It was a pleasure hosting Faisal J. Abbas on my podcast!

We discussed his impressions of MBS's visit to Washington and the opportunities it presents for US-Saudi relations, the Kingdom's transformation over the past decade, and its relationships with key partners.

www.mei.edu/multimedia/p...

Intissar Fakir and I had a great time hosting a class from the University of North Florida, taught by my friend and former co-author Amb. Nancy Soderberg, at the Middle East Institute yesterday!

Richard Fontaine and I discuss Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's November 2025 visit to Washington, Saudi Arabia's emergence as a key "swing state," and what this means for the US-Saudi relationship.

Watch the full podcast episode here: www.mei.edu/multimedia/p...

What to expect when President #Trump meets #Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week?

Richard Fontaine of CNAS & I talk about Saudi Arabia's role as a key "swing state" in geopolitics on the latest episode of "Taking the Edge Off the Middle East"

www.mei.edu/multimedia/p...

Come one, come all!

Looking forward to hosting Taking the Edge Off's first live podcast recording with Hisham Melhem next week at our alma mater, Villanova University!

On the latest episode of my podcast, Mara Rudman shares lessons learned from her time serving in the Obama and Clinton administrations and what it means for future U.S. engagement abroad, with anecdotes of her time working with world leaders and U.S. policymakers.

Tune in: lnkd.in/e7_zUfk6

Trump's Middle East policy at the 9-month mark: Grades for the quarter are in!

My latest assessment on how Trump 2.0 is handling the region overall.

Read the full report here: www.mei.edu/publications...

How Marvin Weinbaum's personal conviction & intellectual curiosity have shaped his life’s work spanning 5 decades of impacting policy debates on #Afghanistan, #Pakistan, #Iran, #Egypt & beyond

Latest episode of #EdgeofftheMiddleEast

The episode is out on all platforms: www.mei.edu/multimedia/p...

Back in Black by AC/DC at Princeton reunion fireworks

The first phase of a three-phase cease-fire deal is set to begin on January 19.

This historic agreement took more than a year to reach and facilitating the full implementation will be difficult.

Three key steps ahead in implementation:

www.mei.edu/publications...

President Biden will deliver a final speech on his foreign policy on Monday, January 13th.

My assessment of how the Middle East was handled, the 4th in a series of reports by the Middle East Institute in 2023-2024, including a report card with grades.

www.mei.edu/publications...

That was then, this is now.

The Middle East in 2025 looks nothing like the Middle East in 2021 when Donald Trump left office.

Check out this @MiddleEastInst analysis by several scholars examining what's different.

My take on US policy/politics:

www.mei.edu/blog/four-ye...

Gettysburg battlefield on a cold December morning, overlooking the area of Pickett’s Charge and the high water mark of the Confederacy.

I’ve recently been thinking about that moment in America’s history, a hinge point when so much was at stake for the country’s unity & future.