Ohio State panel of experts to discuss the U.S. occupation of Iraq

Experts at The Ohio State University will discuss various aspects of the U.S. invasion and occupation in Iraq during a forum that is open to the public.

The forum, titled “The United States and Iraq: Why We’re There, Where We’re Going,” is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday (5/11) in Room 100 Independence Hall, 1923 Neil Avenue.

The Ohio State experts are: Richard Herrmann, director of the Mershon Center and political science professor, who will address broad issues of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq; Mary Ellen O’Connell, Mershon Fellow and professor in the Moritz College of Law, who will discuss international law; and Sabra Webber, professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, who will talk about the invasion and occupation from the Iraqi perspective. History Professor and Mershon Fellow Mark Grimsley will moderate.

Specific topics the panel will address are: if the removal of Saddam Hussein helped the United States in its war on terror; the prospects of fostering democracy in Iraq; the implications of the occupation under international law; and the global perception, especially the Middle East, of the U.S. presence in Iraq.

The forum is sponsored by the Mershon Center, which focuses on the interdisciplinary study of international security, the College of Humanities Dean’s Student Advisory Group, Moritz College of Law and the Departments of History, Political Science, and Near Eastern Lanugages and Cultures.

WHAT: Ohio State experts will discuss various aspects of the U.S. occupation in Iraq

WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday (5/11)

WHERE: Room 100 Independence Hall, 1923 Neil Avenue

WHY: To offer expertise on “The United States and Iraq: Why We’re There, Where We’re Going.”