Front & Center with John Callaway: The War on Terror: Progress or Regression?

As the 5th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad approached, the Museum & Library addressed the question of where America and her allies stood in the "Long War" in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. Had "the surge" brought progress, as claimed by the military? Could the Iraqi leadership stabilize the country? How would the revised intelligence assessment affect our course with Iran and its nuclear program? Pakistan was facing a volatile domestic situation, in the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, and Afghanistan was coping with a resurgent Taliban. How did they play into the mix? John Callaway and his guests analyzed the status of the War on Terror on this episode of Front & Center.

Col. Daniel Roper is Director of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Center improves counterinsurgency capabilities across the Armed Forces through research of best practices, improvement of doctrine, training and education and through outreach to those with a shared interest in improving U.S. COIN capabilities. He is a 1982 West Point graduate and holds a Masters of Science in Nuclear Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California. Col. Roper was Chief of Operations and Intelligence for Coalition Forces Land Component Command in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2002-2003. He spent four months on the ground in Iraq conducting a comprehensive COIN assessment in the summer and fall of 2007.

Javed Rathore is Senior Vice President of the Pakistan Peoples Party, USA and a member of the PPP International Human Rights Committee. He is also president of the Kashmir Foundation International and the Pakistani American Democratic Council, organizations seeking to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan. Mr. Rathore has a background in journalism, having worked at various newspapers in Pakistan as an editor and reporter from 1984 to 1989. From 1990 to 1992, he was press secretary to the Prime Minister of the Pakistani side of Kashmir. From 1992 through 1997 his activities in the Pakistan People Party included serving as spokesman, speech writer and advisor to the late Benazir Bhutto. Also a publisher and editor, he is the author of the book Kashmir Myth & Reality.

John Allen ("Jay") Williams is Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago. His writings include works on civil-military relations, military culture, professional military education, personnel issues, military strategy, military forces and missions, catastrophic terrorism, and strategic policy. Dr. Williams' latest book is U.S. National Security: Policymakers, Processes, and Politics. He retired as a Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve with 30 years of commissioned service. He performed active and reserve duty aboard USS Columbus (CG-12); and with the U.S. Naval Academy, the Commander, Second Fleet and numerous Navy, joint, and civilian staffs in the Pentagon. His personal awards include the Legion of Merit, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He received his B.A. from Grinnell College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Mohamed Toor has been a practicing cardiologist and physician in Joliet, Illinois for more than 30 years. He is the C.E.O. of the Pakistani American Democratic American Forum, which has been active in demanding the restoration of the Constitution and the Supreme Court in Pakistan. Dr. Toor has served as President and Chairman of the Board of Regents for the Islamic Medical Association of North America based in Lombard, Illinois. He also served as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves for 10 years, and is currently a senior trustee for East-West University in Chicago, Illinois.