The Future of the Abraham Accords

This week, as we commemorated the second anniversary of the historic signing of the Abraham Accords on the White House Lawn, we will be examining the health and strength of these relationships under President Joe Biden and his relentless attempts to renegotiate a nuclear deal with Iran.

About the speaker: Robert Greenway is an adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute and executive director of the Abraham Accords Institute of Peace. While Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council’s Middle Eastern and North African Affairs Directorate he planned and executed the United States’ most significant economic sanctions since the Cold War as part of a broad strategy for Iran which doubled the sanctions pressure of the previous three administrations in one third the time. He was a principal architect of the historic Abraham Accords, the most significant diplomatic breakthrough in Middle East peace since 1994.

He personally supervised development of a first-ever presidentially approved strategies for Iran, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon and Israel, and established the first national level efficacy and assessment process to quantify outcomes and measure progress toward strategic objectives. He was instrumental in the removal of the world’s most dangerous terrorist leaders, including Qassem Soleimani and Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, greatly improving regional stability and safety. He coordinated the implementation of a comprehensive strategy with a broad international coalition to defeat ISIS resulting in the liberation of the 20,000 square miles of territory it controlled, and the elimination of its leadership in Syria and Iraq.

Before being assigned to the NSC he served at the Defense Intelligence Agency as a Senior Intelligence Officer in U.S. Central Command. While assigned to USCENTCOM he deployed twice to Afghanistan as the Senior Intelligence Analyst for the Commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force from 2013-2014, and as Senior Intelligence Advisor for the Commander International Security Assistance Forces in 2011. Identified new approaches to mapping bulk financial transactions using big data to identify illicit activity enabling legal action against global illicit trade networks for which he was awarded the David Rist Prize for research contributing to tangible results.

Mr. Greenway retired from active duty prior to joining the DIA having commanded Special Forces units at every level from Team through Battalion. In October 2001 he deployed in support of Operation Relentless Pursuit and Enduring Freedom I while assigned to a Special Mission Unit immediately following the attacks of 11 September. He deployed again in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in 2003 and 2004 where his duties included establishing the Iraqi Counterterrorism Force.

Mr. Greenway was selected by the Deputy Secretary of Defense to report on the status of the Iraqi Insurgency before serving as a Counterterrorism Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict.

Mr. Greenway has an MA with Honors from Webster University and a BA from the Virginia Military Institute.