When Emma Sky volunteered to help rebuild Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, she had little idea what she was getting in to. Her assignment was only supposed to last three months. She went on to serve there longer than any other senior military or diplomatic figure, giving her an unrivaled perspective of the entire conflict.
On Oct. 2, 2015, Sky will talk about her experiences during a speech in Wells Fargo Auditorium on the College of Charleston campus. The address begins at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Author of the book “The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq,” Sky provides unique insights into the U.S. military as well as the complexities, diversity and evolution of Iraqi society. The book, described by the author as an insider’s portrait of how and why the Iraq adventure failed, contains a unique analysis of the course of the war.
Along with being a writer, Sky is director of Yale World Fellows and a Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute, where she teaches Middle East politics.