Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Derek Seifert
The MEI-CENTCOM Annual Conference is a flagship event of MEI’s Defense and Security Program
It convenes top CENTCOM leadership and staff as well as some of the world’s leading Middle East scholars and practitioners to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the United States and its regional partners. Unique in the U.S. public policy and think tank communities, this two-day conference features speeches by CENTCOM leaders in addition to multiple policy-relevant panels on a range of strategic, political, military, and economic issues in the region.
2023 Conference
The third MEI-CENTCOM annual conference on March 29 & 30 will feature multiple panels over two days as well as a keynote address by CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael E. Kurilla at MEI’s headquarters on March 29. Closing remarks will be issued on March 30 by CENTCOM Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot.
Please note that, except for Gen. Kurilla's keynote, attendance for the conference is by invitation only, and the sessions will be held under Chatham House Rule.
Day 1 Agenda
March 29, 2023
8:30 – 9:00 am
Breakfast & Registration
9:00 – 9:10 am
Introductory Remarks and Overview
Bilal Y. Saab Senior Fellow and Director, Defense and Security Program, MEI
9:10 – 10:15 am
Keynote Address
General Michael E. KurillaCommander, CENTCOM
Bilal Y. Saab (moderator)
Senior Fellow and Director, Defense and Security Program, MEI
10:30 – 11:30 am
Session I: Post-Afghanistan Withdrawal: US Priorities in the Middle East
Anne Patterson Kissinger Senior Fellow, Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University
Ellen Laipson Professor and Director of the Center of Security Policy Studies, George Mason University
Paul Salem President, MEI
Deborah Amos (moderator) Reporter, NPR
11:30 – 11:45 am
Coffee Break
11:45 am – 1:00 pm
Session II (Lunch): Ukraine and the Middle East: Lessons Learned
Joanne Held Cummings Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security, MEI
Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr. Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security, MEI
Martin Indyk Lowy Distinguished Fellow in US-Middle East Diplomacy, Council on Foreign Relations
Brian Katulis (moderator) Vice President for Policy, MEI
1:10 – 2:10 pm
Session III: A US China Policy in the Middle East?
Michael K. Nagata Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security, MEI
Jon B. Alterman Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Yun SunSenior Fellow and Co-Director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program, Stimson Center
Eric Schmitt (moderator)
Senior Correspondent, New York Times
Day 2 Agenda
March 30, 2022
8:30 – 9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 am
Session IV: Combating ISIS and Addressing the al-Hol Challenge in Syria
Charles Lister Senior Fellow and Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism Programs, MEI
Joseph Votel Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security, MEI
Mona Yacoubian Senior Advisor, Executive Office and Middle East and North Africa Center, USIP
Courtney Kube (moderator) National Security Correspondent, NBC News
10:10 – 11:10 am
Session V: Innovation in US Middle East Security Cooperation
Kevin Donegan Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security, MEI
Katie Crombe Non-Resident Scholar, MEI
Melissa Horvath Non-Resident Senior Fellow, MEI
Alexander Ward (moderator) National Security Reporter, POLITICO
11:10 – 11:25 am
Coffee Break
11:25am – 12:25pm
Session VI: The Future of Iran
Karim Sadjadpour Senior Fellow, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Alex Vatanka Director of Iran Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, MEI
Sanam Vakil Deputy Director and Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
Missy Ryan (moderator) Reporter, The Washington Post
12:25 – 1:40 pm
Closing Lunch & Remarks
Lt. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot (invited) Deputy Commander, CENTCOM
Bilal Y. Saab (moderator) Senior Fellow and Director, Defense and Security Program, MEI