ISIS in Iraq: The Dangers of an Unfocused Baghdad and a Disinterested White House

June 2016

Past Event

ISIS in Iraq: The Dangers of an Unfocused Baghdad and a Disinterested White House

Past Event

Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters

June 10, 2016

June 2016

Past Event

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20004

Read Transcript

Speakers:

Ambassador Feisal al-Istrabadi

Founding Director, Center for the Study of the Middle East, Indiana University Bloomington

Ret. Col. Richard Welch

PhD Fellow, Center for Constitutional Democracy, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Dr. Denise Natali

Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University

Current U.S. policy in Iraq fails to focus the political class in Baghdad on the need for Sunni enfranchisement. Without important political reforms, ISIS will continue to flourish in areas of disaffected Sunnis. And even if ISIS could be defeated in such an environment, neglecting the issues that led to its creation and growth will leave space for a new ISIS-like group to take root.

On June 10, Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion to assess current U.S. policy toward ISIS in Iraq and examine solutions going forward. Ambassador Feisal al-Istrabadi, a former Iraqi diplomat; Ret. Col. Richard Welch, a former U.S. Special Forces officer; and Dr. Denise Natali, a distinguished research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, joined Hudson Adjunct Fellow Michael Pregent to discuss how to shape future policy.

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