Alistair Taylor
@mideasteditor
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Editorial Director, @MiddleEastInst. Editor, writer & analyst with a focus on #MiddleEast and #Turkey. Views are my own. T/RT≠ endorsement.
Washington, DC
Joined October 2018
Iraqis have just gone to the polls in a pivotal parliamentary election that could redefine the country’s political trajectory. What do the results tell us about the state of Iraqi democracy? What happens next? And is there still space for meaningful democratic reform? In this
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NEW -- Just back from #Syria, I joined the @MiddleEastInst podcast this week to discuss President al-Sharaa's visit to #Washington, the ongoing transition, sanctions, US-#Syria security ties, #ISIS, the #SDF & more. Listen here --
mei.edu
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister to unpack the historic November 10 meeting between US President Donald...
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This week @Charles_Lister joins the podcast to discuss the Nov. 10 Trump-Sharaa meeting & his recent trip to Damascus. We cover Syria's ongoing transition, the challenges of post-war recovery, Caesar sanctions, ISIS, SDF talks & more. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/4uAAV5m0wD
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This week on the podcast we're joined by @gonultol to discuss the latest on the crackdown on Turkey's opposition, the Kurdish process, Erdoğan’s efforts to further consolidate power with an eye to 2028, and US-Turkey relations. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/EQRf8F1g7W
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My colleagues @mideasteditor and Matthew Czekaj hosted me on the latest episode of Middle East Focus to discuss Turkey’s domestic politics and the state of Turkish-American relations after Erdoğan’s White House visit. We explored Turkey’s deepening democratic backslide under
mei.edu
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Coming soon! Quarterly grades in my report card on how Trump 2.0 is handling U.S. Middle East policy at the 9-month mark. I give a preview to @mideasteditor & Matthew Czekaj on @MiddleEastInst podcast Middle East Focus. Tune in here: https://t.co/eNw4N3nWAs
mei.edu
In this episode of Middle East Focus, hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj speak with MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis about US policy in the Middle East under Donald Trump’s second administrati...
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This week on the podcast, we're joined by @Katulis to discuss the first 9 months of Trump 2.0 & how the administration is approaching key Middle East policy issues, from Gaza and Iran to managing relations with partners in the region. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/oO4CHBhoKl
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Here’s my quick take on Turkey’s role in the Gaza ceasefire deal. Regardless of how central Ankara actually was to the outcome, the mere fact that Turkey could play this role is significant. The key lies in Erdoğan’s relationship with Trump, Trump’s ties to Netanyahu, and the
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At least four viable pathways exist for President @realDonaldTrump to re-establish presence in Bagram. Here’s what each would require. My take in @ForeignPolicy. https://t.co/Tc0JTNVyXp
foreignpolicy.com
Internal fissures mean that the Taliban’s rejection of the issue is far from settled.
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Erdogan finally got his long-sought White House visit. But did it deliver what he wanted? 🧵 Erdogan’s goals: 1. A photo-op to boost his legitimacy at home 2. Trump lifting CAATSA sanctions to unlock engines for Turkey’s KAAN fighter jet 3. Resolve the Halkbank case in the U.S.
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- Trump used his #UNGA speech to reinforce his unique style of US foreign policy & levy criticisms against others. -But he did little to craft practical solutions to address thorny global security challenges especially in the Mideast @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/onJ0qCCX9X
mei.edu
President Donald Trump used his speech this week before the United Nations General Assembly to reinforce his unique style of US foreign policy-making and levy criticisms against others, including the...
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“[Iran has] been punched in the face a lot,” MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow @AlanEyre1 tells hosts @mideasteditor and Matthew Czekaj in a new episode of Middle East Focus. Listen to the full episode: https://t.co/zFXxh4t6Bs
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Here is a fun (& hopefully enlightening) podcast on Iran & snapback I just did at @MiddleEastInst with @mideasteditor and Matt Czekaj : https://t.co/B6YpZt0Jjg
mei.edu
With Iran’s nuclear program devastated, the reimposition of UN sanctions looming, and Tehran grappling with the fallout of the 12-Day War, is the time ripe for Iran to return to the negotiating...
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🎙️ I spoke with @mideasteditor on the @MiddleEastInst Middle East Focus podcast about the region’s #water and #climate crisis, and why it’s as much a #governance and #security challenge as it is an environmental one. From #Iran’s overdrawn aquifers to Iraq’s blackouts and the
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The MEI Art Gallery is pleased to announce Arab Pop Art: Between East and West, opening to the public on Friday, September 12. MEI’s latest exhibition celebrates a thought-provoking artistic movement that blends elements of Arab culture with the visual language of Western pop art
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Gulf Arabs fear Israel is becoming Goliath | @MABaharoon & @AlexVatanka on Israel's shift from deterrence to dominance, changing perceptions in the Gulf & what it means for the future of the Abraham Accords. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/JoZ1e1dbH9
mei.edu
As the Trump administration pushes to expand the Abraham Accords in the Middle East and into the Caucasus and Central Asia, it overlooks a dramatic shift in perception across the Arab and Muslim...
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Trump’s unpredictable diplomacy of distraction mostly comes up empty @Katulis on "Trump’s top-down, zigzagging distraction diplomacy" & what it means for the administration's approach to the Middle East. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/2PvOAPKv4u
mei.edu
All eyes this week are on Alaska, where US President Donald Trump will hold a pivotal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the Ukraine war. But the United States remains...
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This week on Middle East Focus, we're joined by @dr_nickfn to discuss Lebanon's efforts to reclaim its sovereignty, the disarmament of Hezbollah & UNIFIL's upcoming renewal vote. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/5Szz2iaKBu
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"One year later, the assessment is sobering: While Pezeshkian has in some ways perhaps helped in slowing the hardline march, he has not made any fundamental difference in how the Islamic Republic is run," writes @AlexVatanka. @MiddleEastInst
https://t.co/UEkqk27HHf
mei.edu
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s first year in office has been defined by Iran’s familiar political structural constraints, external crises, and a moderate-reformist base forever frustrated with his...
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