On 8 MAR 21, “New Paradigms with Sargis Sangari” returns to the Middle East to focus on the #AbrahamAccords, exploring whether the peace and stability the accords brought to the region can be sustained, or whether they will be swept aside by a return to regional conflict and international terrorism instigated by a resurgent Iran.
My guest is my friend, the remarkable and ever-insightful @rich_goldberg. Mr. Goldberg is a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (@FDD). From 2019-2020, Richard served as the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. Mr. Goldberg addressed the Iran issues and topics in the context of the current administration’s aims and objectives for our nation’s dealings with Iran and, by extension, for the entire Middle East.
The success of the Abraham Accords in furthering the normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab states contends Goldberg, validates the “outside-in” approach for containing Iranian aggression by building alliances between the Gulf States, Israel, and the U.S. But, he says, the apparent return by the Biden administration to the JCPOA policies of the Obama presidency threatens to negate all the progress made in that regard, thus raising the specter of a resumption of possible conflict and bloodshed in the Middle East and beyond.
Join us for the discussion of this very important issue @ Near East Center for Strategic Engagement (@NEC-SE).
Richard Goldberg Biography:
Richard Goldberg is a senior advisor at FDD. From 2019-2020, Richard served as the Director for Countering Iranian Weapons of Mass Destruction for the White House National Security Council. He previously served as chief of staff for Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and deputy chief of staff and senior foreign policy adviser to former U.S. Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois in both the U.S. House and Senate.
As a staff associate for the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, Richard worked on a wide range of issues related to U.S. foreign assistance, including foreign military financing, international security assistance, international peacekeeping, development, global health, and economic support funds. He was a founding staff director of the House U.S.-China Working Group and was among the first Americans ever to visit China’s human space launch center. A leader in efforts to expand U.S. missile defense cooperation with Israel, Richard played a key role in U.S. funding for the Arrow-3 program, Iron Dome, and the deployment of an advanced missile defense radar to the Negev Desert.
In the Senate, Richard emerged as a leading architect of the toughest sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was the lead Republican negotiator for three rounds of sanctions targeting the Central Bank of Iran, the SWIFT financial messaging service, and entire sectors of the Iranian economy. Richard also drafted and negotiated legislation promoting human rights and democracy in Iran, including sanctions targeting entities that provide the Iranian regime with the tools of repression. His Iran sanctions work was featured in the book, The Iran Wars.
As the governor’s chief of staff, Richard managed government in America’s fifth-largest state with oversight of all day-to-day operations, including homeland security, public safety, and public health. He also spearheaded the first-ever state legislation to divest public pension funds from companies engaged in boycotts of Israel, which sparked a nationwide initiative in state capitals around America.
Categories: Governance, Security
