April 6: “US Challenges in Iraq and the Muslim World”

Phebe Marr, America's leading political historian of Iraq

When: Wednesday, April 6 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Where: North United Methodist Church, 3808 N. Meridian St. Indianapolis

The lead off of the Mid-North Shepherd Center's Great Decisions Series

Iraq is, of course, the most urgent issue for US foreign policy. Will that country’s steps toward democracy continue, and perhaps even set off the sort of “domino effect” that we saw when East European dictatorships toppled one after another in 1989? Or will it keep the US mired indefinitely? Iraq is a grand experiment, an effort (in part) to impose democracy on a country by force. Success or failure will determine how the US relates to the Middle East and the world.

Our guide in answering these questions is Phebe Marr of the US Institute for Peace, author of the splendid Modern History of Iraq. It goes without saying that the world might be different if more Administration decision makers had read Dr. Marr's book carefully before invading Iraq. Most of us don't have the chance to hear someone of Phebe Marr's wisdom and knowledge explain Iraq, perhaps only if we are lucky enough to catch her in the middle of the night on CSPAN. you shold make time in your schedule to catch her.

The Mid-North Shepherd Center serves older adults, but opens its events to everyone. You should stay for lunch, which is at noon. Chances are you'll be able to sit at Dr. Marr's table and follow up on her talk (if chairs are in short supply, I'll give up my spot). As I say, this is a rare treat that the Mid-North Shepherd Center has given us.

Want some background reading? In addition to Phebe Marr's book, look at:

• Constantly updated set of links to English-language newspaper articles: http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Iraq.
• The Council on Foreign Relations has a thorough collection of materials: http://www.cfr.org/reg_index.php?id=6351
• Translations of Arabic news articles at http://www.memri.org/
• An article about why oil rather than religion could block Iraqi democracy: http://econ.worldbank.org/files/21728_doesoil.pdf