Clifford V. Smith is MEF’s liaison to decision makers and opinion leaders in Washington, D.C. He holds a B.A. from Washington State University, an M.P.P. with a focus on international relations from Pepperdine University, and a law degree from the Catholic University of America. He is a member of the Maryland Bar. An experienced political operative, he is the veteran of numerous campaigns and has held several positions in Congress, most recently communications director for U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer. His writings have been published in the Daily Caller, the American Spectator, PJ Media, and other outlets.
Social Media: @CliffSmithZBRDZ
Website: https://www.meforum.org/washington-project/
Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi is a research fellow at the Middle East Forum where he focuses on violent non-state Islamic and Middle Eastern groups. He is a specialist on the Syrian Civil War, Iraqi Civil War and the Islamist State of Iraq and the Levant. With his family originally from Mosul, Iraq, Aymenn has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East including to YPG-controlled areas of Syria where he observed the graduation of unites of the Syrian Border Security Force in January 2018.
Website: http://www.aymennjawad.org/
Social Media: @ajaltamimi // https://twitter.com/ajaltamimi