The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies - News & Events

The future of U.S. involvement in Iraq: Einaudi Center launches the Lund Critical Debate Series

Posted on: 10/28/2008

On November 10, 2008, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies is inaugurating the “Lund Critical Debate Series” with a debate on “Out of Iraq: Options for the New U.S. President” at 4:30 pm in Call Auditorium in Kennedy Hall.

Lakhdar Brahimi, Juan Cole, Michael O’Hanlon, and Ra'id Juhi Hamadi Al-Saíedi will discuss the future U.S. involvement in Iraq from different perspectives, addressing such issues as the likely path of the new administration and how U.S. decisions about continued engagement affect Iraq and the Middle East. Fredrik Logevall of Cornell's History Department will lead the debate and include questions from the audience.

Lakhdar Brahimi has led a distinguished diplomatic career negotiating peace and resolving conflicts between and within nations. In 2007 he was appointed Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large at Cornell. As Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations through December 2005, Brahimi advised Kofi Annan on a wide range of issues, including the prevention and resolution of conflicts. He was entrusted with overall authority for the political, human rights, relief, recovery, and reconstruction activities of the United Nations in Afghanistan as the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in that country from 2001 to 2003. During that time he presided over the U.N. Bonn Conference on Afghanistan, which led to the peace agreement now referred to as the Bonn Process that was implemented with the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan in 2005. Brahimi was also the top official responsible for overseeing the U.N.’s Iraq role.

Juan Cole is the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. His academic focus is about Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and South Asia. He has given numerous media and press interviews on the War on Terrorism since September 11, 2001. He has also commented extensively on the Iraq War, the politics of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the increasing conflict with Iran for numerous radio, television and press interviews. He continues to study and write about contemporary Islamic movements, whether mainstream or radical, whether Sunni and Salafi or Shi`ite. For three decades, he has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context, and his most recently authored books are Engaging the Muslim World and Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East. He received his B.A. in History and Literature of Religions from Northwestern University; his M.A. in Arabic Studies/History from the American University in Cairo; and his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from UCLA.

Ra'id Juhi Hamadi Al-Saíedi is the former chief investigative judge of the Iraqi High Tribunal and the Cornell Law School’s first Clarke Middle East Fellow. He is a respected Iraqi jurist who served in the development and operation of the Iraqi High Tribunal, which tries Iraqis who are accused of committing genocide and other crimes against humanity during the late Saddam Hussein's rule (1968-2003). Judge Ra'id was responsible for examining witnesses and collecting evidence to determine whether sufficient grounds existed to refer particular cases for trial. Ra'id investigated and referred cases against Saddam Hussein to the Iraqi High Tribunal for trial, and he investigated and issued an arrest warrant for Moqtada al-Sadr for his alleged involvement in the murder of Abdul Majeed Al-Khoei. He also served as the official spokesperson for the Iraqi High Tribunal. He is currently working on a book about the Iraqi High Tribunal.

Michael O’Hanlon is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, where he specializes in U.S. defense strategy, the use of military force, homeland security and American foreign policy. He is the director of the Brookings-ABC Opportunity 08 project. He is also a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations. O’Hanlon’s latest books are A War Like No Other: The Truth about China's Challenge to America, coauthored with Richard C. Bush, and the edited volume Opportunity 08. O’Hanlon was an analyst at the Congressional Budgeting Office from 1989-1994. He also worked previously at the Institute for Defense Analyses. His Ph.D. from Princeton is in public and international affairs; his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, also from Princeton, are in physical sciences. He also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Congo/Kinshasa (former Zaire) from 1982-1984, where he taught college and high school physics in French.

The Lund Critical Debate Series is part of the Foreign Policy Initiative at Cornell led by the Einaudi Center to maximize the intellectual impact of Cornell’s outstanding resources in this area. The Center foresees a debate each semester, typically with two outside experts and a Cornell faculty member, as moderator. Topics and speakers of future debates will be determined by the Foreign Policy Network, and will reflect topical issues and current events.

Contact Information
Heike Michelsen
Einaudi Center
255 8926
hm75@cornell.edu

Back to News

News Headlines

The latest in news on international studies at Cornell

The future of U.S. involvement in Iraq: Einaudi Center launches the Lund Critical Debate Series