Dennis Ross

Dennis Ross is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He also teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. Ross served as special assistant to President Obama and as National Security Council senior director for the Central Region. 

Emma Ashford

Emma Ashford is a Senior Fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center. Ashford is also a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. 

Aaron David Miller

Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He has written five books, including his most recent, "The End of Greatness: Why America Can’t Have (and Doesn’t Want) Another Great President" (2014) and "The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace" (2008).

Steven Simon (Moderator) 

Steven Simon is Senior Research Analyst at the Quincy Institute and Professor of Practice in Middle Eastern Studies at the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington. From 2011 to 2012, he served on the National Security Council staff as senior director for Middle Eastern and North African affairs.