The Middle East – its violence, its elections, its diplomatic prospects – is in the news every day. Yet, for the average Mainer, the region often seems to be a fractious, confusing and distant place of little consequences to the daily happenings here. As the ongoing war in Iraq, renewed U.S. involvement in peace talks between Palestinian and Israelis and stepped-up warnings from the State Department against Iran and Syria make clear, the future of the Middle East is very much a matter of American concern.

The region and its teetering between compromise and conflagration are the focus of this year’s Camden Conference, which runs from Feb. 25 to 27. As it has for 18 years, the conference will bring together international experts to shed new light on vexing worldwide issues.

Issues to be discussed during the three-day conference include the socio-economic roots of radicalism, whether a theocratic state like Iran can reform itself and whether Iraq is a model for the future or a quagmire in the making. These are questions being asked in Washington and other halls of power. At the Camden Opera House this weekend, Maine residents can hear them discussed by ambassadors, generals, scholars and journalists. Attendees can join a roundtable discussion on Sunday afternoon.

Speakers at this year’s conference include retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony Zinni, who has been involved in wars and diplomatic missions across the globe; Rend Rahim Francke, who is Iraq’s representative to the United States; former Central Intelligence Agency Director James Woolsey; and Deborah Amos, who covers Iraq for National Public Radio.

They and the other speakers will bring informed, and often conflicting, views of the Middle East region and its prospects for the future. Residents of the midcoast, and beyond, who attend this conference will gain new insights to help them make sense of the flood of news reports from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

To broaden its reach, book discussions, art exhibits, lectures and college courses have been held in communities from Blue Hill to Belfast in advance of the conference. For more information, go to www.camdenconference.org or call 236-1034.

The conference bills itself as “A Forum for Rational Discourse on Global Affairs.” It is that and much more and the fact that it is held in Maine and is open to the public is an extraordinary opportunity.

Discussions about the future of the Middle East, and the United States’ role in it, are sure to rage for decades. This conference gives area residents an opportunity to better understand and participate in that debate.