On November 30, 2005, President George W. Bush unveiled the National Security Strategy for Victory in Iraq at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In the face of declining public support and mounting casualties, the president reiterated that winning, not withdrawal, will pave the road to democracy in post-Saddam Iraq. 

In an environment in which political progress cannot be separated from events in the battlefield, to what extent will the terror campaign succeed in disrupting political and democratic developments in Iraq? Are Iraqi Security Forces capable of taking the place of American troops in the event of a drawdown? What does the president mean by “victory” in Iraq? 

These and other questions will be the focus of a panel discussion with Peter W. Rodman, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and AEI resident scholar Frederick W. Kagan. AEI resident fellow Thomas Donnelly will serve as moderator.