May 2008 recorded the fewest American casualties in Iraq since the beginning of the war and measured violence in May and June reached the lowest levels since 2004. In advance of the U.S. presidential election in November, discussion of Iraq’s future has assumed heightened significance in public discourse. On July 14, 2008, Senator Barack Obama published his plan for Iraq, detailing a strategy for removing American troops from Iraq in sixteen months. Senator John McCain responded in a town hall meeting in Albuquerque, highlighting the successes of the surge and reiterating the need to assess the current situation based on accurate observation from the ground before suggesting policy changes.

As Iraqis prepare for provincial elections this fall and parliamentary elections next year, AEI’s Frederick W. Kagan, Kimberly Kagan of the Institute for the Study of War, and former acting Army chief of staff General Jack Keane will discuss their recent trip to Iraq, their observations on the ground, and the implications of these findings for the future of the country.