Melvyn Leffler, a prominent historian of American foreign policy, is in the studio offering a fresh perspective on the Iraq War. Leffler joins host Carrie Lee challenging some conventional wisdoms surrounding the war, arguing that the George W. Bush administration was not intent on invading Iraq from day one. He makes the case that there were genuine fears among American policymakers about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. He highlights the role of fear, power, and hubris in the decision-making process. Their conversation examines the extensive interviews and archival research Leffler conducted, and offers a nuanced understanding of one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of the 21st century.
My book has become very controversial because it is both empathetic and at the same time critical of the Bush administration. So my friends on the left side of the political spectrum hate the empathy and several of the people in the Bush administration and conservatives don’t like the criticism.
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Melvyn Leffler, Ph.D., is an American historian and educator, Co-chair of History and Public Policy Program Advisory Board at the Wilson Center and Emeritus Professor of American History at the University of Virginia. He is the author of For the Soul of Mankind (2007), A Preponderance of Power (1993), and Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq (2023) He has served as president of the Society for the History of American Foreign Relations, Harmsworth Professor at Oxford University, and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at The University of Virginia.
Carrie A. Lee is an associate professor at the U.S. Army War College, where she serves as the chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy and director of the USAWC Center on Civil-Military Relations. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a B.S. from MIT.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: President George W. Bush meets with his National Security Council in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Seated with the President from left are: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense; Colin Powell, Secretary of State; and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Photo Credit: Eric Draper, Courtesy of the George W. Bush Presidential Library