May 1, 2003, marked the formal end of major combat operations in Iraq, yet the past year has presented the U.S. military with challenges every bit as daunting as the march to Baghdad. How effectively has the U.S. military adapted from fighting a major theater war to a low-intensity counterinsurgency? What “lessons learned” should the Pentagon draw from its experience in both phases of the conflict? Is the U.S. Army big enough for the mission President Bush has assigned it in the global war on terror? Are enough troops deployed in Iraq?

These and other questions will be subject of an AEI defense studies briefing on the anniversary of the end of major combat operations. AEI resident fellow Thomas Donnelly will report on the findings of his monograph, Operation Iraqi Freedom: A Strategic Assessment (to be released at this conference), while distinguished defense analysts Andrew Krepinevich, executive director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Steven Metz, director of research and chairman of the regional strategy and planning department of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College, will comment on the war’s progress. Douglas Feith, under secretary of defense for policy, will deliver the keynote address.

Please contact Vance Serchuk at 202.862.5845 for more information about the monograph.