Senator Jack Reed, a former Army paratrooper, has made 11 trips to Iraq, the most of any senator. At the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Sen. Reed will discuss his most recent trip to Iraq, which took place January 17-18, 2008. Senator Reed traveled across Iraq with Special Operations forces and visited the cities of Fallujah, Balad, Baqubah, Basra, and Baghdad, where he met with Generals Petraeus and Odierno as well as Ambassador Crocker. There will be a question and answer period with the Senator following his speech.
After Senator Reed’s speech there will be a lively discussion with author Charles Ferguson on his new book, No End in Sight: Iraq’s Descent into Chaos. The book is based on the investigative record from his Oscar-nominated documentary, "No End In Sight," which contains an unprecedented series of interviews with officials and others on the ground in Iraq immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein. It is a shocking story of wholesale incompetence, recklessness, and arrogance.
This event will represent the first in a series of events and analyses by the Center for American Progress examining the course of the war in Iraq and proposing the next steps for U.S. policy. We are now approaching the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq on March 19, as well as the May 1 "Mission Accomplished" speech delivered by President Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Five years down the road, we are still far from ending our involvement in Iraq. The series will include speeches by prominent policymakers and panel discussions on important aspects of Iraq policy and its impact on U.S. national security. The Center will also release updated analyses examining the current policy in Iraq and providing an alternative policy direction.