event

Raising the Stakes on Syria: The U.S. Policy Debate and Regional Dynamics

Wed. September 18th, 2013
Washington, DC

In the wake of President Obama’s national address, U.S. allies and adversaries are struggling to assess the implications of the Russian proposal on Syria’s chemical weapons and what Washington’s next steps will be on Syria.

Pressure is building for the Obama administration to get more involved in arming the rebel opposition, even as Americans continue to send a clear message that they want their country to stay out of the conflict. Carnegie experts discussed regional views of recent developments and the impact of U.S. policy.

Nasser alKidwa

Nasser alKidwa is deputy to Arab League Special Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and will appear via video-conference from Geneva, Switzerland.

Andrew S. Weiss

Andrew S. Weiss is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment, where he oversees research in Washington and Moscow on Russia and Eurasia.

Karim Sadjadpour

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment. A leading researcher on Iran, he has conducted dozens of interviews with senior Iranian officials and hundreds with Iranian intellectuals, clerics, dissidents, paramilitaries, businessmen, students, activists, and youth, among others.

Paul Salem

Paul Salem is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon. He works and publishes on the regional and international relations of the Middle East as well as issues of political development and democratization in the Arab world.

Marwan Muasher

Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at Carnegie, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. His career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications.

Political ReformSecurityForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesMiddle EastSyriaRussia
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Nasser alKidwa

Marwan Muasher

Vice President for Studies

Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at Carnegie, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. Muasher served as foreign minister (2002–2004) and deputy prime minister (2004–2005) of Jordan, and his career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications.

Karim Sadjadpour

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Karim Sadjadpour is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Iran and U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

Paul Salem

Director and Senior Associate, Middle East Center

Salem was director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon. He works and publishes on the regional and international relations of the Middle East as well as issues of political development and democratization in the Arab world.

Andrew S. Weiss

James Family Chair, Vice President for Studies

Andrew S. Weiss is the James Family Chair and vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he oversees research on Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia. His graphic novel biography of Vladimir Putin, Accidental Czar: the Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin, was published by First Second/Macmillan in 2022.