Picking the Right Middle East Policy Makers

Getting the Right People Is About Finding the Right Balance of Experience, Instincts, and Temperament

U.S. State Department headquarters, Washington, D.C.

It’s 6:00 a.m. in Washington, DC, and the texts are already rolling in. Another question about a potential appointee for Middle East policy in the next administration. This time, it’s a suggestion for someone who’s spent their career on the think-tank circuit. The sender asks, “Would they make a good deputy assistant secretary?” The urgency of the decision-making process is palpable. My first thought: Maybe, if the job is giving panel discussions. But for actually handling the complexities of the region? Not so much.

Welcome to the world of presidential transitions, where everyone tries to staff up for success—or at least avoid catastrophic mistakes. Having been through this process a few times, I’ve learned that getting the right people into key Middle East policy roles is about more than just résumés. It’s about finding the right balance of experience, instincts, and temperament to manage a region where every day feels like a high-stakes game of chess played on shifting sand.

Here’s how it should be done.

Read the rest of this article at the Times of Israel.

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Gregg Roman

Gregg Roman functions as the chief operations officer for the Forum, responsible for day-to-day management, communications, and financial resource development. Mr. Roman previously served as director of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. In 2014, he was named one of the ten most inspiring global Jewish leaders by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. He previously served as the political advisor to the deputy foreign minister of Israel and worked for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Mr. Roman is a frequent speaker at venues around the world, often appears on television, and has written for the Hill, the Forward, the Albany Times-Union, and other publications. He attended American University in Washington, D.C., and the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya, Israel, where he studied national security studies and political communications.