A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East

On September 5, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosted Senior Fellow Kenneth Pollack for a discussion of his book A Path Out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East (Random House, 2008). In his book, Pollack offers a long-term strategy to improve the political, economic and social problems that underlie the region’s many crises. He examines each of the region’s most contested areas, including Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and explains how the U.S. can address each through mutually reinforcing policies.

To discuss his new book, Pollack was joined by David Brooks, New York Times columnist and commentator on The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and Dr. Marwan Muasher, former foreign minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Saban Center Director Martin Indyk provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.