Carnegie Connects

Israel's image and credibility in the United States have fallen to an unprecedented low. A recent Pew poll revealed that 60 percent of American adults have an unfavorable view of Israel, especially among younger respondents. Criticism of Israel among Democrats in Congress has increased substantially, and while Republicans still broadly view Israel favorably, those who hold negative views are growing. Both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also voiced public criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that have gone well beyond their predecessors.

What's driving the decline? How have the policies of Israel's right-wing government, especially the war in Gaza, rising antisemitism, and a growing number of younger candidates challenging traditional policies in both parties, changed U.S. perception of Israel and fractured once solid bipartisan support? What role is the Israel issue playing in recent primaries and the run-up to the midterms and what does it mean for the future of the U.S.- Israeli relationship?

Join Aaron David Miller as he engages S.E. Cupp and Ron Brownstein, two leading American political analysts, in conversation on Israel and domestic U.S. politics, on Carnegie Connects.

In their 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU), the United States and Iran have agreed to “negotiating and achieving the final deal in maximum 60 days extendable with mutual consent." However, challenges abound at the negotiating table, including the fragile ceasefire on the Israeli-Lebanese border, the ever-problematic Strait of Hormuz, and the issue of nuclear assets and international oversight. In the absence of even a modicum of trust in the wake of this bloody war, the likelihood of quickly reaching a successful deal seems uncertain.

Are there relevant lessons from previous negotiations with Iran? What are the major do’s and don’ts when working with Tehran and organizing a U.S. delegation and strategy? Join Aaron David Miller in conversation with three former American negotiators: Robert Malley and Alan Eyre, members of the negotiating team for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015; and Michael Singh, former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council during President George W. Bush’s administration (2005-2008), to discuss the best path forward for the U.S. and Iran, on Carnegie Connects.

“The America that they believed in was under attack, not from without, but from within,” wrote Admiral William McRaven for the New York Times in 2019, reflecting on what he sensed from his military colleagues during the first Trump administration.  In that op-ed, McRaven stressed the importance of American values in the face of the erosion of institutions and norms that underpin the strength of United States abroad.  

What do the challenges to those values look like today? How does the increasingly partisan and polarized environment, and an unprecedented aggrandizement of presidential power, impact a military designed to be above politics?  Can the U.S. military be expected to help defend democracy or is this the purview of Congress, courts and civil society?

Join Aaron David Miller as engages Admiral McRaven in a wide-ranging discussion of the state and fate of the American republic at home and abroad, on Carnegie Connects.

More than 100 days into the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, both sides remain trapped between the ever-present danger of serious escalation and an elusive negotiated, pathway out of the conflict. As negotiations stall, Iran and the U.S. are still struggling over core issues while Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz have emerged as significant triggers for escalation. What are the major obstacles standing in way of a U.S.-Iran agreement? Are U.S. objectives aligned with Israel? And what are the prospects for turning a short-term deal into a durable agreement?  

Join Aaron David Miller as he engages the Brookings Institution’s Suzanne Maloney and the Carnegie Endowment’s Karim Sadjadpour in a wide-ranging conversation on these and other issues, on Carnegie Connects.

As the U.S. led war with Iran approaches its fourth month, poised somewhere between escalation and a possible diplomatic off ramp, no relationship has been more important than the Trump administration’s with Israel. Are American and Israeli tactics and strategy on Iran unaligned, if not fundamentally at odds? What about on Lebanon and Gaza? And where does the relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu stand, especially as Israel heads toward critical elections this fall? 

Join Aaron David Miller as engages the Institute for National Security Studies’ Danny Citrinowicz in a wide-ranging conversation analyzing the current state of the alliance and where the U.S.-Israel relationship goes from here, on Carnegie Connects.