Two CFR experts on the war, Max Boot, senior fellow for national security studies, and Steven Simon, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies, debate whether the surge has put Iraq on the path to success.

Ted Galen Carpenter of the Cato Institute and James Phillips of the Heritage Foundation debate the merits of withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq.

Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association, and Erica Razook, a legal fellow for the Business and Human Rights Program at Amnesty International USA, debate the practical and legal issues surrounding private security contractors in war zones. 

Lawrence J. Korb of the Center for American Progress and CFR's Stephen Biddle debate the accuracy of American military statistics on violence in Iraq.

Two leading national security specialists, Daniel Goure, a vice president of the Lexington Institute, and Joseph Cirincione, senior vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, debate whether America and its military are headed unavoidably toward an "Iraq Syndrome."

Some experts argue the United States intends to establish a long-term military foothold in Iraq to increase its influence in the region, while others say it is merely responding to present security concerns.

Michael Doran, a Council on Foreign Relations adjunct senior fellow in Middle East Studies, and Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs, face off over what role— if any— United Nations weapons inspectors should play in postwar Iraq.