Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest analysis and perspective on the world’s critical hot spots, U.S. and global security and issues involved in violent conflict, based on the Institute’s work on the ground and with key individuals, governments and organizations. They give interviews and background briefings to journalists and write for news outlets around the world.
U.S. Institute of Peace Executive Vice President William B. Taylor appeared on BBC World News America to discuss ISIS in Afghanistan and the Trump Administration’s strategy review being led by National Security Advisory H.R. McMaster. Taylor underscored that military options in Afghanistan and the Middle East need to be complemented by a corresponding political strategy.
With the missile strikes — retaliation for the Assad regime’s suspected role in a chemical weapons attack — US President Donald Trump grabbed the attention of the players in the Syrian crisis. Elie Abouaoun, director of Middle East and Africa Programmes at the US Institute of Peace, a non-partisan think-tank, said the attack on the al-Shayrat airbase told Moscow: “We are back on stage. You are not alone anymore.”
USIP Middle East and Africa Center Vice President Mike Yaffe spoke to SiriusXM POTUS Ch. 124 about increased U.S. engagement in Syria and the role of other outside players including Russia, Turkey and Iran.
That’s why initiatives such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, President George W. Bush’s landmark initiative to curb HIV infections, are so important. It’s why relatively small programs such as the U.S. Institute of Peace and the East-West Center can have a big impact on foreign views of the U.S.
USIP Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Program Director Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen spoke to SiriusXM POTUS Ch. 124 previewing Mahmoud Abbas’ meeting with President Trump next week. She also addressed key Middle East Peace issues and the Trump administration’s approach.
How can the United States eliminate international terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan while the Afghan government is fighting a war of attrition in which the Taliban has gained the upper hand?
The first 100 days of a new presidency predictably deliver a foreign policy crisis, and President Donald Trump was tested, right on schedule. Events in Syria and North Korea were, unfortunately, unsurprising, even as Bashar Assad’s brutal gassing of his people (again) and the bellicosity of Pyongyang’s saber-rattling are no less chilling.
William B. Taylor spoke to SiriusXM POTUS Ch. 124 about the long-term stabilization effort necessary in Afghanistan. Taylor underscored the need for a political component in the Afghanistan strategy that has been largely absent to date. Commenting on ISIS, Taylor said in both Iraq and Afghanistan that ISIS is on the defensive.
By the end of our interview, Nagl was effusive. “USIP prevents wars from happening and ends them sooner, on terms more favorable to the United States. It keeps American soldiers alive,” he annunciated slowly. “USIP understands how wars end.”
Former U.S. military commanders in Iraq describe the U.S. Institute of Peace as a cost-effective “combat multiplier” with capabilities they “could not get elsewhere,” in an article published today in The National Interest.