, May 4, 2009, 10:30am-12:00pm
Private Roundtable
Featuring:

  • Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Middle East affairs correspondent and author with Amos Harel of 34 Days: Israel, Hezbollah, and the War in Lebanon and The Seventh War: The Real Story of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, winner of the prestigious Tshetshik Prize from The Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University as the best military study in Israel in 2004

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor, Middle East Bulletin

Egypt’s Strategic Role in the Middle East
Monday, April 27, 2009, 2:00pm-4:00pm
Private Roundtable
Featuring:

  • Dr. Abdel Monem Said, director of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies
  • Mr. Mounir Fakhri AbdelNour, secretary general of Al Wafd Party and member of the National Council on Human Rights
  • Prof. Hossam Badrawi, member of the Upper Chamber of Egyptian Parliament and member of the board of governance of the National Democratic Party.

Moderated by:

  • Moran Banai, U.S. Editor, Middle East Bulletin

Preventing Waste and Fraud in Afghanistan and Pakistan Spending
Monday, April 13, 2009, 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Featuring:

  • Lessons from Iraq with Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
  • A Look at the Reconstruction Challenges in Afghanistan with Major General Arnold Fields, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, senior fellow, Center for American Progress, adviser, Middle East Progress

Prospects for a Two-State Solution: Understanding Challenges and Creating Opportunities
Friday, March 20, 2009, 9:00am-10:30am
Featuring:

  • Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank (2002-2005)
  • Ghaith al-Omari, advocacy director, American Task Force on Palestine; adviser, Middle East Progress; former adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, senior fellow, Center for American Progress, adviser, Middle East Progress

Navigating the Transitions: How to Avoid the Pitfalls and Steer the Course Forward
Roundtable Discussion
Thursday, October 2, 2008, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Featuring:

  • Daniel C. Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt and S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor of Middle East Policy Studies, Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
  • Ghaith al-Omari, director of advocacy, American Task Force on Palestine, and former foreign policy adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
  • Brigadier General (ret.) Ephraim Sneh, Member of Knesset and former Deputy Defense Minister

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, adviser to Middle East Progress and a former deputy national security adviser

Coping with the Iraqi Displacement Crisis: Implications for the Region, the United States and the International Community
Thursday, July 10, 2008,12:30pm - 2:15pm
Featured panelists:

  • Morton Abramowitz, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation and Board Member, the International Rescue Committee
  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, the Center for American Progress
  • Kristele Younes, Senior Advocate, Refugees International

Moderated by:

  • Michael Wahid Hanna, The Century Foundation

Iraq: Examining the Diplomatic and Political Tools to Achieve Progress and Stability
Monday, April 21, 2008, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Discussion introduced by:

  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Advisor to Middle East Progress, Center for American Progress

Featured panelists:

  • Christopher A. Kojm, Professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and former Senior Advisor to the Iraq Study Group and Deputy Director of the 9-11 Commission
  • Carlos Pascual, Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and former Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, United States Department of State
  • Nabil Al-Tikriti, Senior Fellow, Jennings Randolph Fellowship Program, United States Institute of Peace

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Advisor to Middle East Progress, Center for American Progress

A View from the Ground in Iraq
Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Featured panelists:

  • Michael Ware, CNN’s correspondent in Baghdad
  • Nir Rosen, journalist; Center on Law and Security Fellow, NYU

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

No End in Sight: Conversations on Iraq
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Keynote address:

  • Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)

Introduction by:

  • Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy, Center for American Progress

Featured speaker:

  • Charles Ferguson, author, No End in Sight

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Persepolis: A Reel Progress Screening
Sunday, December 16, 2007, 7:00pm - 9:15pm
Featured panelists:

  • Marjane Satrapi, writer/director, PERSEPOLIS
  • Vincent Paronnaud, writer/director, PERSEPOLIS

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Advisor to Middle East Progress, Center for American Progress

Iraq’s Displacement Crisis and the International Response
Thursday, December 6, 2007, 9:00am - 2:30pm
Introductions:

  • Helga Flores Trejo, Director, Heinrich Boell Foundation, North America
  • John Podesta, President, Center for American Progress

Keynote remarks:

  • Earl Blumenauer, Congressman, U.S House of Representative (D-OR)

Panel One: The Current Crisis and Responses Thus Far

  • Reinhold Brender, Counselor, Political Section, European Commission Delegation to the United States
  • Bill Frelick, Refugee Policy Director, Human Rights Watch
  • Said Hakki, President, Iraqi Red Crescent Society
  • Victor Tanner, Adjunct faculty member, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University and consultant for the International Rescue Committee

Moderated by:

  • Anita Sharma, Center for American Progress

Introductions:

  • Larry Korb, Center for American Progress

Luncheon address:

