Event Date: November 20, 2013 - 3:30 pm
Location: FSS4004, 120 Université Privé , Ottawa

MICHAEL SINGH, Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Presented by CIPS.

Video of the event:

As the Iran nuclear negotiations near their twelfth year, a negotiated agreement finally seems feasible.  Iran has a new – and newly-pragmatic – nuclear negotiating team which has talked of constructive relations with the West and the conclusion of a diplomatic deal within months.  As a result, the policy debate in Washington and other capitals has shifted from whether an agreement is possible, to what sort of agreement is acceptable.  What distinguishes a good deal from a bad deal?  How do we address Iran’s other activities – such as its support for terrorism and for the brutal crackdown in Syria – in an agreement?  And what will the implications of a nuclear agreement with Iran be for the security of the Middle East and the future of nonproliferation efforts?  Mr. Singh, who served for several years as the US point-man on Iran, will address these questions and more in his remarks.

Michael Singh is the managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to advancing American interests in the Middle East.  Mr. Singh was senior director for Near East and North African Affairs at the White House from 2007-2008, and director for several Middle Eastern countries, including Syria, on the NSC staff from 2005-2007.  Earlier, Mr. Singh served as special assistant to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, as well as staff aide to US ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer.  Mr. Singh has served as an adjunct fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Security at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and as an economics instructor at Harvard College, and currently directs the Belfer Center’s Iran Working Group.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics summa cum laude from Princeton University and an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard University.