Leslie H. Gelb says foreign policy experts should be made to answer questions about the consequences and risks of their recommendations to engage the United States in wars with Syria and Iran.

Jonathan Tepperman says a decision by the United States to intervene militarily in Syria must be made with hard facts and an honest decision about what standing up for U.S. interests and values will entail.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that while Afghan women deplore the burning of the Quran by U.S. troops, they are even angrier at the bloody protests that followed.

Max Boot argues that despite the recent protests over the burning of Qurans, Afghans do not want a return of the Taliban--and they don't hate America.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses the current situation in Afghanistan, where more Afghans are seeking asylum now than at any time since war in Afghanistan began.

This session was a meeting of the Women and Foreign Policy Roundtable Series, organized by the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative.

Max Boot says cutting spending on Afghan forces is penny wise and war foolish.

Nine years after U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein and just a few months after the last U.S. soldier left Iraq, the country has become something close to a failed state.

The United States, facing deepening economic and fiscal woes at home, is preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Leslie H. Gelb says the Obama administration's announcement of a quick end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan is a surprise decision of strategic skill and political courage.

Colonel Gregory K. James, USA; Colonel Larry Holcomb, USMC; and Colonel Chad T. Manske, USAF argue that the success of Operation ODYSSEY DAWN, despite its complexity, validates joint planning processes, joint education foundations, joint training opportunities, and joint exercises.

Leslie H. Gelb discusses the need to examine the rationale for, and potential consequences of, going to war with Iran.

Iran's threat to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz is intended to signal its deterrent capacity to the United States and bolster leadership at home amid biting economic sanctions, says expert Michael Elleman.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon states, "Now that attention is turning to what women endure during war, it is time to ensure they get a say in the peace."

Captain Bradley S. Russell, USN and Max Boot argue that Iran must realize that by initiating direct hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, it risks American retaliation against their covert nuclear-weapons program.

Leslie H. Gelb explains why federalism is the best approach for creating a peaceful and independent Iraq.

Max Boot says that at the moment, Iraq is an uneasy mixture of good and bad, volatile and stable, healthy and diseased—a strange witches' brew that could blow up or, just possibly, turn into an elixir for the entire region.

Max Boot says that by pulling out U.S. troops from Iraq prematurely--against the advice of military commanders --President Obama has made another war there more likely.

Meghan O'Sullivan states, "While Americans have been welcoming the 'end' of the war in Iraq over the past few days, a political crisis of serious proportions has been unfolding in Baghdad."

Leslie H. Gelb interviews U.S. vice president Joe Biden.