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Middle East

Despite the drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, and desires to “rebalance” to Asia, the Middle East continues to dominate the U.S. national security agenda. CNAS conducts cutting-edge research on the most pressing issues in this turbulent region, including responses to the challenges posed by Iranian nuclearization, the Arab Spring, Syria and Iraq.

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Syria's Hard Landing
    Syria's Hard Landing
    Author(s): Dr. Marc Lynch
    Type of Publication: Policy Brief
    Date: 02/22/2013

    As the conflict in Syria escalates into an even more brutal civil war, it not only continues to cause great human suffering, but it also threatens to undermine the stability of the country’s regional neighbors. In Syria’s Hard Landing, Dr. Marc Lynch, CNAS Non-Resident Senior Fellow and Associate Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, argues that the international response to these developments has been manifestly inadequate. While he writes that the debate over Syria must shift to reflect new realities and that there are actions American policymakers can take in order to prepare for a political transition after Asad falls from power, he maintains that the United States should continue to resist direct intervention or directly arming rebels.

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  • Atomic Kingdom: If Iran Builds the Bomb, Will Saudi Arabia Be Next?
    Atomic Kingdom: If Iran Builds the Bomb, Will Saudi Arabia Be Next?
    Type of Publication: Report
    Date: 02/19/2013

    It is taken for granted in Washington that Saudi Arabia will inevitably pursue nuclear weapons if Tehran succeeds in its quest for the bomb. However, CNAS Senior Fellow Colin Kahl, Visiting Fellow Melissa G. Dalton and Research Associate Matthew Irvine argue in their new report Atomic Kingdom: If Iran Builds the Bomb, Will Saudi Arabia Be Next? that the prospects for Saudi reactive proliferation are lower than the conventional wisdom suggests.

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  • Iraq in Hindsight: Views on the U.S. Withdrawal
    Iraq in Hindsight: Views on the U.S. Withdrawal
    Author(s): Emma Sky
    Type of Publication: Commentary
    Date: 12/14/2012

    In Iraq in Hindsight: Views on the U.S. Withdrawal, Emma Sky offers a pointed critique of U.S. policy over the last decade, arguing that valuable lessons can be learned from the country's "American era" now that U.S. forces have withdrawn. A senior fellow at the Jackson Institute at Yale and a political advisor in Iraq to General Raymond Odierno from 2007 to 2010, Sky examines these lessons learned and urges U.S. policymakers to set realistic goals for future intervention. 

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  • Revitalizing the Partnership: The United States and Iraq a Year after Withdrawal
    Revitalizing the Partnership: The United States and Iraq a Year after Withdrawal
    Type of Publication: Policy Brief
    Date: 12/14/2012

    As the United States marks the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, in Revitalizing the Partnership: The United States and Iraq A Year After Withdrawal, Senior Fellow Nora Bensahel  and former CNAS Visiting Fellow Melissa Dalton offer a way forward.

     

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  • Saudi Arabia, Karen House, CNAS
    On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future
    Type of Publication: Book
    Date: 09/18/2012

    In On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future, member of the CNAS Board of Directors and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Karen Elliott House navigates the maze in which Saudi citizens find themselves trapped and reveals the mysterious nation that is the world’s largest exporter of oil, critical to global stability and a source of Islamic terrorists.

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  • Asad Under Fire: Five Scenarios for the Future of Syria
    Asad Under Fire: Five Scenarios for the Future of Syria
    Author(s): Melissa Dalton
    Type of Publication: Policy Brief
    Date: 09/10/2012

    The brutal conflict underway in Syria jeopardizes key U.S. strategic interests, but leaves Washington with few attractive options to protect them and little leverage over the future of the country. In Asad Under Fire: Five Scenarios for the Future of Syria, Visiting Fellow Melissa Dalton argues that the United States must prepare for a range of potential future scenarios and implement policies now to mitigate future risks to its interests in the event of a transition of power from Syrian President Bashar al-Asad.

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  • Risk and Rivalry: Iran, Israel and the Bomb
    Risk and Rivalry: Iran, Israel and the Bomb
    Type of Publication: Report
    Date: 06/06/2012

    As Iran's nuclear progress continues and negotiations fail to reach a breakthrough, the threat of an Israeli preventive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities grows. In Risk and Rivalry: Israel, Iran and the Bomb, authors Dr. Colin H. Kahl, Melissa G. Dalton and Matthew Irvine argue that despite the abhorrent threats by some Iranian leaders to "wipe Israel off the map," the actual behavior of the Islamic Republic over the past three decades indicates that the regime is not suicidal and is sufficiently rational for nuclear deterrence.

