Newswise — On Monday, Sept. 10, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will update Congress on the results of Bush's decision earlier this year to send 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.
To assist media in reporting on the Iraq surge report, the University of Virginia offers the following experts.
WHO: David WaldnerExpert on nation-buildingDirector of U.Va.'s Middle East Studies and associate professor in the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics Author of "State Building and Late Development" Taught "Nation-Building in Iraq" course in January 2007
WHO: William QuandtEdward R. Stettinius Jr. ProfessorWoodrow Wilson Department of Politics
Quandt can discuss the Middle East, international affairs and foreign cultures, and American foreign policy in the Middle East.
Before joining U.Va.'s faculty, Quandt served as a senior staff member of the National Security Council during the Carter administration (working on the Camp David accords), among other posts. He was also a consultant to ABC News during the Gulf War. He is the author of "Peace Process: American Diplomacy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict Since 1967," and he co-wrote "Politics of Palestinian Nationalism," among others.
WHO: W. Nathaniel HowellFormer Ambassador to KuwaitDirector, U.Va. Institute for Global Policy ResearchDirector, Arabian Peninsula and Gulf Studies ProgramJohn Minor Maury, Jr. Professor of Public Affairs
"People will be able to find whatever they want in the report. It will not be unambiguous and it will not resolve any of the conflicts in the Congress."
Howell joined U.Va.'s faculty upon retirement from the U.S. Foreign Service in December 1992. He served as Ambassador to the State of Kuwait from August 1987 until December 1990, four months after the Iraqi invasion of that country.
WHO: Philip ZelikowWhite Burkett Miller Professor of HistoryRecent Counselor of the U.S. Department of State, where heserved as a senior policy advisor on a wide range of issuesto the Secretary of State
Zelikow recently returned to teaching in the University's Corcoran Department of History after serving as counselor to the U.S. Department of State from 2005 to 2007. He was director of the 9/11 Commission and principal author of its widely acclaimed report, and served as director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs from 1998 to 2005. Zelikow served on President George H.W. Bush's National Security Council staff with Condoleezza Rice, with whom he wrote "Germany Unified and Europe Transformed" (1995).
WHO: Abdulaziz A. SachedinaProfessor of religious studiesExpert on Shiite Islam, Islamic extremism, the concept of Holy War and Middle Eastern politics
"Hopefully we will find a way of avoiding further damage to America's image because of the continuing war and insurgency."
Sachedina has written encyclopedia entries on the Iraqi holy cities of Karbala and Najaf for the "Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World" (Oxford Univ. Press); a book chapter on "Justifications of Violence in Islamic Tradition" ; and articles about the political role played by Islam in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. Born in Tanzania to a West Indian family, he has lived throughout the Middle East. He has resided in and visited Iran frequently over the past 40 years. He speaks seven languages fluently, including Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Swahili.
WHO: Marc SelverstoneAssistant professor with the Presidential Recordings Program, Miller Center of Public AffairsSelverstone can talk about the historical dimensions of the Petraeus Report — precedents with Vietnam, the presidential relationship with the military, etc. — particularly with Kennedy and Johnson. After receiving his Ph.D. in U.S. Foreign Relations at Ohio University, he joined the Miller Center in November 2000. He is part of the team of scholars transcribing and editing the secret White House tapes made by Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
WHO: Paul MartinAssistant professor and research fellow, Oral History Program, Miller Center of Public AffairsMartin's background focuses on the relationship between the people and the political elites. He's spent some time working on the Hill. Most recently his research has focused on congressional responses to political participation, specifically voter turnout. At the Miller Center, Martin is part of the Oral History Program's team of scholars conducting interviews for the William J. Clinton Project and the Edward M. Kennedy Oral History Project.
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