Shifting Sands: Middle Eastern Revolutions and Regional Implications

As the world witnesses the nascent revolution in Egypt, many wonder what implications these events hold for the larger Middle East and for broader U.S. foreign policy in the region. Regardless of how this crisis is eventually resolved, the United States now faces many difficult questions as it seeks to reorient strategic regional policies. Will other U.S. allies in the Middle East and Gulf also face political uprisings? How will these events affect the Arab-Israeli peace process or the struggle against al-Qaeda?

On February 9, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosted a discussion of the developments in Egypt and the broader implications of the current crisis in the Middle East. Panelists included Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Shibley Telhami and Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. Brookings Fellow Ibrahim Sharqieh, deputy director of the Brookings Doha Center, participated via video conference.

Senior Fellow Kenneth Pollack, director of the Saban Center, provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion. After the program, the panelists took audience questions.