The Future of US Foreign Policy in the Middle East with Representative Mike Lawler

For years, the Middle East has been one of the most volatile regions in the world. And United States foreign policy toward the region often changes drastically with each administration. Today, a fundamentally new regional order is emerging. A weakened Iran has attempted to exercise strategic leverage over one of the world’s most critical waterways. Russian influence continues to recede, underscored by Bashar al-Assad’s fall in Syria, and Beijing seeks to project its influence wherever it can. Meanwhile, the US government continues to prioritize the deepening of security and economic partnerships across the Middle East, and with partners once thought to be adversaries. America’s role during this transformational period is more crucial than ever, but the US faces heightened scrutiny at home and abroad. Policymakers need to assess the current strategic environment to chart a path forward for US foreign policy in the Middle East under dramatically altered political, economic, and security dynamics. Join Representative Mike Lawler (NY-17), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, for a conversation with Senior Fellow Joel Rayburn on the emerging Middle East security order and the future of American strategy in the region.