Featured Publications
The Trilateral Bond: Mapping a New Era for Latin America, the United States, and Europe
Egypt's Litigious Transition: Judicial Intervention and the Muddied Road to Democracy
A New Deal: Reforming US Defense Cooperation with Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Ambitious but Achievable
Time to Move from Tactics to Strategy on Iran
Lowering the Price of Russian Gas: A Challenge for European Energy Security
Does Beijing Have a Strategy? China's Alternative Futures
Council News
Michele Dunne and Amy Hawthorne on US Policy in Middle East (NPR)
Hariri Center Director Michele Dunne and Senior Fellow Amy Hawthorne reflect on US policy toward the Middle East and North Africa in the two years since President Barack Obama promised to make it a top priority to support democracy and human rights in the region.
J. Peter Pham Speaks on Sahel Politics and Security in The Hague
J. Peter Pham, director the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, was one of four experts invited to address a high-level international conference on the crisis in the Sahel region convened today in The Hague.
Rudolph Atallah Testifies before House Panel on Crisis in the Sahel
Rudolph Atallah, senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, testified at a House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on “The Growing Crisis in Africa’s Sahel Region.”
Mihaela Carstei on the US-Canada Keystone Pipeline Project (CTV)
On the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to the United States, Energy & Environment Program Associate Director Mihaela Carstei joins CTV to discuss the Keystone Pipeline project that would transport tar sands oil from Canada and the northern United States to refineries in the Gulf coast of Texas.
Biography
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Frederic C. Hof
Frederic C. Hof is a senior fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. On March 28, 2012 President Obama conferred on Ambassador Hof the rank of ambassador in connection with his new duties as special advisor for transition in Syria. Amb. Hof was previously the special coordinator for regional affairs in the US Department of State’s Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, where he advised Special Envoy George Mitchell on the full range of Arab-Israeli peace issues falling under his purview and focusing on Syria-Israel and Israel-Lebanon matters. He joined the Department of State in April 2009 after serving as president and CEO of AALC, limited company, an international business consulting and project finance firm formerly known as Armitage Associates LC.
Amb. Hof’s professional life has focused largely on the Middle East. In 2001 he directed the Jerusalem field operations of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee headed by former US Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and was the lead drafter of the Committee’s April 30, 2001 Report. In 1983, as a US Army officer, he helped draft the “Long Commission” report which investigated the October 1983 bombing of the US Marine headquarters at Beirut International Airport. Both reports drew considerable international praise for fairness and integrity.
A 1969 graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Amb. Hof began his professional career as an Army officer. He is a Vietnam veteran and served as a US Army Middle East foreign area officer, studying Arabic at the Foreign Service Institute in Tunisia and receiving a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. He served as US Army attaché in Beirut, Lebanon and later in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Director for Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestinian Affairs.
Amb. Hof has written extensively on Arab-Israeli issues. He is the author of Galilee Divided: The Israel-Lebanon Frontier, 1916-1984 (Westview Press, 1985), Line of Battle, Border of Peace? The Line of June 4, 1967 (Middle East Insight, 1999), and Beyond the Boundary: Lebanon, Israel and the Challenge of Change (Middle East Insight, 2000). He has also written many articles on Jordan Valley water issues. His writing on the Israel-Syria, Israel-Lebanon and (by virtue of his work on the “Mitchell” Committee) Israel-Palestinian tracks of the Middle East peace process has contributed positively to the body of literature promoting Arab-Israeli peace.
His awards include the Purple Heart, the Department of State Superior Honor Award, the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal and the Defense Superior Service Medal. He resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife, Brenda.
Recent Interviews:
A Candid Discussion with Frederic Hof
Foreign Policy Association | May 3, 2013Political Solution in Syria
Radio Rai 1 | March 30, 2013Assisting Armed Rebels in Syria
PBS NewsHour | March 15, 2013Analysts See Shift in US Response to Syrian Conflict
NPR | March 11, 2013US Perspective on Syrian Civil War
Orient TV | March 8, 2013Syrian Conflict
Radio BBC 5 Live | March 7, 2013Crisis in Syria
Al Arabiya | February 1, 2013Joyce Karam Interviews Frederic C. Hof on Syria Crisis
Al Hayat | January 11, 2013President Bashar Assad: His Inner Circle and His Options
NPR | January 8, 2013Assad Calls for Talks but Denounces Opposition
BBC | January 6, 2013No Diplomatic Solution in Syria
CNN | December 12, 2012As Syrian Rebels Receive Endorsement, Will They Also Get Military Assistance?
PBS NewsHour | December 12, 2012Syrian Conflict Could Escalate in Many Directions
NPR | December 9, 2012International Community Strategize for Ending War
PBS NewsHour | December 8, 2012Political and Military Pressure Tightens On Damascus
NPR | December 1, 2012
Publications:
Syria: Will Geneva Happen? Should it Happen?
Viewpoint | May 20. 2013Syria: Geneva Resurrected?
Viewpoint | May 8, 2013Syria: Keeping One's Eye on the Ball
Viewpoint | May 7, 2013Syria: The Chemical Weapons Red Line
Viewpoint | May 1, 2013Syria and Geneva: No Precondition, but a Certain Result
Viewpoint | April 25, 2013Syria: Defending the Indefensible
Viewpoint | April 22, 2013Consent of the Governed: A New Middle East Political Order?
Viewpoint | April 15, 2013The No Fly Zone Conundrum
Viewpoint | April 08, 2013A New Syria Must Have US Support
Washington Post | March 27, 2013
Syria: Is Iraq the Wrong Lesson?
Viewpoint | March 26, 2013The United States, Europe, and the Case of Syria
Viewpoint | March 25, 2013Syria: A Slippery Slope?
Viewpoint | March 18, 2013Syria's Opposition: Ready or Not?
Viewpoint | March 11, 2013Can Syria Survive?
Viewpoint | March 8, 3013Syria: Kerry's Opening to the Free Syrian Army
Viewpoint | March 5, 2013Syria: From Objective to Strategy
Viewpoint | February 22, 2013Syria: Thinking Strategically
Viewpoint | February 19, 2013The President’s Decision-Making on Syria
Viewpoint | February 12, 2013Syria: Transitional Government and US Choices
Viewpoint | January 29, 2013Syria: Strategy for What?
Viewpoint | January 23, 2013Syria: Is It Too Late?
Viewpoint | January 14, 2013Forming a Syrian Opposition Government: The Time is Now
Viewpoint | January 8, 2013Syria 2013: Will the Poison Pill of Sectarianism Work?
Viewpoint | January 3, 2013Syria’s Time is Running Out
Foreign Policy | December 19, 2012Syria: Seven Key Points
Viewpoint | December 13, 2012The Dublin Meeting and its Meaning for Syria
Viewpoint | December 07, 2012Syria: Has the Bubble Burst?
Viewpoint | December 05, 2012
FEATURED EVENTS
Evolving US-European Security Cooperation with the Gulf States
On May 23, the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Peace and Security Initiative at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security is hosting a panel discussion on new developments in security cooperation among the United States, its European allies, and the Gulf states, and how they are likely to evolve in the coming years.
The Kaleidoscope Turns Again in a Crisis-Challenged Iran
On May 30, the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center will release a new issue brief, The Kaleidoscope Turns Again in a Crisis-Challenged Iran, a discussion of Iran’s upcoming presidential elections.
2013 Wroclaw Global Forum
From June 13-14, the 2013 Wrocław Global Forum will bring together over 350 top policy-makers and business leaders to explore the region’s impact as an actor in Europe, as well as its crucial role in the transatlantic partnership and on the global stage.
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