Karen Elliott House
Showing 1–2 of 2 transcripts.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Arab Spring: Hope, Then Upheaval, Then What?
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Darin Johnson, Ahmed Maher, William McCants, Karen Elliott House
Experts and officials analyze the friction between US core interests in the Middle East and the region's complex realities, including a demographic youth bulge and the divergent approaches to democracy versus Sharia law. The discussion details how these dynamics are driving instability in Egypt and Syria, where fractured rebel groups and external funding from Gulf states have prolonged conflicts while Salafi groups pragmatically enter politics despite ideological contradictions. Panelists conclude that US policy should shift from supporting specific regimes to fostering human rights and economic alternatives to counter terrorism and prevent the rise of extremist networks.
- Milken Institute59 min
Oil, Power and Saudi Arabia: A Conversation with Karen Elliott House and T. Boone Pickens
Karen Elliott House, T. Boone Pickens, Skip Reimer
Organizers Skip Reimer, Jay Rosser, and Saudi expert Karen House hosted a panel with billionaire oilman Boone Pickens to analyze the fragility of Saudi Arabia's energy production, succession crises, and the reliability of its reported 250 billion barrel reserves. The discussion revealed that internal royal fragmentation and economic dependence on high oil prices threaten regional stability, while US experts argued that the nation's military presence in the Persian Gulf is increasingly unjustified given rising domestic energy independence. Consequently, the panelists advocated for a strategic shift toward natural gas infrastructure and a diplomatic move away from unconditional support of the Saudi monarchy to mitigate future geopolitical risks.