Weiser Diplomacy Center Ambassadors’ Forum in cooperation with the American Academy of Diplomacy

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.