On Thursday, May 19, President Obama will give a speech on recent events in the Middle East, from the "Arab Spring" uprisings to the lack of progress on an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact. How he addresses these issues is influenced by U.S. interests in the region, as well as lobbying efforts by foreign governments and organizations such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC.

To try to sort out these tangled relationships, the Sunlight Foundation will live-blog the president's address on sunlightlive.com, our award-winning multimedia platform. Our reporters and researchers will work to provide real-time context about the influence exerted on U.S. officials involved in making Middle East policy.

So, tune in at 11:30 Thursday morning to follow the president's speech live and gain insights into the influence behind the scenes.