National Security Agency  

Francis Ricciardone
Vice President and Director, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council
and 
Former US Ambassador to Turkey and Egypt

Moderated by
Barry Pavel
Vice President and Director, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Atlantic Council

On Wednesday, September 10, President Barack Obama will announce the administration’s strategy for dealing with the Islamic State, which currently resides predominantly in Syria and Iraq but threatens further expansion in coming months. In an interview on Sunday, President Obama said that he will speak so “the American people understand the nature of the threat and how we’re going to deal with it.” This announcement comes as the United States continues to launch airstrikes against the group in Iraq and after admissions of failure in attempting to free both James Foley and Steven Sotloff. The president’s speech will inform the American people—and the world—how the United States will seek to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the group.

After the speech, the Atlantic Council will host a members call to bring together top experts to dig deeper into the proposed US strategy featuring Michael V. Hayden, Atlantic Council board director and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, and Francis Ricciardone, vice president and director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Covering various angles from US defense policy and realities on the ground in Iraq and Syria, the speakers will analyze what America’s new strategy means for the near- to medium-term, and what we can expect going forward. The call will be moderated by Atlantic Council Vice President and Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security Barry Pavel.

Please join the members call on Thursday, September 11 at 8:00 a.m. This call will be on-the-record.