Dr. Walid Phares addressed the Gatestone Institute in New York introducing his book "The Lost Spring: US Policy in the Middle East and Catastrophes to Avoid." After a historic introduction where he explained the roots of the Arab Spring and the region's initial uprisings in 2011, he argued that "initially civil society groups rose against totalitarians of all kind, seculars, Islamists and ultra nationalists but because of a lack of preparation, coordination and particularly because of badly advised Western Foreign Polices, the first wave of the spring failed. They were overwhelmed by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists in North Africa and by Iran's allies in the Levant." Phares noted that "against the will of a majority of Americans, never consulted on Middle East policies, the Obama Administration chose to opt for the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies as a partner in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and potentially in other countries. In Syria, Washington didn't act against Iran's ally, the Assad regime even though it aided the Islamists of the opposition. In Lebanon and in Iraq, the Administration didn't stop Iran's allies Maliki and Hezbollah from dominating the institutions. In short Washington chose the Ikhwan and Iran's regime over Middle East civil soceties during the uprisings. And this policy has to change to stop its catastrophic consequences."

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