Since 2001, the United States has been waging war in the greater Middle East. More than seventeen years after the attacks of 9/11, it is impossible to give authoritative answers to very basic questions. Who are we fighting? What are we fighting about? What constitutes victory? How will we plausibly achieve it? This lecture will explain why these questions are hard and offer a few suggestions to make them easier. Michael Doran *97 is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in Middle East security issues. In the administration of President George W. Bush, Dr. Doran served in the White House as a senior director in the National Security Council with responsibility for the entire Middle East except Iraq. Before joining the Hudson Institute, Dr. Doran was a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and he has also held teaching positions at New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Central Florida. He publishes frequently in major newspapers and magazines. His latest book, Ike’s Gamble, is a study in the evolution of President Eisenhower’s Middle East strategy. He received a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University.