Moderated by Ms. Garrels, Mr. Rosen and Professor Hashim talked about the insurgency in Iraq and the possibilities of a full-blown civil war occurring there. They both described the development and changing nature of the resistance forces in Iraq and the Bush administration’s strategy to combat them. They also talked about the rise of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his army, who the authors said wield a huge amount of power in Iraq now and are responsible for a series of recent attacks on Iraqi Sunnis. Following their remarks, both authors answered questions from members of the audience. 

Ahmed Hashim is the author of Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq, published by Cornell University Press. Nir Rosen is the author of In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq, published by The Free Press.