Middle East conflicts and U.S. strategy: How Iran, its proxies, and the Sunni–Shia divide shape regional wars, threats to Israel, and U.S. force posture in the region.
Christian persecution and genocide: Targeting of Christians and other minorities in places like Nigeria, Iraq, and Syria, and what U.S. policy and faith-based groups can realistically do.
Terrorism and transnational threats: Evolution of ISIS, IRGC, and other terror networks, plus how transnational organized crime, sanctions evasion, and terror finance intersect.
America at war and homeland security: How overseas engagements affect U.S. security, economy, border vulnerabilities, and the readiness and morale of U.S. forces and veterans.
Great-power competition and rogue states: How Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea coordinate or exploit U.S. weaknesses, including in cyber, information warfare, and gray-zone conflicts.
Assyrian and minority futures in the Near East: The long-term viability of Assyrian and other indigenous communities, and what security, governance, and aid structures they need to survive.
Antisemitism and global instability: How rising antisemitism, online radicalization, and distorted historical narratives feed instability and threaten Western democracies.
Name/Title: Lt. Col. (Ret.) Sargis Sangari, CEO, Near East Center for Strategic Engagement (NEC-SE)
Background: Iranian-born Assyrian who immigrated to the United States at age ten following the Iranian Revolution
Military service: 20-plus-year veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Operations Forces, with multiple combat deployments to Iraq and other missions across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Central America
Key combat/diplomatic roles: Led civil affairs and special operations missions, conducted hundreds of combat patrols and key leader engagements, and served in a diplomatic billet as Director of Host Nation Affairs in Kuwait
Think tank founder: Founded NEC-SE on September 11, 2014, as a geostrategic think tank providing political-military analysis on Middle East affairs for government and private-sector clients
Humanitarian leadership: Founder and president of United Assyrian Appeal (UAA), a 501(c)(3) supporting health, education, and welfare of Christians and other genocide survivors/displaced communities in the Near East and neighboring regions
Media and policy voice: Regular commentator and writer on foreign policy, Middle East conflicts, terrorism, and U.S. national security strategy, with appearances and bylines in various media outlets
Education: Bachelor of Science in Political Science and ROTC graduate from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois
Languages/skills: Multi-lingual special operations officer with experience in civil-military operations, governance, federalism, and humanitarian and disaster-relief missions
LTC Sargis Sangari USA (Ret.) is a 20 plus year veteran of the United States Army Infantry and Special Operational Forces with multiple combat deployments to Iraq, a diplomatic assignment in Kuwait, and several other deployments to the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Central America. LTC Sangari is the CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement (NEC-SE) and host of New Paradigms with Sargis Sangari and Founder of United Assyrian Appeal 501c3.
LTC Sargis Sangari is the CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement and the Founder of the non-profit The Assyrian Initiative. This initiative’s goal is to ‘Stop the Assyrian Genocide Before it’s Too Late‘!
US Army Lt. Col. (ret.) Sargis Sangari is the CEO of The Near East Center for Strategic Engagement LLC and Founder of the United Assyrian Appeal.
Besides his six years of combat deployment in the Mid East including 22 Special Forces missions, 144 combat patrols and commanding men during numerous enemy attacks. Sargis was accorded diplomatic status in Kuwait as Director of Host Nation Affairs. The United Assyrian Appeal focuses on assisting the Military Families of the Dwekh Nawsha/Assyrian Armed Forces to stabilize the well being of Assyrians in Iraq & Syria.
Lt Col. Sargis Sangari is a retired US Army Colonel who saw extensive combat in the Mid East as a Special Operations Forces soldier and who, after retirement, continues to advise the fledgling Assyrian Christian Army in Iraq known as Dwekh Nawsha* with his military expertise.
He found himself extremely busy since 2014. The phone continued ringing off the hook-all hours of the day-we were being hit with rockets and mortars, they tell me, in one of our sectors Daesh (ISIS) is trying to overrun us and outflank our sector, or there’s a suspicious vehicle approaching a checkpoint from behind the Forward Lines of Troops (FLOT).
We have to counterattack, call in airstrikes, against multiple targets, which we were not equipped to destroy. The multiple forces in Iraq still seek input and advice. There are wounded, limited paramedic capabilities. They get low on supplies or they have a problem with the Pesh (Peshmerga) letting them receive foreign fighters who would only gladly serve.” But they have other more basic problems. “The soldiers prefer to stay with their towns and villages to protect their immediate families but they have to feed them so they are forced to join Shia militias or Kurdish force structures or any others who pay them but thus leave their people unprotected to Islamic State and their region in the chaos of sectarian violence between Sunni Muslim Kurds, and Shia and Arab Sunnis”.
