Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Flexing America's Muscles In The Middle East Will Make Things Worse" At Kaufman Center, September 30th.

In the past month alone in the Middle East, war has broken out in Israel and Gaza, the UN Human Rights Council has accused both the Syrian government and ISIS of committing war crimes in the midst of the Syrian Civil War, an al-Qaeda insurgency has emerged in Yemen, and the persecution of the Kurdish minority in Iraq by ISIS forces is escalating to the point of genocide. With situations escalating rapidly, some say humanitarian and military intervention may help stabilize the region; others are wary of repeating the mistakes of Iraq and Afghanistan.

On September 30, award-winning debate series Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US) will debate the motion “Flexing America’s Muscles in the Middle East Will Make Things Worse” at New York’s Kaufman Center. Four authorities from across the political spectrum will debate whether the United States should take a more active role in bringing stability to the Middle East.

Arguing for the motion:
• Aaron David Miller, V.P. for New Initiatives, Wilson Center & Fmr. U.S. Mideast Negotiator. Miller is the author of The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Search for Arab-Israeli Peace. For two decades he helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process as an advisor to both Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State. He has received the State Department's Distinguished, Superior, and Meritorious Honor awards.

• Paul R. Pillar, Non-resident Sr. Fellow, Center for Security Studies of Georgetown University & Non-resident Sr. Fellow, Brookings Institution. Pillar’s 28-year career in the U.S. intelligence community has seen him serving as National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, Deputy Chief of the DCI Counterterrorist Center, and Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. A Vietnam veteran and retired Army Reserve officer, he released his latest book, Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11 and Misguided Reform, in 2011 and currently blogs for The National Interest.

Arguing against the motion:
• Michael Doran, Sr. Fellow, Brookings Institution & Fmr. Sr. Director, National Security Council. A specialist at the Brookings Institution in Middle East security issues, Doran has previously worked as a senior advisor to the undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs in the State Department, as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon, and on the National Security Council as the senior director for the Near East and North Africa.

• Bret Stephens, Deputy Editor, Editorial Page, The Wall Street Journal. Stephens writes “Global View,” the foreign-affairs column for The Wall Street Journal, for which he won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Previously, Stephens was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, a position he assumed in 2002 at age 28. His first book, America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, will be published in November by Sentinel Books.

Before the debate, audience members will vote on the motion; afterward, the audience votes again. The team that moves the most voters to its side will be the winning team in the debate. People can also weigh in online here.

The debate will also stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated NPR show "Intelligence Squared U.S." On September 30, online viewers can tune in here or via IQ2's new app here.

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates “Flexing America’s Muscles in the Middle East Will Make Things Worse”
WHEN: Tuesday, September 30th, 2014 / Reception 5:45-6:30 / Debate 6:45-8:30 PM
WHERE: Kaufman Center/129 W. 67th Street (bet. Broadway and Amsterdam)/New York, NY 10023
TICKETS: $40 ($12 for students w/ ID). To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)
Founded in New York City in 2006 by Robert Rosenkranz, IQ2US reaches millions through podcasts, national NPR broadcasts, international webcasts and other digital media. The series has won a 2014 Clarion Award for Radio Regular Feature Program and the 2014 New York Festivals International Radio Bronze Award for Best Public Affairs. The debates have attracted some of the world's top thinkers, including Steven Forbes, Dr. Neal Barnard, Paul Krugman, Karl Rove, Malcolm Gladwell, and Arianna Huffington. With close to 100 debates, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to “think twice” on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008. The executive producer is Dana Wolfe.

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