One Year Later: An Update on Iraq
Preceded by Briefing with Spanish Ambassador Javier Ruperez

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
On March 11, 2004, over two hundred people were killed and more than a thousand wounded in terrorist attacks in Madrid, Spain. For the Spaniards and much of the European community, March 11 will be known as Europe's September 11. As a reaction to the bombings, which are blamed on Spain's support for an unpopular war in Iraq, Spain's opposition socialist party won the parliamentary elections. Prime Minister-designate Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has already declared that Spain will pull all its troops from Iraq. The United States may have lost an important ally in the war on terror, and the balance of power in Europe is shifting. Is this the end of the New Europe and its cooperation with the United States? Does the popular European reaction to these terrorist attacks indicate a further rift in transatlantic perceptions of the war on terror?

10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
It has been one year since the beginning of the Iraq war. Since the opening bombs fell, Saddam Hussein's regime has collapsed, the Iraqi people are free of oppression for the first time in nearly three decades, and an interim law has been signed by the temporary government that will enable a transition to Iraqi sovereignty.

But the war to guarantee the Iraqi people the bright future they deserve is far from over. Security, terrorism, and economic development remain central concerns. What surprises are in store before the June transfer? Which indicators will really gauge progress inside Iraq? Is democracy really ahead? And how will events inside Iraq affect the U.S. elections? What do the American people really think?

About the Author

 

Karlyn
Bowman
  • Karlyn Bowman compiles and analyzes American public opinion using available polling data on a variety of subjects, including the economy, taxes, the state of workers in America, environment and global warming, attitudes about homosexuality and gay marriage, NAFTA and free trade, the war in Iraq, and women's attitudes. In addition, Ms. Bowman has studied and spoken about the evolution of American politics because of key demographic and geographic changes. She has often lectured on the role of think tanks in the United States and writes a weekly column for Forbes.com.
  • Phone: 2028625910
    Email: kbowman@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Andrew Rugg
    Phone: 2028625917
    Email: andrew.rugg@aei.org

 

Richard
Perle
  • Richard Perle served as chairman of the Defense Policy Board, assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, and a staff member to Senator Henry Jackson (D-Wash.). Mr. Perle is coauthor of An End to Evil (Random House, 2003) and author of Hard Line, a political novel. He codirected AEI's Commission on Future Defenses.
  • Email: rperle@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Gay Gill
    Phone: 3016560390

 

Danielle
Pletka
  • Danielle Pletka is the vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at AEI. Before joining AEI, she served for ten years as a senior professional staff member for the Near East and South Asia on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She writes frequently on national security matters with a focus on domestic politics in the Middle East and South Asia regions, U.S. national security, terrorism and weapons proliferation.
  • Phone: 202-862-5943
    Email: dpletka@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Lazar Berman
    Phone: 202-862-5872
    Email: lazar.berman@aei.org

 

Thomas
Donnelly
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