Since the Arab-Spring in late 2010 that saw the collapse of the political orders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the balance of power within the region has been irrevocably changed. This change not only resulted from an absence of leadership, but from the emboldenment of Iran as a growing power in the region as well. With the twin ambition to develop a capacity for nuclear arms production and to act as the source of spiritual leadership for the Shia community, Iran has grown more influential on the governments of Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Egypt. As a result of this increase in reach, both Saudi Arabia and Israel have been placed on the defensive, each fearing the incitement of conflict. This has led to two policy outcomes by each country. In the case of Saudi Arabia $66 billion in military supplies have been purchased from the United States, primarily in the form of missile shields and other defensive measures, to safeguard the Gulf region. In the case of Israel, an active policy discussion has been advanced that proposes to attack Iran in order to curb its nuclear ambitions. Within this complex set of relations that has far-reaching impact on world affairs, this panel will ask: (a.) how can regional stability be achieved, both in respect to the cessation of civil conflict and the establishment of ‘normal’ diplomatic relations in a post Arab-Spring context; secondly, (b.) what is the likelihood of further armed conflict within the Middle East and what are the best strategies to avert another conflict?
Bio
David A. Andelman
David A. Andelman became Editor of World Policy Journal in June 2008. Previously he served as Executive Editor of Forbes.com, the world's largest business and financial website. Earlier, he was a domestic and foreign correspondent for The New York Times in various posts in New York and Washington, as Southeast Asia bureau chief, based in Bangkok, then East European bureau chief, based in Belgrade.
He then moved to CBS News where he served for seven years as Paris correspondent, traveling through and reporting from nearly 60 countries. There followed service as a Washington correspondent for CNBC, news editor of Bloomberg News and Business Editor of the New York Daily News.
He is the author of three books, "The Peacemakers", published by Harper & Row, and "The Fourth World War", published by William Morrow, which he co-authored with the Count de Marenches, long-time head of French intelligence. His third book, "A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today” was published in November 2007 by John Wiley & Sons.
Mr. Andelman has written for such publications as Harpers, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs. He is a graduate of Harvard University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Harvard Club of New York, The Grolier Club and the Overseas Press Club.
Sanjeev Bery
Mr. Sanjeev Bery serves as Advocacy Director for Middle East North Africa issues at Amnesty International USA. He lobbies US officials, diplomats, and officeholders regarding human rights concerns across the MENA region. His commentaries on US foreign policy and human rights have appeared in a range of U.S. newspapers and publications.
Previously, Mr. Bery served as a regional director for the American Civil Liberties Union, where his work included advocacy on post-9/11 security policies. He has also served as a public interest lobbyist on student financial aid issues in Washington DC and as a fundraiser for environmental and human rights organizations.
He holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Harvard Public Service Fellow. He is a recipient of the 2007 Asian Law Alliance Community Impact Award and has received commendations from the California State Senate and Assembly for his human rights advocacy.
Dr. Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes, a historian, is president of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. The Middle East Forum is an independent 501(c)3 organization, established in 1994. The Forum has a nearly US$4 million budget. Its mission is "promoting American interests" through publications, research, media outreach, and public education. It publishes the Middle East Quarterly and sponsors Campus Watch, Islamist Watch, the Legal Project, and the Washington Project.
A former official in the U.S. departments of State and Defense, Pipes has taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, the U.S. Naval War College, and Pepperdine University. He has written twelve books and his website, DanielPipes.org, with a near-complete archive of his writings, has recorded 62 million page visits. He writes a bi-weekly column which appears regularly in the National Review and in newspapers around the globe, including the Jerusalem Post and Yisrael ha-Yom (Israel), Al-Akhbar (Iraq), Die Welt (Germany), La Razón (Spain), Liberal (Italy), National Post (Canada), and the Australian; his writings have been translated into 36 languages. His current focus is on the Middle Eastern political upheavals.
He received his A.B. (1971) and Ph.D. (1978) from Harvard University, both in history, and spent six years studying abroad, including three years in Egypt. Mr. Pipes speaks French, and reads Arabic and German. He served in various capacities in the U.S. government, including two presidentially-appointed positions, vice chairman of the Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarships and board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace. He was director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in 1986-93.
Jonathan Tepperman
Jonathan Tepperman has been Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs-the 90-year-old magazine published by the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations-since February 2011. Tepperman started his journalism career as a junior editor at Foreign Affairs in 1998, before moving to Newsweek International, where he was deputy editor, ran (at various times) the Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America sections, and wrote frequently for the magazine, including cover stories, opinion pieces, and a style column. He has then worked at Eurasia Group, a global political-risk consulting firm, before returning to Foreign Affairs. Tepperman has also worked as a reporter at The Jerusalem Post and The Forward and as a speechwriter to former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Morris B. Abram.
Tepperman writes frequently for a range of publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New Republic, and others, on subjects ranging from international affairs to municipal politics and from books to food. He is the co-editor of the book The U.S. vs Al Qaeda: A History of the War on Terror (2011).
Tepperman has a B.A. in English from Yale University, an M.A. in law from New College, Oxford, and an LL.M. in law from New York University. He is Vice Chairman of the Halifax International Security Forum and a Fellow of the New York Institute of Humanities. A native of Windsor, Ontario, he lives in Brooklyn.
Lally Weymouth
Lally Graham Weymouth serves as Senior Associate Editor of the Washington Post, previously the Editor-at-Large and Special Diplomatic Correspondent for Newsweek magazine. Mrs. Weymouth has been writing on foreign affairs for Newsweek Magazine and for The Washington Post since 1986. She conducts exclusive interviews with world leaders of various countries. Some notable interviews include; the last foreign interview with Pakistan's Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto two weeks before her death; Pakistan's new President Asif Ali Zardari, the day following former President Pervez Musharraf's resignation as well as interviews with Israel's then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad.
During the last year, Mrs. Weymouth has interviewed Mexico's President Felipe Calderon; Thailand's President Abhisit Vejjajiva; President Karzai of Afghanistan; Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh; The former United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mrs. Weymouth formerly served as Contributing Editor of the Los Angeles Times, specializing in world leader interviews from President Assad of Syria to Saddam Hussein. She has also written freelance for New York Magazine, Esquire and others. In 1976, Mrs. Weymouth authored "America in 1876: The Way We Were", published by Random House.
Mrs. Weymouth graduated from Radcliffe College with honors. She currently serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Lally Weymouth of The Washington Post and Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum give their predictions and suggestions for what the United States should do about the oppressive regime in Syria and the development of a nuclear weapon in Iran.
The solution is yankee go home take care of your homeless veterans children, go home america forget this world domination that hitler dreamed of. Go home.
