Recently Retired Member of the Intelligence Community
I am a senior intelligence analyst and Middle East specialist with 28 years of service in the U.S. Government, including at the CIA and the Department of State, with assignments across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. A native Arabic speaker born in Lebanon, I bring deep regional understanding informed by extensive on-the-ground experience and long-term engagement across the MENA region.
Throughout my career, I have worked across diplomatic, intelligence, and media environments, collaborating with local partners, private industry, and intelligence community stakeholders to provide strategic analysis, policy recommendations, and operational support in high-stakes national security settings. I possess strong expertise in Middle East and Africa regional geopolitics, economics, and counterterrorism, as well as a practical understanding of the challenges faced both by the region and by U.S. entities seeking to partner with Middle Eastern governments and companies.
During the first seven years of my career, I focused on terrorism and illicit finance, including work on al-Qa’ida in the early 2000s and investigations into terrorism financing using data-driven approaches. In the later years of my career, I specialized in maximizing technology and large data streams to analyze complex geopolitical issues, with a particular emphasis on making advanced analytic tools accessible to the intelligence and analytic community. I have also played a key role in establishing government–private sector partnerships in the analytic and technology space.
George Washington University
District of Columbia
I am teaching two classes this school year. The first in Introduction to Intelligence and the second is International Affairs in the Middle East.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Office of Advanced Analytics
Virginia
Led Directorate engagement with dozens of private sector entities by translating technical
Requirements into clear, actionable tasks that strengthened public-private collaboration.
Accelerated adoption of advanced technology by encouraging officers across the Directorate to access the data ecosystem.
Represented the Agency abroad, leveraging a diplomatic assignment in Europe to deepen bilateral relationships on technology and Africa-related issues.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Africa Mission Center
Virginia
Managed the analytic program for the eastern and southern part of the African continent.
Informed senior US policymakers on fast-moving economic and political developments across Eastern and Southern Africa at the onset of a major continental conflict.
Managed a team of analysts and first-line supervisors, while serving as a senior editor to ensure analytic rigor and quality.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Near East Mission Center
Virginia
Directed a large team of staff and contractor linguists supporting high-stakes translations and interpretations, advancing CIA’s mission in the Near East.
Strengthened operational readiness by reinforcing tradecraft and language training protocols in partnership with the CIA Language School.
Produced high-priority Arabic-language translations critical to national security.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Directorate of Analysis
Virginia
Led three analytic teams covering priority issues in the Gulf and Levant, delivering timely intelligence during periods of major regional conflicts and crises.
Coordinated closely with policymakers, IC partners, and foreign counterparts to ensure ground-truth accuracy and policy relevance.
Oversaw the consolidation of CIA’s global terrorist finance analysis, enabling a more unified approach to counter-finance operations in partnership with collectors and IC elements.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), President’s Daily Brief
Virginia
Edited hundreds of publications for the President of the United States and key Cabinet members and advisors as an editor on the President’s Daily Brief staff.
Engaged and coordinated with senior ODNI, CIA, and other IC executives and PDB content authors to ensure the salience and optimal timing of publication for high volume of articles
U.S. Department of State(DOS), Embassies Cairo and Tel Aviv
Delaware
Led Embassy Tel Aviv’s response to urgent media queries, ensuring accurate and timely communication with Washington.
Directed open-source analysis teams, applying subject-matter expertise to assess source bias and inform diplomatic reporting.
Managed Egypt’s telecommunications and illicit finance portfolios, including coverage of key political appointments and with long-term strategic implications.
Played a lead role in planning the US President’s visit to the Red Sea Summit in Sharm al Shaykh; served as interpreter for the advance team, ensuring seamless coordination.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Counter Terrorism Mission Center
(appointed)Virginia
Served as a lead analyst on terrorist and illicit finance, with a focus on al-Qa’ida.
Provided strategic insights to policymakers prior to and after September 2001.
Drove international outreach efforts on terrorist financing in the fall of 2001, shaping multilateral counterterrorism cooperation.