Conflict in the Middle East will be presented by Dr. Ruth Beitler, Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy. She has directed the Military Academy’s Conflict and Human Security Studies program since its inception in 2006. 

Dr. Beitler will be in conversation with Ambassador Fred Hof, who was President Obama's envoy to the Syrian conflict. He has had extensive duties in the Middle East for the military and the State Department, and more recently with the Second Track negotiations relating to Israeli-Arab peace. Mr. Hof is a member of the Canal Society's Advisory Board.