President Barack Obama on August 31 announced the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq and made it clear that the responsibility for Iraq’s future is now firmly in Iraqi hands.  At the same time, Vice President Joe Biden visited Baghdad to reassure Iraqi leaders that the U.S. was not disengaging from Iraq, but shifting to a long- term partnership based on economic, political and cultural cooperation.

Antony Blinken, the national security adviser to Vice President Biden, recently returned from his trip to Baghdad with the vice president. Please join us as he outlines the Obama administration’s views on the new U.S.-Iraqi relationship and Iraq’s government formation process.  Dr. Laith Kubba, former spokesperson for the Iraqi government, will provide a response from the Iraqi perspective.

Read more about this event.