KU News Release

Program on Iraq will kick off Dole Institute’s fall schedule

LAWRENCE — The Dole Institute of Politics will kick off its fall semester with a program on Iraq.

“Iraq: What Went Wrong/What’s Next?” will feature three experts on the war in Iraq. The event takes place at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at the Dole Institute.

“Our fall semester will heavily focus on the elections, but we wanted to begin with an update on Iraq, arguably the most important issue of the campaign,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute. “We’ll focus on lessons we have learned and where we go from here.”

The discussion will feature:

— Don Wright, author of “On Point II,” the Army’s official history of the war in Iraq. National Public Radio has described it as “candid and critical of senior officers and civilian leaders.”
— Retired Army Col. Kevin Benson, who planned the Iraqi invasion and provided the Dole Institute’s first Iraq update in fall 2004.
— Adrian Lewis, professor of history and KU’s Fort Leavenworth liaison. Lewis is author of “The American Culture of War: A History of American Military Force from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom” (Routledge, 2007).

“Vastly different views on Iraq provide a stark contrast between Sens. Obama and McCain,” Lacy said. “We’ll be hearing a lot about it this fall, so this program will give informed voters the analysis they need to distinguish between sound policy and spin.”

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