A panel of foreign policy experts marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq by discussing Melvyn P. Leffler’s new book, Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq. Looking back, what does this highly consequential foreign policy decision reveal about presidential leadership and decision making? How did Saddam Hussein's record as a brutal dictator influence the decisions made by George W. Bush? Leffler's extensive interviews with top Bush administration policymakers document the war's conflicting objectives and costly aftermath.
Ashley Deeks, a former White House associate counsel and deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council, moderates the conversation with Melvyn P. Leffler, the Edward Stettinius Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Virginia; Eric Edelman, principal deputy assistant for national security affairs under former Vice President Cheney; and Philip Zelikow, executive director of the 9/11 Commission.
In-person and online.