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  • Strategic Adaptation: Toward a New U.S. Strategy in the Middle East
    Strategic Adaptation: Toward a New U.S. Strategy in the Middle East
    Type of Publication: Report
    Date: 06/06/2012

    In Strategic Adaptation: Toward a New U.S. Strategy in the Middle East, authors Dr. Bruce W. Jentleson, Dr. Andrew M. Exum, Melissa G. Dalton and J. Dana Stuster chart the fundamentals of a revised strategy for U.S. Middle East policy, starting with a reevaluation of U.S. interests and an assessment of the evolving strategic context. The approach they propose is one of “strategic adaptation” to meet immediate challenges while simultaneously responding to regional trends that will affect the region – and U.S. engagement – for decades to come.

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  • marc lynch, cnas, syria, un, annan plan, us military
    Dr. Marc Lynch Testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on Syria
    Author(s): Dr. Marc Lynch
    Type of Publication: Congressional Testimony
    Date: 04/25/2012

    In his testimony before  the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, CNAS Non-Resident Senior Fellow Marc Lynch emphasizes the importance of the international community utilizing diplomacy and pressure thoroughly before engaging in military action.

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  • The Arab Uprising, Marc Lynch, CNAS, Arab Spring
    The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East
    Author(s): Dr. Marc Lynch
    Type of Publication: Book
    Date: 03/27/2012

    In The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East, Dr. Marc Lynch, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, discusses one of the most fundamental changes throughout the history of the modern Middle East: the empowerment of a new generation of Arabs who reject the world they inherited.

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  • U.S. Strategy after the Arab Uprisings: Toward Progressive Engagement
    Type: News Item
    Source: The Washington Quarterly

    May 7, 2013 — In their article, "U.S. Strategy after the Arab Uprisings: Towards Progressive Engagement" published in The Washington Quarterly, Senior Fellow Dr. Colin Kahl and Non Resident Senior Fellow Dr. Marc Lynch examine the regional role of the United States after the Arab uprisings. 


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  • The Pentagon Cries Wolf on Sequestration Pains
    Type: News Item
    Source: The Fiscal Times

    May 3, 2013 — With sequestration moving forward, Research Associate Jacob Stokes discusses with The Fiscal Times Pentagon plans to reduce force size, urging the military to eliminate redundancies while establishing "reversibility" -- the ability to scale reduced ground forces back up quickly.

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  • John McCain and the Lessons of History
    Type: News Item
    Source: The National Interest

    April 19, 2013 — Robert W. Merry of The National Interest discusses Senator John McCain's address to the Center for New American Security, in which he called for American internationalism and stressed America's responsibility to uphold its foreign policy values in a rapidly changing world. 

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  • McCain: On foreign policy, I may have more in common with Obama than with some in own party
    Type: News Item
    Source: Foreign Policy

    April 19, 2013 — Dana Stuster of The Cable reports on Senator John McCain's speech to the Center for New American Security on internationalism.   

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  • Libya Intervention More Questionable in Rear View Mirror
    Type: News Item
    Source: Independent European Daily Express

    April 5, 2013 — The Independent Daily Express' Jim Lobe discusses Senior Fellow Robert Kaplan's recent article on China's relationship with Russia on The Atlantic and the strategic implications this presents for trans-sahel region as it continues to be embroiled in political instability.

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  • Part I: Is Iran Slowing its Nuclear Program?
    Type: News Item
    Source: The Iran Primer

    April 4, 2013 — Senior Fellow, Dr. Colin Kahl discusses Iran's nuclear ambitions and steadfast determination to develop its program despite interantional opposition with United States Institute of Peace's The Iran Primer. 

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  • Welcome to Cocainebougou
    Type: News Item
    Source: Foreign Policy

    March 27, 2013 — Writer in Residence Yochi Dreazen analyzes in Foreign Policy the close links between the crisis in Mali and the regional drug trafficking. 

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  • Syrian Opposition in Political Shambles- Kerry Stops in Afghanistan after Iraq-Are Super carriers Obsolete? F-35 Critic Blasts Bogdan-Making Moves New House Appropriations Director
    Type: News Item
    Source: Politico

    March 25, 2013 — Captain Henry Hendrix's recent report on the evolving role of supercarriers, "At What Cost a Carrier?"  is contrasted against other Capitol Hill perspectives by Politico's Austin Wright and Tim Mak. 

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  • Iraq Took Much Needed Attention from Afghanistan
    Type: News Item
    Source: US News and World Report

    March 20, 2013 — In his recent article, Research Associate Jacob Stokes provides an analysis of the United States' military blunder in Iraq.

