Professor Khalil specializes in U.S. foreign relations, modern Middle Eastern history, the Cold War, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in Middle Eastern history and international relations.

Khalil is the author of America鈥檚 Dream Palace: Middle East Expertise and the Rise of the National Security State聽(Harvard University Press, 2016), which examines the influence of U.S. foreign policy on the origins and expansion of Middle East studies and expertise from World War I to the Global War on Terror. It was reviewed widely, including in the聽London Review of Books,听Al Ahram,听Publishers Weekly, the CIA鈥檚聽Studies in Intelligence,听Commonweal, and was named by聽Foreign Affairs聽as a Best Book of 2017. He has also been a frequent media commentator and contributor, including for the聽Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Al Akhbar,听补苍诲听Al Jazeera.