Panel discussion focuses on Iraqi Freedom

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (April 3, 2003) – A public forum for reflections on Iraqi freedom will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, in the OVC Room of Tennessee Tech University’s Roaden University Center.

"The topic of the panel discussion will be the U.S. involvement in Iraq, its probable course and potential consequences," said Jeff Roberts, interim chairperson of TTU’s history department and one of the four panelists who will participate in the discussion.

Roberts provided expertise to media during Desert Storm. An instructor of military history and Middle Eastern courses at TTU, he has also done work at Ohio State University’s Middle East Center.

Other panelists include political science professor Michael Gunter, history professor Wali Kharif and Dean of Nursing Marilyn Musacchio.

Gunter is a leading expert on the Kurdish population of Iraq and Turkey and authored two of the first books in English to analyze the Kurdish unrest in the Middle East. His other research interests include international and Middle Eastern terrorism, international law and arms control.

Kharif is a practicing Muslim whose research interests involve the African-American experience in the Upper Cumberland region.

Mussachio was the second woman and the second nurse to ever hold a position as brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserves and has assisted the U.S. Surgeon General’s office in evaluating the Persian Gulf War from a medical perspective.

Cookeville Mayor Charles Womack will serve as moderator for the event, which is free and open to the public.

"Community involvement is encouraged, and the audience will have an opportunity for participation in the panel discussion," said Roberts.

--Tracey LeFevre

This information posted 08 April 2003