Colonel Michael J. Meese, Director Robert Chase, Megan Hoelle, Kirk W. Johnson, Ambassador Cynthia P. Schneider, Moderator Damian Bednarz and C. Eduardo Vargas

On Thursday, April 2, Intersections concluded its conversation series, “The Cost of War at Home & Abroad,” with a panel discussion, After the Surge: Ethical Exit Strategies From Iraq.

Panelists included Cynthia P. Schneider, former U.S. Ambassador to The Netherlands and Georgetown University faculty member; U.S. Army Col. Michael J. Meese, Ph.D.; and Kirk W. Johnson, The List Project founder and director. The conversation explored American strategies of withdrawing from Iraq while fulfilling political, military and humanitarian obligations.

“From the military perspective, the importance of the ethical withdrawal is to turn over security in a way that minimizes the chances of a return to sectarianism,” said Meese. For that reason, the military method is to “thin forces and continue to maintain transition teams.”

Johnson noted that some 3,000 Iraqis have contacted him in fear for their safety because they aided U.S. efforts. “I am praying and hoping that the people [developing the exit strategy] are taking into consideration what happens to these Iraqis who have helped us, because if we abandon them, I don’t see how we can ever claim any mantle of an ethical withdrawal,” he said.

“I think it’s so important that we define this beyond military security, that we define it in terms of a viable life for people in Iraq,” said Schneider. This means “economic development, education, adequate health care, water, power grid, electricity [and] restoration of their cultural institutions.”

The “Cost of War” series “raised awareness about how the global war on terror has impacted different sectors of our society in ways that people are unaware of,” said Eduardo Vargas, Intersections’ project manager.

To hear an audio recording of the presentation, please visit www.intersectionsinternational.org/costofwarlectures.

See below for a highlight video from this discussion.

Tags: Cost of War, Intersections, Iraq

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