In the ninth lecture in his ten-part series on Israel and the American presidents, Michael Doran will argue that the greater our distance from the age of the cold war, which focused the attention of policymakers on vital national interests, the more American policy toward Israel—and the Middle East in general—has become an extension of domestic politics. The presidency of Barack Obama offers a textbook example of this process.
In engaging Iran and distancing the U.S. from Israel, President Obama developed what might be called a new “strategy” toward the Middle East. But this framework grew as much out of domestic political battles as out of any rational appreciation of realities in the region.
Israel’s leaders, for their part, were caught off guard, and were slow to recognize that they had become symbols in a domestic American drama. When they did fully absorb the new situation, they were also forced to acknowledge that there was very little they could do about it.
The Location: Live Webcast
The lectures will be webcast live from the Tikvah Center in Manhattan at 6:30 pm on July 9. Recordings will be made available for five days after each lecture. Just watch this page when the time comes, or enter your email above to be sent a reminder.
The Lecturer: Michael Doran
Michael Doran is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. He received his PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, and held high-level positions in the administration of George W. Bush. He appears frequently on television, and has published extensively in Mosaic, Foreign Affairs, The American Interest, Commentary, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. His most recent book is Ike’s Gamble: America’s Rise to Dominance in the Middle East.
Questions?
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