Martin S. Indyk

Changing Tides in Egypt and the Middle East

Given Egypt's centrality to the Arab world, bolstering a sure-footed transition to democracy there will generate powerful popular pressure for democratic change in the rest of the Middle East. In this presentation, Amb. Indyk addresses the U.S. role in the changing tides in the Middle East: "President Obama needs to encourage our Arab autocratic allies to do what Mr. Mubarak stubbornly refused - open their political space to allow for freedom of expression and more accountable government. He owes it to them to help them get ahead of the demands of their people for political reform, lest they too discover it is too late."

An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East

Based on his poignant memoir, Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East, Amb. Indyk draws on his many years of intense involvement in the region to provide the inside story of the last time the United States employed sustained diplomacy to end the Arab-Israeli conflict and change the behavior of rogue regimes in Iraq and Iran. He describes in vivid detail high-level meetings, demonstrating how difficult it is for American presidents to understand the motives and intentions of Middle Eastern leaders and how easy it is for them to miss those rare moments when these leaders are willing to act in ways that can produce breakthroughs to peace. This timely speech will provide great insight during a time when making peace in the long-troubled Middle East is likely to be one of the top priorities of the new administration.

Negotiating Peace in the Middle East

As the two-time U.S. Ambassador to the State of Israel, Martin Indyk worked intimately with five Israeli Prime Ministers (Rabin, Peres, Netanyahu, Barak and Sharon). Ambassador Indyk also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, assuming responsibility for the entire Middle East region. During this period, as well as in his earlier stint at the National Security Council, he helped to strengthen U.S.-Israeli relations, reinforce the U.S. commitment to advance the peace process, and substantially increase the level of mutually beneficial trade and investment.

Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East

In his gripping new book, Innocent Abroad, Amb. Indyk draws on his many years of intense involvement in the region to provide the inside story of the last time the United States employed sustained diplomacy to end the Arab-Israeli conflict and change the behavior of rogue regimes in Iraq and Iran. He dissects the very different strategies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to explain why they both faced such difficulties remaking the Middle East in their images of a more peaceful or democratic place. He provides new details of the breakdown of the Arab-Israeli peace talks at Camp David, of the CIA's failure to overthrow Saddam Hussein, and of Clinton's attempts to negotiate with Iran's president. Innocent Abroad is an extraordinarily candid and enthralling account, crucially important in grasping the obstacles that have confounded the efforts of recent presidents. As a new administration takes power, this experienced diplomat distills the lessons of past failures to chart a new way forward that will be required reading.

Commentator on United States Foreign Policy

Ambassador Indyk is currently the Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy at the prestigious Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., where he writes and comments on current Middle East issues through regular TV appearances and opinion pieces in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications and anthologies, and has contributed to several Saban Center reports. Before entering government service, Dr. Indyk served for eight years as Founding Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He has also been an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and has taught at the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, the Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University, and the Department of Politics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.