Gawdat Bahgat is Professor of National Security in the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He is the author of twelve books including Energy Security in the Gulf (2015), Alternative Energy in the Middle East (2013), Energy Security (2011), International Political Economy (2010), Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the Middle East (2007), Israel and the Persian Gulf (2006) and American Oil Diplomacy (2003). He has appeared as a frequent contributor to media outlets including the BBC, CNN and Washington Post.