Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 2:00 — 3:00 pm

The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC

One year ago, a wave of revolutionary change swept across the Middle East and North Africa. The political protests in Cairo captured the world’s attention as Egyptians took to Tahrir Square to call for President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. On February 11, Mubarak stepped down after nearly 30 years in power. Now, one year later, democratic elections have given Islamists a majority in the Egyptian Parliament. But that is only the beginning of the political process: constitutional changes will have to be debated and decided; the division of power among Parliament, the presidency, and the military will have to be resolved; and the Egyptian economy will have to be put back on a growth trajectory.

On February 8, Foreign Policy at Brookings and NBC’s Meet the Press will host a panel discussion to assess the implications of the Egyptian revolution at its first anniversary. David Gregory, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, will moderate the session, part of a series of discussions on foreign policy issues. Panelists will include New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman; Martin Indyk, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings; Tamara Wittes, deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, who is responsible for U.S. democracy promotion in the Middle East; and Shadi Hamid, fellow and director of research of the Brookings Doha Center, who will appear live from Doha via video feed. Friedman, Hamid, and Indyk have all recently returned from Egypt.

After the program, the panelists will take audience questions.

 

 

Moderator

 

 

David Gregory

Anchor, Meet the Press
NBC News

 

Panelists

 

 

Tamara Wittes

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
U.S. Department of State

Thomas Friedman

Columnist
The New York Times

 

Shadi Hamid

Fellow and Director of Research, Brookings Doha Center
The Brookings Institution

Martin Indyk

Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy
The Brookings Institution

 

 

To RSVP for this event, please call the Office of Communications at 202.797.6105