Hi listeners! In Episode 3 of Tug of War, Carley, Hailey, and Hallie interview Ibrahim al-Assil, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. We discuss the over-emphasis on the role of religion in analyses of the Middle East power competition, the foreign influence of the U.S. and China in the region, and the prospect of compromise among the region's four major players: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel. This podcast is supported by the Keck Center for Strategic Studies World Affairs podcast fellowship. Music from Garageband.