On the same day as President Obama’s much anticipated meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, the New America Foundation hosted an event with Ruprecht Polenz, the German Bundestag’s Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to discuss transatlantic cooperation in the Middle East.

Chairman Polenz discussed the complex constellation of national and regional interests that the United States and Europe face in shaping their foreign policy objectives in the region. From West to East Polenz explained how the Israel-Palestine peace process must be seen in the context of Iranian nuclear ambitions, which in turn are tied to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s progress, he then pointed out, will be greatly determined by Pakistan’s role in the conflict, which is largely shaped by that country’s military orientation toward the threat its army perceives coming from India’s own nuclear program.

Amjad Atallah, Director of the New America Foundation’s Middle East Task Force responded by asking the Chairman about Iran’s role as an energy provider for the region; the nature of future US-EU foreign policy cooperation; the importance of Kashmir in stabilizing Pakistan-India relations; and the use of different diplomatic processes such as broadening the scope of negotiations when the issues are so interconnected.

Patrick Doherty, Deputy Director of the New America Foundation’s American Strategy Program, moderated the discussion and the question and answer session that followed. Topics during the session included how much Iran’s nuclear program has developed; what unique role Germany can offer for diplomacy in the region; and how US-EU cooperation will change with the new administration.

 --Event summary written by William Monroe, Intern, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation