February

21
2001

1:00 pm EST - 2:30 pm EST

Past Event

Iraq and America: Ten Years After Desert Storm

Wednesday, February 21, 2001

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm EST

The Mayflower Hotel
Chinese Room

1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

Ten years after the United States and its allies forced Iraqi troops to withdraw from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein remains in power — and an international threat — despite UN inspections, military punishment, and continued economic sanctions. One of the first priorities of President George W. Bush’s administration will be to review America’s policy toward Saddam.

On the tenth anniversary of Iraq’s humiliation in the Gulf War, a panel of Brookings foreign policy experts will examine what has occurred in the past decade and what is likely to happen in the future in light of a new American president taking office, other nations increasingly ignoring the sanctions, concerns that Iraq is again seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction, and the changing dynamics of the Middle East.

Among the issues the Brookings experts will address are:

  • Is it time to lift or modify the sanctions? What would replace them?
  • What lessons has the American military learned from the Gulf War?
  • With UN inspectors no longer in Iraq, is there any hope that Saddam can be prevented from acquiring nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons?
  • How has the war altered America’s relationship with Iran and other nations in the region?

Agenda