Crisis Diplomacy in the Middle East: Insights from the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Teams

As the second Trump administration enters its second year, the foreign policy records of past administrations loom large, offering important lessons about decisions that may affect America’s role in the Middle East for generations to come. To discuss these lessons, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum with Ambassador James Jeffrey, Robert Satloff, and Dana Stroul. Former Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will introduce Ambassador Jeffrey.

The event will mark the launch of Jeffrey’s new book Middle East Crises: Expeditionary Diplomacy with the Bush, Obama and Trump Teams, which details his interactions with U.S. presidents and foreign leaders during his decades of wide-ranging service as a high-level official in the White House, State Department, and embassies throughout the region. His remarks will focus on the centrality of collective security to Middle East policymaking, as well as ensuring that Washington does not repeat its past mistakes.

Watch a live webcast of this event starting at 2:00 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) on Thursday, January 8, 2026.

Lloyd J. Austin III served as U.S. Secretary of Defense from 2021 to 2025 after a four-decade Army career that included command roles during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. As a four-star general, he led U.S. Central Command and spearheaded regional missions such as the coalition military campaign against the Islamic State.

James Jeffrey, The Washington Institute’s Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow, formerly served as U.S. Special Representative for Syria, Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Iraq, among other posts.

Robert Satloff is the Institute’s Segal Executive Director and Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy. His numerous publications include the just-released Institute paper The Hamas-Israel War: An Early Assessment

Dana Stroul is the Institute’s Director of Research and Kassen Senior Fellow. Previously, she served as Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for the Middle East in 2021-23, among other positions.