  • An Iraqi Account of the Situation and the International Response to the Crisis
  • Ahmed Ali, former translator and interpreter for numerous media outlets, the U.S. and Iraqi governments, recently resettled in the United States
  • Michel Gabaudan, Washington Director, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Panel Two: The Next Challenges of Iraq’s Displacement Crisis

  • Elizabeth Ferris, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, and co-director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement
  • John Merrill, Director for Refugees, IDPs, and Parole Programs, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Middle East - Iraq Office
  • Kristele Younes, Advocate, Refugees International

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

No End in Sight: A Reel Progress Screening
Monday, July 24, 2007, 9:00am - 12:00pm
Featuring:

  • Charles Ferguson, Filmmaker, "NO END IN SIGHT"
  • Nicholas Cull, Professor and Director of the USC Master’s in Public Diplomacy
  • Gregory Treverton, Director, RAND Center for Global Risk and Security

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

No End in Sight: A Reel Progress Screening
Thursday, July 19, 2007, 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Featuring:

  • Charles Ferguson, Filmmaker, “No End in Sight”
  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Settlements vs. Security – Why Addressing Settlements is Critical to Next Steps in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Thursday, July 12, 2007, 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Featuring:

  • Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, Retired high-ranking IDF officer
  • Talia Sasson, Legal adviser to Prime Minister Sharon on settlements and illegal outposts and author of the definitive and far-reaching "Sasson Report" on the issues of settlements, outposts, and law enforcement in the Palestinian territories.

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Palestinian Loan Guarantee and Risk Insurance Projects Roundtable
Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Featuring:

  • Toni Verstandig, Executive Director, Middle East Investment Initiative, Director of the Middle East Strategy Group at the Aspen Institute, and Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation
  • Jim Pickup, Partner at DLA Piper and contributing writer of the Mitchell Plan
  • Dan Morrison, Project Director for the Palestinian Political Risk Insurance Project and Middle East Investment Initiative
  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Advisor to Middle East Progress

No End in Sight: A Reel Progress Screening
Monday, June 25, 2007, 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Featured panelists:

  • Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen
  • Col. Paul Hughes (Ret.), Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Charles Ferguson, Director, “NO END IN SIGHT”
  • Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (Ret.), Former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell

Introduction by:

  • Anna Soellner, Center for American Progress

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Assessing U.S. Policy in Iraq and the Middle East
Monday, March 19, 2007, 8:30am - 1:30pm
Time: 9:00am - 9:10am

  • Welcome: Melody Barnes, Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress

Examining Iraq’s Impact on the Middle East and Regional Diplomacy
Time: 9:10am - 10:15am

  • Jon Alterman, Director and Senior Fellow, Middle East Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
  • Judith Yaphe, Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University

Moderated by:

  • Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Debating U.S. Military Strategy
Time: 10:30am - 11:45am

  • Ken Adelman, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations General John M. Keane, United States Army, Retired, and Senior Managing Director and co-founder of Keane Advisors, LLC
  • Lawrence Korb, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, and Senior Adviser, Center for Defense Information

Moderated by:

  • Peter Rundlet, Vice President and Managing Director for National Security, Center for American Progress

Featured remarks by:
Time: 12:00pm - 12:30 pm

  • Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)

Luncheon keynote address by:
Time: 12:30pm - 1:20pm

  • Congressman Lee Hamilton (D-IN)

A Roundtable Discussion with Sheikha Lubna al Qasimi
Tuesday, March 13, 2007, 8:30am - 10:00am
Featuring:

  • Sheikha Lubna al Qasimi, Minister of Economy and Planning of the United Arab Emirates, introduced by The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of State and trustee of the Center for American Progress.

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress

What to expect, what to hope for, after Prime Minister Olmert’s visit to Washington
Thursday, November 16, 2006, 12:30pm - 2:00pm
Featuring:

  • Gadi Baltiansky - Director General of the Geneva Initiative and former Press Secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Comprehensive Peace-Making in the Middle East: What Next?
Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 9:00am - 10:30am
Featuring:

  • David Kimche, President, Israel Council of Foreign Relations, Former Deputy Head of Mossad, Former Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry

Introduced and moderated by:

  • Daniel Levy, Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Arabian Tales: Walking the Winds — Can theatre and music build bridges and cross divides others cannot?
Thursday, April 6, 2006, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Featuring:

  • Her Royal Highness Princess Dana Firas
  • Alina L. Romanowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges
  • Lina Attel, Founder and Director General, The Performing Arts Center of The Noor Al Hussein Foundation in Jordan; Co-Director of Arabian Tales
  • Kim Peter Kovac, Director for Youth and Family Programs, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Production Manager of Arabian Tales

Moderated by:

  • Mara Rudman, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress