In Obscura: Adventures in the World of Intelligence with Peter Theroux

Monday, December 2, 2024
1:00PM Eastern Time

Peter Theroux’s memoir, In Obscura, recalls the author’s journey from journalism and translation, to the CIA and the National Security Council, weaving through Damascus and Hollywood. Drawing parallels between the hidden lives of intelligence officers and stunt actors, he offers an eloquent nuts-and-bolts glimpse into realms where success requires invisibility. What can we learn from lives lived in the shadows? What has the author learned from his journey? What anecdotes is he free to recount? 

Click here for a review by Daniel Pipes of In Obscura.

Peter Theroux has made an unusual set of career transitions from journalist (Wall Street Journal) to feature story writer (National Geographic) to book author (Translating LA) to translator from Arabic (Cities of Salt) to intelligence analyst (Central Intelligence Agency) to bureaucrat (Department of State) to policy advisor (National Security Council). Mr. Theroux holds a BA in English literature from Harvard University and studied at the American University in Cairo.

Israel Insider with Ashley Perry

Wednesday, December 4, 2024
3:00PM Eastern Time

Does the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah differ in any substantial way from the one which concluded their war in 2006? Has it a better prospect of being fulfilled?

Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum’s Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).

Aleppo Falls: A Turning Point in Syria's Civil War?
with Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi

Friday, December 6, 2024
1:00PM Eastern Time

The unexpected capture of Aleppo by Turkish-backed rebel forces has reignited the Syrian civil war after years of stasis. This striking event, due in large part to diminished support from Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, raises many questions: How did the rebels achieve this victory? Can they hold and even expand their holdings? What can the Bashar al-Assad regime do in response? What should the U.S. response be? How important is this development for Syria, the region, and beyond?

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi a Milstein Writing Fellow at the Middle East Forum. His research focuses primarily on Syria, Iraq, and the Islamic State. A range of media outlets, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Agence France-Presse have quoted his insights. He has published an Arabic translation and study of the Latin work Historia Arabum, the earliest surviving Western book focused on Arab and Islamic history. He holds a BA from Brasenose College, Oxford University and a PhD from Swansea University.

The Middle East Forum, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. Pursuing its goals via intellectual and operational means, the Forum recurrently has policy ideas adopted by the U.S. government.