U.S. Policy in Iraq

President Bush’s assessment of the situation in Iraq is too optimistic. Things are not going well. The insurgency, in combination with an increasing rate of crime is making it hard for regular Iraqis to feel secure in their daily lives. The good news is that Iraqis, despite the security situation, remain on balance optimistic about the future. One evidence of that optimism can be seen in the recruitment of Iraqi security forces. The American training program of Iraqi security forces, which suffered from mistakes made early on in the occupation, is now largely on track under the leadership of Lt. General David Petraeus and is showing signs of real progress.

In this interview, Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon gave his views on the security situation and U.S. strategy in Iraq. O’Hanlon was joined by Danielle Pletka, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Listen to the complete interview at wamu.org