Media Inquiries: Véronique Rodman
vrodman@aei.org; 202.862.4870
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 25, 2008
Senator Barack Obama's visit to the Middle East this week and the ensuing debate between Obama and Senator John McCain once again has brought Iraq to the forefront of the 2008 presidential campaign. AEI resident scholar Frederick W. Kagan, who has just returned from a two-week trip to Iraq, offers his assessment of the current situation on the ground:
- The surge has accomplished all of its most important objectives: the Iraqi government has reached almost all of the legislative benchmarks set for it, the sectarian civil war is over, and al Qaeda in Iraq has been devastated.
- America can best avoid a conflict with Iran by maintaining a strong force in Iraq. The surge has largely defanged Sadrist and Iranian-backed militias, but they may return in force if U.S. commitment falters.
- Recent comments by some Iraqi leaders about the status-of-force agreement discussions, made as Iraq looks forward to provincial elections, represent primarily a desire to improve Iraq's negotiating position; even the strongest Iraqi champions for U.S. troop reductions favor a long-term security partnership between the United States and Iraq.
- The United States has an extraordinary yet fleeting opportunity to improve its security and better the stability of a vital world region; it should not squander that opportunity by making the most serious mistake it could: withdrawing American forces too rapidly.
Related links:
"The New Reality in Iraq," Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2008
"The 2008 Iraq Debate: An Assessment from the Ground," July 24, 2008, AEI discussion with General Jack Keane, former acting U.S. Army chief of staff, and Kimberly Kagan of the Institute for the Study of War. A video of the event is available at www.aei.org/event1761/.
Frederick W. Kagan is available for interviews. His assistant, Ariel Farrar-Wellman can be reached at ariel.wellman@aei.org or 202-862-5929. For additional media inquiries, please contact Véronique Rodman at vrodman@aei.org or 202-862-4870.
###
