Ambassador (ret.) Jacob Wallis, Ambassador (ret.) Susan Ziadeh, Ambassador (ret.) David Satterfield, and Ambassador (ret.) Ronald E. Neumann

The Middle East is again in turmoil. The destructive Palestinian-Israeli struggle has exploded into multiple regional crises. Israeli military exchanges with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the interruption of Red Sea commerce due to attacks from Houthis in Yemen, direct Iranian-Israeli bombing , and the active engagement of US military forces in the region are all part of the regional picture. While most participants appear to want to avoid all-out war, the region is as close to full scale war as it has been in many years. America stands a high chance of being drawn into direct combat in an expansion, and the issue already roils US university campuses and the halls of Congress. A single discussion will not probe all aspects of the long-standing conflict, but it can draw out multiple, critical threads for examination and discussion. That is the focus of this year’s Ambassadors’ Forum.