Geoffrey Kemp is the director of Regional Strategic Programs at the Nixon Center in Washington, D.C. He served in the White House under Ronald Reagan, as special assistant to the president for National Security Affairs and senior director for Near East and South Asian Affairs on the National Security Council staff. Prior to his current position, he directed the Middle East Arms Control Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is coauthor of Strategic Geography and the Changing Middle East (Carnegie).