Before the war in Iraq, AEI hosted a series of conferences on what it would take to rebuild post-Saddam Iraq. Now it’s time to revisit some of those prescriptions. Elections are slated for January, but concerns about security are growing. The collapse into civil war predicted by opponents of the intervention did not occur, but the political and economic reconstitution of Iraq has been slower than hoped.

AEI will host three speakers to address this topic. Rend Rahim, Iraq’s ambassador-designate to the United States until October 2004, will discuss the state of affairs in Iraq. Salem Chalabi, a London-based lawyer instrumental to the construction of Iraq’s war crimes tribunal and the framing of Iraq’s Transitional Administrative Law, will discuss justice and the political transition. Basil al Rahim, a merchant-banker who has worked extensively with companies investing in Iraq, will discuss the important of security in the economic transition.