Babel: Translating the Middle East

Latest Episodes:

Nadia Oweidat: Disinformation in the Arab World Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Nadia Oweidat, a Middle East fellow at the Wilson Center and an assistant professor at Kansas State University. They talk about Russian disinformation efforts in Arabic media outlets, how authoritarian states in the region are amplifying those efforts, and how she thinks Western governments should respond. Then, Natasha Hall, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper continue the conversation about how populations and states in the region think about the United States as the international system becomes more multipolar.

Nadia Oweidat, “The Russian Propaganda in Arabic Hidden from the West,” Wilson Center, April 18, 2022.
Nadia Oweidat, “Supporting Youth Activists in the MENA Region: A Challenging Reality and Opportunities for a Bright Future,” Wilson Center, August 12, 2021.
Jon Alterman, "The Middle East’s Indifference to Ukraine Is a Warning," Defense One, May 12, 2022.
Natasha Hall and Will Todman, "Russia waged a cheap war in Syria. Here’s what those tactics might look like in Ukraine," Washington Post, March 11, 2022.
Transcript, "Disinformation in the Arab World," CSIS, June 14, 2022.

A Mezze: Locals Be Dammed Jun 07, 2022

Show notes

Years after Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group (ISG), locals in the territory it formerly controlled continue to complain of a campaign of retribution. Now, they believe the government has a new strategy to punish them: building a dam. A new Mezze from the Middle East Program.

Frederic Hof: Lessons Learned from U.S. Negotiations with Syria May 31, 2022

Show notes

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Ambassador Fred Hof about his new book, Reaching for the Heights: The Inside Story of a Secret Attempt to Reach a Syrian-Israeli Peace. They talk about Ambassador Hof's effort to negotiate peace between Syria and Israel between 2009 and 2011, what complicated those efforts, what he thinks he could have done differently, and the qualities that make for a good mediator. Then, Jon continues the conversation with Natasha Hall and Caleb Harper, taking a closer look at U.S. mediation in the Middle East and the interplay between U.S. mediators on the ground and policymakers in Washington.

Frederic Hof, "I almost negotiated Israel-Syria peace. Here’s how it happened." Atlantic Council, May 26, 2022.
Frederic Hof, Reaching for the Heights: The Inside Story of a Secret Attempt to Reach a Syrian-Israeli Peace, (Washington, D.C.: USIP Press, 2022).
Transcript, "Lessons Learned from U.S. Negotiations with Syria," CSIS, May 31, 2022.

A Mezze: Junked Food May 24, 2022

Show notes

In Bahrain, municipal authorities claim that seagulls are "too fat to fly," and they say that Bahrain's growing food waste is to blame. A new Mezze from the Middle East Program.

Haider al-Abadi: Iraq and the Fight Against the Islamic State May 17, 2022

Show notes

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dr. Haider al-Abadi, an Iraqi politician who served as prime minister from 2014 to 2018, while the country was battling the Islamic State Group (ISG). They talk about his decision making as prime minister, the Iraqi government's response to the ISG, and the limits of decentralization in Iraq. Then, Jon, Natasha Hall, and Danny Sharp continue the conversation about the roots of systemic corruption in Iraq and the consequences of the country's sectarian political system.

Event, "Statesmen's Forum: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi," CSIS, April 16, 2015.
Transcript, "Iraq and the Fight Against the Islamic State" CSIS, May 17, 2022.

A Mezze: Dental Freelancers May 10, 2022

Show notes

Some find going to the dentist traumatic. In Morocco, the experience could be especially so, because the dentist may turn out never to have gone to dental school. A new Mezze from the Middle East Program.

Tim Lenderking: Hope in Yemen? May 03, 2022

Show notes

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Tim Lenderking, the U.S. special envoy to Yemen. They speak about the UN-negotiated ceasefire in Yemen, recent U.S. diplomatic efforts in the country, and what makes the current moment in Yemen different than other openings in the past. Then, Jon, Will Todman, and Caleb Harper continue the conversation about the interplay between U.S. and UN diplomatic engagement in Yemen, and in the rest of the region.

Babel, "Peter Salisbury: Yemen's Civil War," CSIS, July 27, 2021.
Transcript, "Tim Lenderking: Ceasefire in Yemen," CSIS, May 2, 2022.

A Mezze: Algeria's Poorly Oiled Machine Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

Storing pallets of vegetable oil in your garage might earn you some strange looks; in Algeria, it can land you in prison. A new Mezze from the Middle East Program at CSIS.

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Seven Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

In seven episodes, the Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East podcast miniseries will take a closer look at two decades of heightened U.S. engagement in the region. Over seven weeks, Babel will cover how the United States has used its military, economic, diplomatic, and soft power tools in the Middle East—and how the Middle East has responded.

In the seventh episode, Jon concludes the series by looking at views on how the Middle East should fit into U.S. global strategy. He talks with Stephen Walt, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University's Kennedy School; Dalia Dassa Kaye, senior fellow at UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations; Martin Indyk, distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel and as assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; and Michael Doran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served in the Bush administration as a senior director on the National Security Council, a deputy assistant secretary of Defense, and senior advisor in the State Department.

Michael Doran, "Biden Koshers Iranian Terror," Tablet Magazine, April 13, 2022.
Martin Indyk, "The Price of Retrenchment: What the Ukraine Crisis Reveals About the Post-American Middle East," Foreign Affairs, February 14, 2022.
Dalia Dassa Kaye, "America Is Not Withdrawing From the Middle East," Foreign Affairs, December 1, 2021.
Stephen Walt, "What Comes After the Forever Wars," Foreign Policy, April 28, 2021.
Transcript, "U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Seven," CSIS, April 19, 2022.

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Six Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

In seven episodes, the Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East podcast miniseries will take a closer look at two decades of heightened U.S. engagement in the region. Over seven weeks, Babel will cover how the United States has used its military, economic, diplomatic, and soft power tools in the Middle East—and how the Middle East has responded.

In part six, Jon explores how people and governments in the Middle East see the United States, what they want from the United States in the region, and how that’s changing. Jon speaks with Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati political scientist; Nabil Fahmy, Cairo’s former ambassador to Washington and later Egypt’s foreign minister; Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut; Alon Pinkas, a former diplomat who worked at the top levels of the Israeli government; and Nasser Hadian, an Iranian political scientist.