The recent elections in Iraq have not resolved the main problems there - a constitutional crisis, continued terrorism, a potent Sunni rebellion, and fighting between religious and ethnic groups that could result in a full-blown civil war. Is the Iraq war a hopeless quagmire that has been lost, or can the U.S. still foster a united, peaceful and prosperous Iraq? If the latter, how can this be achieved? Should the Iraqi constitution be revised and, if so, how? Should the U.S. withdraw its forces - with Iraq partitioned - or use the threat of withdrawal to pressure Iraqi groups into a negotiated settlement? Should the U.S. extract troops rapidly, pull them out gradually, stay the course with current Bush administration policy, or escalate its involvement, as advocated by Senator John McCain? This very timely policy forum will address these thorny issues and propose varied and innovative solutions for Iraq- The Independent Institute
The Independent Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan, scholarly, public-policy research and educational organization that sponsors comprehensive studies on the political economy of critical social and economic problems.
Bio
Peter Brooks
Senior Fellow for National Security Affairs and Director of the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation. He has been Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, and he is author of the book, "A Devil's Triangle: Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction and Rogue States."
Ivan Eland
Ivan Eland is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute. Dr. Eland is a graduate of Iowa State University and received an M.B.A. in applied economics and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Washington University. He has been Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, and he spent 15 years working for Congress on national security issues, including stints as an investigator for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Principal Defense Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office.
He also has served as Evaluator-in-Charge (national security and intelligence) for the U.S. General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office), and has testified on the military and financial aspects of NATO expansion before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on CIA oversight before the House Government Reform Committee, and on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Dr. Eland is the author of The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed and Putting "Defense" Back into U.S. Defense Policy, as well as The Efficacy of Economic Sanctions as a Foreign Policy Tool. He is a contributor to numerous volumes and the author of 45 in-depth studies on national security issues.
His articles have appeared in American Prospect, Arms Control Today, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Emory Law Journal, The Independent Review, Issues in Science and Technology (National Academy of Sciences), Mediterranean Quarterly, Middle East and International Review, Middle East Policy, Nexus, Chronicle of Higher Education, American Conservative, International Journal of World Peace, and Northwestern Journal of International Affairs.
Dr. Eland's popular writings have appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Miami Herald, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Newsday, Sacramento Bee, Orange County Register, Washington Times, Providence Journal, The Hill, and Defense News.
He has appeared on ABC's "World News Tonight," NPR's "Talk of the Nation," PBS, Fox News Channel, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN, CNN "Crossfire," CNN-fn, C-SPAN, MSNBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), Canadian TV (CTV), Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, BBC, and other local, national, and international TV and radio programs.
Dr. Lawrence J. Korb
Lawrence J. Korb is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and a Senior Adviser to the Center for Defense Information. Prior to joining the Center, he was a Senior Fellow and Director of National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. From July 1998 to October 2002, he was Council Vice President, Director of Studies, and holder of the Maurice Greenberg Chair. Prior to joining the Council, Mr. Korb served as Director of the Center for Public Policy Education and Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, Dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and Vice President of Corporate Operations at the Raytheon Company.
Mr. Korb served as Assistant Secretary of Defense (Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Logistics) from 1981 through 1985. In that position, he administered about 70 percent of the Defense budget. For his service in that position, he was awarded the Department of Defense’s medal for Distinguished Public Service. Mr. Korb served on active duty for four years as Naval Flight Officer, and retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of Captain.
Mr. Korb’s 20 books and more than 100 articles on national security issues include "The Joint Chiefs of Staff: The First Twenty-five Years," "The Fall and Rise of the Pentagon," "American National Security: Policy and Process, Future Visions for U.S. Defense Policy," "Reshaping America’s Military," and "A New National Security Strategy in an Age of Terrorists, Tyrants, and Weapons of Mass Destruction." His articles have appeared in such journals as Foreign Affairs, Public Administration Review, New York Times Sunday Magazine, Naval Institute Proceedings, and International Security.
Lt. Gen. William E. Odom
Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and Professor at Yale University. He is former Director of the National Security Agency and Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence for the U.S. Army. He is the author of "America’s Inadvertent Empire," "The Collapse of the Soviet Military," and other books.
Gareth Porter
Independent Analyst with the Inter Press Service, a Foreign Policy in Focus scholar, and author of the book, "Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam" (University of California Press).
David J. Theroux
David J. Theroux is Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Independent Institute and Publisher of The Independent Review. He received his B.S., A.B., and M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Mr. Theroux is the recipient of two Mencken Awards for Best Book, six Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Awards for Best Book, and two Choice Magazine Awards for Outstanding Book. He was founding vice president and director of academic affairs for the Cato Institute and founding president of the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy.
Having directed and published over seventy scholarly books, Mr. Theroux is the editor of the books, "The Energy Crisis, Private Rights and Public Lands" (with P. Truluck), and "Politics and Tyranny." His articles and reviews have appeared in USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dallas Morning News, Insight, other publications, and he has appeared on ABC, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, Voice of America, and other local, national, and international TV and radio networks and programs.
He is a contributor to the forthcoming Encyclopedia of American Politics. Having been a director of seven corporations and four foundations, he has been a member of the Koch Crime Commission, the Prison Advisory Board for the California Little Hoover Commission, and the Executive Committee for the Templeton Collegiate Honor Rolls for Education in a Free Society.
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