The Iraq Endgame

Iraq: Strategies for Dealing with Uncertainty

December 3, 2008

6:00 - 6:45 p.m.   Meet and Greet

6:45 - 7:30 p.m.  Buffet Dinner

7:30 - 9:00 p.m.   Discussion

Host:  Jane and Harrison Sawyer

Moderator:  Dr. Kathleen Sutherland

     This Great Decisions dinner is an excellent opportunity for Council members and guests to come together to discuss endgame strategies for Iraq.  The discussion will be fostered by an experienced Council facilitator with information provided by the Foreign Policy Association.  Each dinner is graciously hosted by a World Affairs Council of Maine member at their private residence.  Information about the location of the dinner and the reading materials are provided to participants roughly one week prior to the scheduled dinner.

     The US cannot avoid being linked to the future of Iraq regardless of the status of its military presence.  Most of the world judges the US by its performance in the country, where they see the US as having gone to Iraq abruptly, and for the wrong reasons.  The US will ultimately be judged far more by how it leaves the country, and what they leave behind, then by how it entered Iraq.

     The lasting success in Iraq depends on the central government's accommodation of sectarian and ethnic differences that plague the country.  An effective government will be one that shows actual progress, not one that simply issues new plans, laws and legislative actions.  Any US plan for a future in Iraq needs to consider the sovereignty of the Iraqi government, regardless of US plans or policies. 

Moderator:  Kathleen Sutherland

     Kathleen Sutherland was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt and her father was Dean of the American University in Cairo.  Kathleen has conducted research on the status of women in many Middle Eastern countries.  She holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University and a BA from Western College for Women in Ohio.  She is associate professor emeritus of Political Science, Bowling Green State University, and teaches courses on the Middle East and Women.  She has facilitated in the Great Decisions courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USM as well as at several WAC of Maine events.