Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

Task Force Senior Advisers

       Dr. Hassan Abbas Hassan Abbas is a Senior Advisor and Bernard Schwartz Fellow at Asia Society, and Professor of International Security Studies at National Defense University’s College of International Security Affairs. He is currently also a Nonresident Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Dr. Dlawer Ala’Aldeen Dlawer Ala’Aldeen is the […]

Freedom of Expression in Syria: A Discussion with Mazen Darwish

By Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

On April 15, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a discussion with prominent Syrian media activist Mazen Darwish on the “Freedom of Expression in Syria.” Hariri Center Acting Director, Mirette Mabrouk, moderated the discussion. Darwish opened with remarks on the upcoming Geneva peace talks and the issues of political […]

Civilians die, but the straw man lives

By Frederic C. Hof

No political progress toward ending Syria's agony and the horrific hemorrhage of its people is possible without first passing through the portal of civilian protection.

Security and public order

By The Middle East Strategy Task Force

The security situation facing the Middle East is grave and appears to be trending toward greater violence and instability. The Middle East Strategy Task Force's Security and Public Order report, published in cooperation with the Brookings Institution, demonstrates that states of the region have tended to focus on traditional, external threats but the internal threats they face—from domestic unrest, state failure, and civil war—have become both more common and dangerous.

Task Force Members

Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Chair of the Task Force of Iraq Ryan Crocker is Dean and Executive Professor at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where he holds the Edward and Howard Kruse Endowed Chair. He retired from the Foreign Service in April 2009 after a career of over […]

Economic recovery and revitalization

By Middle East Strategy Task Force

Even as the specter of political instability weighs heavily on the region, the Middle East is quietly experiencing a technological and societal transformation that could hold the keys to a better future.