SIWPS: The Obama Administration and the Future of the U.S.-Iraq Relationship

The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies  (SIWPS), Columbia University, presents Colin Kahl, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East and a professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University speaking on, "The Obama Administration and the Future of the U.S.-Iraq Relationship."

Iraq has made significant security progress in recent years, but serious challenges to enduring stability remain. As American forces draw down and fundamentally change their mission in Iraq, what is the U.S. strategy for ensuring that hard fought gains are maintained? And, as Iraq continues to assert its sovereignty, what does this mean for the future of the U.S.-Iraq strategic relationship?

Dr. Kahl is on a two-year public service leave from Georgetown University, where he is a professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service focusing on international security, American foreign policy in the Middle East, and terrorism. Prior to joining the Department, he was also a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.  He has published widely on U.S. military operations and strategy in Iraq, including articles in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, International Security, the Los Angeles Times, Middle East Policy, the National Interest, and The New York Times.

In 2007-2008, Dr. Kahl served as coordinator for the Obama Campaign's Iraq Policy Expert Group. In 2005-2006, he was a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow working at the Department of Defense on counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and stability operations.  He received his PhD in political science from Columbia University in 2000, and his BA in political science from the University of Michigan in 1993.