MEI's Defense Leadership Series
CENTCOM and the Shifting Sands of the Middle East: A Conversation with Commander Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.
For more than three and a half decades now, CENTCOM has been involved in the Middle East. Today, it is in the process of adjusting to a new U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS) that identifies great power competition as a top U.S. foreign policy priority while ensuring the security of regional allies and partners. How is CENTCOM balancing between the new NDS and the exigencies of regional security? What is the future of the organization in the region? To answer these questions and many others, MEI’s Defense and Security Program, run by Senior Fellow Bilal Y. Saab, is honored to host a conversation with CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr, moderated by MEI President Paul Salem.
Update from MEI
Despite the physical closure of MEI’s offices on N St. until further notice, MEI’s staff and experts are teleworking and busier than ever. Given our mission to educate and inform, coupled with the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on life in the Middle East, MEI remains committed to providing our readers, viewers and supporters with unique insights, policy analysis and stories of creativity and hope from the region.
Expanding Knowledge, Narrowing Divides
MEI fosters greater understanding of the Middle East through non-partisan policy analysis, educational services, and promotion of regional arts and culture.
Policy Center
A source for non-partisan expert analysis seeking solutions to the region’s most challenging issues
Education Center
Classes, academic resources, and professional development services to foster regional understanding
Arts & Culture Center
D.C.’s only gallery dedicated to contemporary and modern art from the Middle East
Upcoming Events
Attend free, public events at our D.C. headquarters or tune in to our live webcasts
Egypt’s Diplomacy in War, Peace and Transition
Navigating the Future of South Yemen
Breaking Bread: Food in Times of COVID-19
Open Call for Entries
Submissions due by June 12
MEI's Arts & Culture Center invites artists from the region and its diaspora to submit artwork for the forthcoming exhibition, "Art in Isolation: Creativity in the Time of COVID-19."
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Leading Regional Expertise
MEI’s scholars draw on deep ties and decades of experience working in the region to build better understanding of Middle East policy.
Research Programs
Led by renowned scholars and regional experts, MEI's policy research programs produce original analysis, convene roundtables and public events, and work to advance understanding of the complexities of regional policy.
Countering Terrorism & Extremism
In-depth analysis into the region’s varied terrorist threats and their underlying drivers, including civil conflict.
Gulf Affairs
Enhancing understanding of the issues facing the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council who are key political, security, and economic partners for the United States.
Iran Program
MEI’s Iran project provides analysis of Iran’s policies and actions at home and abroad through research, articles, papers, and public and private events.
Middle East-Asia Project
Exploring the multidimensional relations between the Middle East and Asia through scholarly analysis of cross-regional economic, political, security, and social/cultural interactions and their implications.
Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies
Advancing a balanced and realistic understanding of the politics, economy, society and foreign policy of these two countries.
Program on Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues
Establishing spaces for current and former officials and experts to engage in problem-solving dialogues in which they discuss emerging political and security trends in the region, resolution of conflicts, and broader issues related to regional security.
Turkish Studies
Seeking to highlight and analyze political, economic, and social developments in Turkey through scholarly research and public events.
Defense and Security Program
Providing rigorous and multidisciplinary analysis of the current and emerging defense and security challenges and opportunities facing the United States and its regional partners.
Egypt Program
Looking at the country's security, economic and political developments. It seeks to examine Egypt’s domestic developments and regional role through research, private roundtables and public events.
Latest Publications
Russia’s involvement in the Middle East: Building sandcastles and ignoring the streets
Jun 01, 2020The collapse of the OPEC+ deal and the diplomatic impasse in Syria reveal the intrinsic fragility of Russia’s gains in the Middle East. Building relations with the region’s autocratic leaders and maintaining a status quo based on a personalistic approach might be effective for some time, but in the long run the Kremlin’s strategy fails to institutionalize relations and thus will be unable to protect them from disruption.
The economic impact of COVID-19 on Turkey
May 26, 2020
How Russia made Hemeimeem air base its African hub
May 28, 2020
What We Do
We seek to promote knowledge of the Middle East in America and strengthen understanding of the United States by the peoples and governments of the region. We believe pursuit of this goal is integral to building a world of peace and stability, in which the people of our two regions value our shared humanity.
Our experts shape diplomatic, legislative, and public discourse through publications, private briefings, testimony, and media.
We provide education and resources to the next generation of global leaders.
Our Center for Arts & Culture promotes a more integrated understanding of the Middle East, forging people-to-people connections and creating a destination for exploring the role of the arts in the region.
We elevate voices from the region in international conversation.
Our international conflict resolution dialogues bring together civil society and political leaders to achieve impact through cooperation both in and outside of the region.