This is when United Assyrian Apeal.org, a 501C3 was formed to help their families and collects money to help feed the families so that their loved ones have the option of remaining in the ranks of the Assyrian Army and under an Assyrian Christian command and control.
Check out Lt. Col Sangari’s Youtube Channel
As ISIS continues to take territory across Libya, Egypt, Syria and Iraq in its pursuit of an Islamic Caliphate, the Christians of Assyria are struggling to survive as a people, a faith and a nation. Our Assyrian Project seeks to support the Assyrian people in Iraq in their struggle to protect their families, homes and homeland from brutal extinction. With timely support in the areas of security, governance and development, the Assyrian people will not only be able to halt and push back the threat from IS, but also establish a political presence in Iraq, thus strengthening their hold on their traditional homeland and its vast resources.
LTC Sargis Sangari is the CEO of the Near East Center for Strategic Engagement and the Founder of the non-profit The Assyrian Initiative. This initiative’s goal is to ‘Stop the Assyrian Genocide Before it’s Too Late‘!
NTD TV – Christian persecution and media silence
“Why are Governments and Media Silent on The Persecution of Christians?” – Panel interview with Chris Beers, Doug Burton, Anto Akkara, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, aired April 12, 2025.
Link: https://necse.net/2025/04/14/why-are-governments-and-media-silent-on-the-persecution-of-christian/
New Paradigms w/ Sargis Sangari – Iran–Israel conflict
Episode #191: “Next stage of Iran–Israel Conflict & the diminishing US footprint in the Middle East,” April 15, 2024 (Sangari as featured expert/hosted discussion).
Link: https://necse.net/2024/04/15/sargis-sangari-nec-se-ceo-next-stage-of-iran-israel-conflict-new-paradigms-w-sargis-sangari-ep191/
New Paradigms w/ Sargis Sangari – Episode #201
Episode #201 with David T. Pyne, Executive Vice President of Task Force on National & Homeland Security, June 24, 2024 (strategic threats, national/homeland security).
Link: https://rumble.com/v53iwsx-june-24-2024.html
New Paradigms w/ Sargis Sangari – Episode #203
Episode #203 with Jim Pfaff, President of Conservative Caucus, July 8, 2024 (policy, politics, and national direction).
Info: https://necse.net/2024/07/
Hooman Khalili is an Iranian-born, San Francisco–raised radio personality, filmmaker, and mural artist whose work bridges entertainment, faith, and “mural diplomacy” between the Iranian and Jewish peoples. Over two decades in media and a growing portfolio of high-impact public art, he has built a unique platform that connects Hollywood, Israel, and the global struggle for freedom in Iran.
Dr. Isik Abla’s story reads like a front‑page feature: a young woman raised in a strict Muslim home in Istanbul, trapped in a brutal marriage to an extremist, fleeing to America after a near‑fatal attack—and then transforming into a global broadcaster whose insights on Islam, Sharia, Iran, and religious freedom now inform audiences in more than 200 countries.
Drawing from his own experience on the front lines of persecution, he offers rare, first‑hand insight into how terrorism, corruption, and weak institutions impact ordinary families across Nigeria and West Africa. Franc’s work centers on elevating the voices of victims—especially women and children—while pressing governments, international organizations, and faith communities to confront atrocities with both courage and accountability.
Janice Trey is the national spokesperson for SafeMeet.us, a cutting‑edge encrypted communications platform designed to keep private conversations truly private. Drawing on her experience leading a major international media organization and exposing digital surveillance threats, she explains in clear, practical terms why Americans’ calls, texts, and video meetings remain vulnerable—and how SafeMeet.us closes those back doors.
Drawing on firsthand investigations in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, and Yobe states, he exposes the reality of organized “kill zones” where Christians are being driven from ancestral lands through mass killings, kidnappings, and terror tactics that mirror ISIS in the Middle East. Saul explains how Western governments and media have repeatedly misread this violence—hiding behind terms like “farmer‑herder clashes,” “banditry,” or “climate conflict”—and why that misframing fuels weak policy, ignores victims, and emboldens perpetrators of ethno‑religious cleansing.
Drawing on real stories and current trends, she exposes how social media, peer pressure, and easy access to fake pills are targeting teens and tweens who would never see themselves as “drug users.” In her compelling presentations, Anne lays out what parents don’t know about fentanyl—but must learn now—equipping audiences with practical questions, safety steps, and language they can use today to protect the kids they love.
