Kenneth Pollack is Director of Research at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy, as well as a Senior Fellow of foreign policy for the institution. Pollack is an expert on national security, military affairs, and the Persian Gulf. He has served as director for Persian Gulf affairs at the National Security Council and spent seven years in the CIA as a Persian Gulf military analyst. Pollack holds degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale University. Jump to Transcript

Professor Gary Sick is a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s SIPA Middle East Institute, and an adjunct professor of international affairs at SIPA. Professor Sick served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. He was the principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis. Sick served as a US Navy captain in the Persian Gulf, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. He is on the New York board of Human Rights Watch and the chairman of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch/Middle East. Sick holds degrees from Kansas University, George Washington University, and Columbia University. Jump to Transcript

Dr. Hooshang Amirahmadi is a Professor at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy who has also served as director of Rutgers’ Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Amirahmadi is founder and president of the American Iranian Council and also founded the Center for Iranian Research and Analysis. He has also served as consultant for the UNDP, the Aga Khan Foundation, the World Bank, as well as various governments, law firms, and private companies throughout the world. Amirahmadi holds a PhD from Cornell University. Jump to Transcript

Ambassador John Limbert, a Senior Foreign Service Officer, previously served as Ambassador to Mauritania. Prior to his ambassadorial assignment, Limbert was Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the State Department. Limbert’s overseas experience includes tours in Algeria, Djibouti, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Limbert holds a BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University, as well as the State Department’s Meritorious Honor Award, Superior Honor Award, and Award for Valor. Jump to Transcript