Peer to Peer

Peer to Peer Series “Will Iraq be better or worse off after the U.S. withdrawal?” with Humphrey Fellow Hazim Mahmoud Hamed The U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq was completed on December 18, 2011. The following day, an arrest warrant was issued for the Sunni Vice President Al-Hashemi. Other steps were taken by the government against other politicians like Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al-Mutlaq and Finance Minister Rafi Al-Iswai, causing tensions among political parties and raising worries of a sectarian civil war. Recently, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that escalation of ongoing political tension in Iraq could cause a civil war and could have regional implications. This raises some questions: • What is going on now in Iraq? • Was the U.S. war on Iraq worth this big sacrifice in money and lives? • Was it a wise decision by the U.S. administration to leave Iraq now? • Will Iraq be better or worse off after the U.S. withdrawal? Hazim Mahmoud Hamed is currently a Humphrey Fellow at Maxwell and most recently was an advisor to the Iraqi president. He served as Chief of Staff of the Office of the Iraqi Vice President from 2008-2011. He has been Chief of Staff for the Iraqi Ministry of planning, a political advisor in Baghdad to the United Nations and a news editor for the Chinese News Agency in Beijing. Hazim has an interest in public policy, public administration, capacity building, economic development and leadership. When: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 Where: 204 Maxwell Hall Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm Peer to peer is a series for Executive Masters in Public Administration students to share issues, problems or successes with their fellow students. Each student guest speaker will speak for about 20-30 minutes and then we will have a 20-30 minute discussion time. This event is open to all students. Lunch will be provided at the start of the event. Please RSVP to Kristina Donzella, kedonzel@maxwell.syr.edu by Monday, January 23rd.