Lebanon in the Shadow of the Iran War: Ceasefire Talks and the Future of the State

Featured Speakers: Anas Alqaed, Joyce Karam, Paul Salem, and Bilal Y. Saab.

Paul Salem

Non-Resident Senior Associate, Center for Strategic and International Studies 

Paul Salem is a Non-Resident Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He previously served as president and CEO of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and as founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon. He also founded and led the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. Salem’s work focuses on Middle East geopolitics, political and economic transitions, and U.S. and international policy toward the region. His research examines state fragility, regional security dynamics, and pathways to conflict resolution and regional order. He is the coeditor of Escaping the Conflict Trap: Toward Ending Civil Wars in the Middle East (2019), Winning the Battle, Losing the War: Addressing the Conditions that Fuel Armed Non-State Actors (2019), and From Chaos to Cooperation: Toward Regional Order in the Middle East (2017). His earlier publications include Broken Orders: The Causes and Consequences of the Arab Uprisings (2013) and Bitter Legacy: Ideology and Politics in the Arab World (1994). Salem has advised numerous governments, international organizations, and corporations on regional affairs and U.S. policy toward the Middle East. He is a frequent commentator on Middle East affairs and appears regularly on major international and regional media outlets.

Joyce Karam

Editor-In-Chief, Al-Monitor; Adjunct Professor, George Washington University 

Joyce Karam is the editor-in-chief at Al-Monitor and an award-winning journalist with decades of experience covering the Middle East, US foreign policy and international affairs. Her work has been cited and published in leading international media outlets, including The New York Times and the BBC. She has interviewed high-profile figures, including US presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden, as well as senior policymakers and global leaders.

At Al-Monitor, Joyce oversees hyperfocused regional coverage with exacting editorial rigor, bringing unparalleled insights and regional access to the publication’s audience. She has also expanded coverage during her tenure to include new verticals and digital formats, further innovating and broadening Al-Monitor’s reach to better serve an expanding subscriber base.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Joyce graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The Lebanese University and began her career at prominent local newspapers in Beirut, reporting on the country’s post-war political and social landscape. She later pursued graduate studies in the United States, earning a master’s degree in international peace and conflict resolution from Arcadia University. After graduating, she resumed her journalism career as the Washington correspondent and then bureau chief for the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat and later for The National.

Joyce also authors Al-Monitor’s weekly China-Middle East Briefing, serves as a professor of political science at George Washington University and is a regular contributor on NPR’s “1A” and Germany-based Deutsche Welle

Bilal Y. Saab

Senior Managing Director, TRENDS US; Associate Fellow, Chatham House; Senior Non-Resident Fellow, Atlantic Council

Bilal Y. Saab is the Senior Managing Director of TRENDS US in Washington, D.C., and the Head of the US-Middle East Practice and an Advisor in the Scientific and Academic Council of TRENDS Research and Advisory in Abu Dhabi. In addition, he is an Associate Fellow with Chatham House and a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the Atlantic Council. He is the author of Rebuilding Arab Defense: US Security Cooperation in the Middle East (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, May 2022).

Saab was Senior Fellow in the Defense and Security Program of the Middle East Institute (MEI) in Washington, D.C, which he founded and directed for 6 years. Saab also founded and directed for 4 years the Middle East Security Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center.

Previously, Saab served as Senior Advisor for Security Cooperation (SC) in the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, with oversight responsibilities for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). In his capacity as the Department of Defense’s lead on security cooperation in the broader Middle East, Saab supported the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy’s responsibility for SC oversight by leading prioritization and strategic integration of SC resources and activities for the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.

Saab has held director, fellow, associate, and research positions at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands, Council on Foreign Relations (International Affairs Fellowship 2018-2019), Atlantic Council, Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Brookings, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and MEI. Saab is a term member (2016-2021) with CFR.

Saab has fluency in both written and spoken Arabic and French, and experience living in the Middle East for more than two decades. He has received various analytic and leadership awards throughout his career including the Thought Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council and the Abshire-Inamori Leadership Award from CSIS.

A prolific and widely published author in peer-reviewed academic and policy journals including the print editions of Survival, Middle East Policy, The Washington Quarterly, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, American Interest, and The National Interest and the online editions of Military Review, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, Saab is often called upon to brief and testify before various executive and legislative agencies in the U.S. government and other governments around the world. He regularly provides commentary to international media outlets, including CNN, NPR, PBS Newshour, Reuters, CNBC, NBC, Washington Post, and New York Times.

Saab earned his BA from AUB, his MLitt from the University of St Andrews, and his MA from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Anas Alqaed (Moderator) 

Director of Programs, Gulf International Forum 

Anas Alqaed is the Director of Programs at Gulf International Forum. In addition to his role, he has conducted extensive research on political and social changes in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and the power and influence of paramilitary groups throughout the Middle East. Before joining the Gulf International Forum, Anas worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for 10 years in Syria IDP Operation, Iraq Refugee Operation, and Libya Refugee Operation. At UNHCR, he specialized in refugee community resilience, capacity-building for governmental and non-governmental organizations, and community mobilization. Anas holds a Master’s in International Public Policy with a Middle East concentration from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).