Middle East Policy with Meghan and Joe: An Adventure

On Wednesday, January 12th we attended a think tank discussion held by the World Affairs Council of Washington, DC. This discussion was a part of the "FOREIGN POLICY SERIES" the council has been holding throughout the year. The topic was Formulating a New Security Environment: US Engagement in the Middle East. The three distinguished panelists provided very informative insight on the future of American grand strategy in the Middle East. First was Matthew Hoh, a director at the Afghan study group and retired combat veteran of the Afghan War. Next, was Hon. Robert E Hunter, former NATO Ambassador and expert American diplomat. Finally, our favorite panelist, Steven Clemens (a.k.a. Steve) founder of the American Strategy Program at The New America Foundation. The talk was very educational and thought provoking. It gave us much new insight on the "sexy" Middle East/US relationship.

Meg: I was very interested in the discussion because of a class I had taken previously at OSU. I, personally, feel that the U.S.'s foreign policy in the future will greatly determine how we are perceived globally. EVERYONE should learn more about this region and what we are doing there. One of the most interesting topics was the problem with Iran. Clemens stated that the reason why we are in this situation today is because of our invasion into Iraq. I completely believe this claim and agree that we did not have a real reason to go into Iraq. He also talked how we will not be able to "fix" the Israel problem until we resolve our issues with Iran. In a foreign policy simulation, I represented the US and I can attest to the many complicated problems in resolving the Israel issue and Iran was one we had to overcome to succeed. Finally, he said that we couldn't live with a nuclear Iran. I disagreed with this because of the theory called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). This says that if everyone (or the most influential countries) has a nuclear weapon, no one will use it due to retaliation. I really enjoyed this discussion and look forward to others like it.

Joe: Similar to Meghan, I really enjoyed this panel discussion. All three of the panelists gave a lot of great insight and policy suggestions for the US. The overall consensus was American grand strategy needs to change and adapt. Their critiques were very thoughtful and well delivered. I particularly enjoyed Steve's discussion, and after the discussion I approached Steve. I introduced myself because I'd be working for the same think tank department that he founded. He was very approachable and told me to call him Steve, rather than Mr. Clemens. I hope to attend more think tanks sessions in the future and I look forward to working with Steve more!

Much Love from WAIP,

Meghan Gannon and Joe Sadek