Kagan, Dubik to Testify on Iraq

Contact: Tricia Miller
(202) 293-5550 x210
[email protected]

 

Washington, D.C. – Kimberly Kagan, president of the Institute for the Study of War, and retired Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, a senior fellow at ISW, will testify this afternoon at a Congressional hearing on Iraq. The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia will host a hearing called “ Halting the Descent: U.S. Policy toward the Deteriorating Situation in Iraq.”
 
Kagan, a military historian who has taught at West Point, Yale University, Georgetown University, and American University, has extensive experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. She conducted many regular battlefield circulations of Iraq between May 2007 and April 2010 while General Petraeus and General Raymond T. Odierno served as the MNF-I Commanding General. She participated formally on the Joint Campaign Plan Assessment Team for Multi-National Force-Iraq - U.S. Mission- Iraq in October 2008 and October 2009, and as part of the Civilian Advisory Team for the CENTCOM strategic review in January 2009.
 
“Iraq is more violent, less democratic, and the U.S. less engaged than it was six months ago," Kagan wrote in her prepared testimony. "And it is poised on the knife’s-edge of a civil war. The United States has not achieved its core national security objectives in Iraq.”
 
Dubik assumed command of Multi National Security Transition Command-Iraq on June 10, 2007. During this final command, he oversaw the generation and training of the Iraqi Security Forces. Previously, he was the Commanding General of I Corps at Ft. Lewis and the Deputy Commanding General for Transformation, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. He also served as the Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division.
 
“Although the U.S. and coalition part of the fighting is over, the war is not.  Ending the fighting and ending a war are two related, but distinct, activities,” Dubik said in his prepared testimony. “To end this war in a way to create a better peace and secure our nation’s interests, we must remain involved in Iraq. Again, the ‘small U.S. footprint, low cost’ approach is correct. But small and low cost should not mean inadequate relative to our interests.”
 
ISW continues to track the situation in Iraq closely. Senior Research Analyst Ramzy Mardini publishes weekly updates on developments there and wrote a comprehensive look at the first two months in Iraq after U.S. troops left.
 
Retired Gen. Jack Keane and Colin Kahl, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, will also serve on the panel.
 
To talk to Kagan or Dubik about developments in Iraq, please contact Tricia Miller at [email protected] or at (202) 293-5550 x210.
 
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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization. ISW advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education. We are committed to improving the nation’s ability to execute military operations and respond to emerging threats in order to achieve U.S. strategic objectives.

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