 "Photo: Hayley Sher")
Three high-ranking executive branch officials, involved heavily in the planning and progress with the war in Iraq, described to more than 100 Boston University community members Wednesday morning the political and economic implications of the war.
International Security Affairs Assistant Defense Secretary Peter Rodman, Ambassador James Jeffrey, Iraq Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State and Lieutenant General James Conway each defended the United States's strategy for the war.
Rodman called U.S. strategy "political and economic as much as it is military." He spoke about goals concerning Iraq and how the government wants to help the Iraqi people build their own institutions.
"The ultimate prize here is the political process," he said. "Insurgents want to derail this process."
Rodman framed what the United States is doing to encourage stability in Iraq in a larger and more global framework, calling government and military efforts a "crucial test of strength in a much bigger context."
Jeffrey, a 1977 School of Management graduate, spoke about the inventory of the U.S. strategy in terms of its economic, political and military goals. He said the three main goals of the political track for Iraq are to isolate Musab al-Zarqawi element, engage the Sunni and alienated Shi'ite population and build the feeling among citizens that the democratic system is working.
Jeffrey said the government has seen a tremendous amount of progress in the past year with the three elections that have already been held, and said more will come.
Conway spoke about progress in Iraq in terms of the military aspect of the U.S. strategy.
"To understand Iraq, one needs to understand the idea of the long war," he said.
Conway, also the Operations Director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, emphasized the fact that the war is not about cultures or religions.
"It is important for Iraq to survive and serve as a model for the rest of the Middle East," he said.
Conway highlighted the military's efforts to train Iraq troops to be able to defend their own cities and towns and the failures of the insurgency to stop its progress.
"[Insurgents] want to take the people back to the 1500s," he said. "But they have failed, and are failing."
Despite Conway's claim of success, more than 2,300 U.S. troops have died in Iraq to date, and criticism of the war's planning has accelerated in recent months, with members of both political parties faulting the Bush Administration for inadequate foresight about the insurgency.
The forum was opened by Provost David Campbell and Uri Ra'Anan, the Director of the Institute for Conflict, Ideology and Policy, who welcomed the standing-room-only crowd and expressed their hope that amid the polarization of the country over the war that the forum would lead to an in-depth and intelligent look at the issues facing the U.S. in Iraq.
Institute for Conflict, Ideology and Policy Assistant Director Susan Cavan, who helped organize the event, said she hopes students who attended the event would leave with a better understanding of what the United States is doing in Iraq.
"The war is an essential question for everyone here at BU," she said. "This is an opportunity to get perspective firsthand and be able to ask questions.
"We are a world-class university," she continued, "and allowing students to talk to these kinds of policy makers and hear these opinions and have access to this kind of information is important."
Following the speakers' explanation of the U.S. strategy, the floor was opened to university faculty and students to ask questions of the panel, moderated by College of Arts and Sciences professor Husain Haqqani.
Journalism professor Fred Bayles questioned the panelists on the role of the media and asked if there was a middle ground that can be reached between the press and the military.
Conway acknowledged the roadblocks between the information the press seeks and the military's reluctance to give it for security reasons, but spoke of the success of the imbedded journalism program.
"Concerning the media, I think things have become more centered on Baghdad," he said. "The lack of information is a marine strategy in terms of insurgent attacks on troops ... to keep terrorists from knowing the success of their attacks."
BU President emeritus John Silber questioned the panelists about insufficient troops to police the Iraqi borders and the fact that the Iraq war is dragging the United States deeper into debt.
"The amount of debt is an economic reality that can lead a bankrupt nation to economic collapse, similar to the former Soviet Union," he said.
Rodman said the issue of sealing the borders is more of a diplomatic issue with other nations, including Syria, and less about insufficient troops.
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