Following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a town hall Monday night in the Capitol to examine the consequences of Trump’s decision.

Sanders will be joined by regional, security and nonproliferation experts to discuss how Trump’s decision will impact U.S. foreign policy in the short term and the long term.

They will discuss how after nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Trump’s decision to pull out of the deal moves the U.S. closer to yet another conflict in the Middle East. And at a time when the United States spends more on defense than the next 10 countries combined, Sanders and his panel will consider alternatives to the hawkish Washington foreign policy establishment that remains committed to never-ending military interventions.

-Location: Capitol Visitors’ Center Congressional Auditorium (CVC-200)
-Please enter through the main CVC entrance at First Street and East Capitol Street Northeast.
-Doors open at 5 p.m. Seating is first-come, first-served. Please arrive early to ensure a seat.
-ASL interpreters will be present at the event.
-No posters, signs, food, drink or large bags will be permitted.

PANELIST BIOS

Joe Cirincione, President, Ploughshares Fund

In addition to his role as president of the Ploughshares Fund, Cirincione is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was a member of Secretary of State John Kerry’s International Security Advisory Board. Cirincione worked for nine years in the US House of Representatives on the professional staff of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Government Operations. He previously served as Vice President for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress and Director for Nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Suzanne DiMaggio, Senior Fellow, New America

DiMaggio is a director and senior fellow at New America, where she focuses on U.S. foreign policy, the Middle East, and Asia. She has been leading Track 1.5 and Track 2 diplomatic initiatives on regional security, terrorism, nonproliferation, and governance for nearly 20 years. She has a special interest in the role of policy dialogue with countries that the United States has limited or no official relations, especially Iran and North Korea. DiMaggio directs the U.S.-Iran Initiative, which is carried out through a combination of policy dialogue, research, and a series of public events and private roundtables, with the aim of generating analyses and recommendations in support of improving relations between the two countries. The project’s centerpiece is a long-running dialogue that she established in 2002, which brings together influential and knowledgeable Americans and Iranians to explore possible grounds for constructive engagement and develop mutually acceptable strategies for addressing a range of issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, regional security, and U.S.-Iran relations. 

Rob Malley, President and CEO, International Crisis Group

Malley was most recently a senior director at the National Security Council. Prior to holding this title, he was Program Director for Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group and Assistant to National Security Advisor Sandy Berger and the Director for Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs at the National Security Council. He is considered an expert on Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, and as a Special Assistant to President Clinton was a member of the U.S. peace team that helped organize the 2000 Camp David Summit. In 2015, Malley was appointed to lead the Middle East desk of the National Security Council, and later was named President Obama’s special ISIS advisor.

Lara Friedman, President, Foundation for Middle East Peace

Prior to coming to FMEP, Lara was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular focus on the Israeli-Arab conflict, settlements and Jerusalem, and on the role of the U.S. Congress. She frequently briefs Members of Congress, Administration officials, and others in the foreign policy/national security community, and is regularly published in the U.S. and Israeli press.