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  • Wanted: Ph.Ds Who Can Win A Bar Fight
    Type: News Item
    Source: Foreign Policy

    March 8, 2013 — Foreign Policy features an excerpt from Visiting Fellow Major Fernando Lujan's recent report Light Footprints: The Future of American Military Intervention.

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  • Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, USA
    National Security Leaders' Forum with General Raymond T. Odiernio, USA
    April 5, 2013 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
    The Willard InterContinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) hosted a discussion featuring current Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno on Friday, April 5, 2013. GEN Odierno discussed how the Army is restructuring itself to meet today's security environment while facing the challenges associated with budget cuts and drawdown from two overseas wars.

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  • A Conversation with the Honorable Leon Panetta
    A Conversation with the Honorable Leon Panetta
    November 20, 2012 - 6:45pm - 7:30pm
    The Willard InterContinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security hosted "A Conversation with the Honorable Leon Panetta, U.S. Secretary of Defense" on November 20, 2012. Secretary Panetta discussed U.S. national security and defense priorities. The event featured an introduction by The Honorable Michele Flournoy, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and member of the CNAS Board of Directors.

    Click Here to View Event Photos

    Click Here to View Event Video

    Click Here to Read the Event Transcript

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    Click Here to View Video Highlights from the Event

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  • Election 2012 - The Global Challenge for the Next President
    Election 2012 - Informing the National Security Agenda Event Series
    October 10, 2012 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
    The Willard InterContinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security, the American Enterprise Institute and the New America Foundation are pleased to introduce Election 2012: Informing the National Security Agenda to this presidential campaign season. The most recent event in the series took place in Washington, DC on October 10.

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  • CNAS 2012 Annual Conference
    CNAS 2012 Annual Conference
    June 13, 2012 - 8:45am - 6:00pm
    The Willard InterContinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security's 2012 annual conference, "Rethinking U.S. Security: Navigating a World in Transition," took place in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 13, 2012.

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  • The Arab Uprising, Marc Lynch, Center for a New American Security
    The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East
    March 27, 2012 - 5:30pm - 8:30pm
    The W Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On March 27, 2012, the Center for a New American Security hosted the book launch for The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East by Dr. Marc Lynch, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

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  • responsible defense, david barno, defense budget, cnas, senate, testimony
    Perspectives on the President’s Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Defense
    March 6, 2012 - 10:00am - 12:00pm
    608 Dirksen Senate Office Building
    Washington, District of Columbia

    CNAS Senior Advisor and Senior Fellow LTG David Barno, USA (Ret.) testifies before the Senate Budget Committee in an open hearing on President Obama's FY 2013 budget request for the U.S. Department of Defense.

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  • colin kahl, center for a new american security, cnas, iran, wmd, israel
    The Iranian Nuclear Dilemma: Risk of an Iraq Sequel?
    February 21, 2012 - 10:45am - 12:00pm
    Rayburn House Office Building
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On February 21, CNAS Senior Fellow Colin Kahl participated in a panel discussion hosted by the National Iranian American Council on the status of the Iranian nuclear program. Dr. Kahl indicated that there are a number of differences between the current situation in Iran and the lead-up to the war in Iraq, and addressed the possibility of an Israeli airstrike on Iranian facilities.

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  • Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro
    Roundtable Discussion with Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro
    September 27, 2011 - 4:00pm - 5:30pm
    Center for a New American Security
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On September 27th, the Center for a New American Security hosted a roundtable conversation with Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro to discuss the future of United States security assistance efforts, the lessons learned from recent events, and the case for establishing the new Fund.

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  • Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament
    Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament
    September 20, 2011 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm
    Center for a New American Security
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On September 20, the Center for a New American Security hosted a roundtable discussion with Dr. Kemal Kerkuki and a number of his colleagues on critical issues in the U.S.-Iraqi relationship, along with the Kurdistan regional government’s relationship with the wider world.

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  • Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
    Roundtable Discussion with NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
    September 16, 2011 - 2:30pm - 3:30pm
    Center for a New American Security
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On September 16, the Center for a New American Security hosted a roundtable discussion with NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic on the key themes that will shape NATO's spring 2012 summit.

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  • Dr. Nora Bensahel
    Dr. Nora Bensahel
    Deputy Director of Studies and Senior Fellow

    Dr. Nora Bensahel is Deputy Director of Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.  She recently co-authored Hard Choices: Responsible Defense in an Age of Austerity, and Sustainable Pre-eminence: Reforming the U.S. Military at a Time of Strategic Change. Her other research interests include stability operations, counterinsurgency, civilian capacity for operations abroad, and coalition and alliance operations. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Security Studies Program at the Edmund A.

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