Ambassador David Mack served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs from 1990 to 1993, and as US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 1986 to 1989. His diplomatic assignments included Iraq, Jordan, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Libya and Tunisia. Ambassador Mack has also been a consultant for numerous private US and Arab companies and has extensive experience and knowledge on Iraq and Libya, particularly the Iraqi Reconstruction effort and US-Libyan relations. Jump to Transcript

Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow of Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Takeyh specializes on Iran, the Persian Gulf, and US foreign policy. He is a contributing editor of National Interest, has previously taught at the National War College and National Defense University, and served as a fellow at Yale University, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and University of California at Berkeley’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Takeyh holds a doctorate in modern history from Oxford University. Jump to Transcript

Patrick Clawson is Deputy Director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Prior to joining The Washington Institute, Clawson spent five years as senior research professor at National Defense University's Institute for National Strategic Studies, as well as four years each at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Clawson holds degrees from the New School for Social Research and Oberlin College. Jump to Transcript

Hillary Mann Leverett is Chief Executive Officer of STRATEGA, a political risk consultancy in McLean, VA. As a career US Foreign Service Officer and Fulbright Scholar, she worked at US embassies in Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. After practicing international law with a focus on the Middle East, she returned to public service as political adviser on the Middle East, Sudan, and Central Asia to the US Mission to the United Nations, as director for Iran, Afghanistan, and Persian Gulf affairs at the National Security Council, and as Middle East expert on the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff. During her service at the United Nations and the White House, she helped conduct the dialogue the United States had with Iran from 2001-2003 over Afghanistan, Iraq and al-Qaeda. Leverett is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Jump to Transcript