(Washington) – The U.S. Institute of Peace has named communications and foreign policy professional Diane Zeleny as its vice president for external relations. Zeleny will lead the institute’s outreach and public communications strategy, and will oversee its public affairs, public education, congressional relations and institutional development efforts.

Nancy Lindborg spoke to SiriusXM POTUS Ch. 124 about the current situation in Somalia after four decades of conflict and the security climate with Al-Shabaab. Lindborg explained how USIP is working to host a four day table-top exercise bringing together leaders from Somali civil society, United States government officials, diplomats, and international organizations to outline the most effective ways to support Somalia’s transition as the Africa Union withdraws peacekeeping troops.

Amb. Princeton Lyman: It’s one of the great tragedies brought about the failure of leaders, the greed of leaders and a lack of strong political institutions. And it weighs heavily on all of us who worked on behalf of giving the South Sudanese the right of self determination and independence.

Sunnis oppose Shiites. Turkish proxies resist Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Groups favoring a unified region quarrel with those who want division. Kurds seek autonomy. There's even fracturing within tribes and families, especially between Sunni Arabs who shunned ISIS and those who did not, according to Institute of Peace executive Sarhang Hamasaeed. Violence is never far away. "There are so many triggers," he says.

The U.S. Institute of Peace notes that, “Iran has the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East.” And that most Iranian missiles “were acquired from foreign sources — notably North Korea.”

“If there is a perception that the U.S. will keep its military presence in Iraq and will have a mission more than just training the Iraqi security forces, then that will increase the incentive for the Shi’ite militias to more directly apply pressure on the United States to leave,” said Sarhang Hamasaeed, director of Middle East Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.

For three years, Lena Kandes and her family lived under isis rule in Mosul. Sequestered in her home after being forced to abandon her university studies, she created an online alias—which she asked me to use—so she could connect with the outside world but not be traceable by the Islamic State’s goons. “We were prisoners there,” she told me earlier this year in Kurdistan, where her family had fled. “We got close to losing our minds.” Through a window, she watched a crowd stone to death a woman suspected of adultery. Kandes felt especially vulnerable because her father had been a contractor for the U.S. military. They had hosted U.S. Army officers at their home.

The 2016-17 United States Institute of Peace (USIP) cohort of Peace Teachers met in person for the first time at the USIP headquarters in Washington July 10 to share their experiences with teaching global peacebuilding skills to teens and pre-teens across the country. The Peace Teachers program is one of several education initiatives offered by USIP, a nonpartisan institute seeking to prevent and reduce violent conflict around the world. For the second year now, the program has connected a small group of middle and high school teachers with the training, resources, and support necessary to bring concepts of peace and conflict resolution to the classroom.