Is a strike on Iran inevitable? Iran expert to speak on campus

News reports from Washington, D.C. and Tehran differ on the reasons why the U.S. may seek to attack Iran in the coming months. Neither country disputes the fact, however, that Iran is next on the list of targets in President Bush’s "War on Terror."

Gary Sick, principal White House aide during the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the U.S. hostage crisis, will give his talk, "Is a U.S. Strike on Iran Inevitable?" on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 8 p.m. in the Morgridge Auditorium in Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

"As tensions mount over the situation in Iraq, the upcoming November peace talks between Israel and Palestine, and the complex relationship between Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, the decision to leash an assault on Tehran could indeed be inevitable," says Uli Schamiloglu, chair of the Middle East Studies program, the primary sponsor of this event. "Dr. Sick’s talk will illuminate the most pressing issues surrounding this global hotspot, and what can be done to help prevent circumstances from spiraling out of control."

Sick served on the National Security Council staff under presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. He is a retired captain of the U.S. Navy, with service in the Persian Gulf, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. The author of numerous books and articles on the subject, Sick now serves as executive director of Gulf/2000 — an international research project on political, economic, and security developments in the Persian Gulf — based at Columbia University.

This event is sponsored by UW–Madison’s Middle East Studies program, with funding from the University Lectures Series. Co-sponsors include the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy, Global Studies, The Havens Center, the Lafollette School for Public Affairs, the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia, and UW–Madison’s Division of International Studies.