How will the death of Syria's influential Pres. Hafez al-Assad affect this week's Final Status talk in Washington? Is Syria in for an easy transition of power or will there be bumps in the road ahead? What role will new leadership in Syria, Jordan, and other Arab powers play in U.S. facilitated efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East? Middle East specialists Jon Alterman, Jeffery Helsing, and Steven Riskin are available for questions, commentary, and analysis in examining the impact of the new generation of Arab leadership in the ongoing quest to bring peace to the Middle East.

• Jon B. Alterman
  
• Jeffery Helsing
  
• Steven Riskin

In conjunction with the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian Peace talks in Washington, the Institute is making copies of its recent publication, A Very Political Economy: Peacebuilding and Foreign Aid in the West Bank and Gaza by Middle Eastern scholar and former Institute grantee Rex Brynen available to the press upon request.