BookTalk

The Iraq Wars: Consequences for the Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Foreign Policy

Richard Haass

September 16, 2009 / Philadelphia

Dr. Richard Haass is President of the Council on Foreign Relations. He delivered an address at the Union League of Philadelphia concerning his new book, War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars.

From January 2001 to June 2003, Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Haass also served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process. For his efforts, he received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award.

From 1989 to 1993, he was special assistant to President George H. W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Dr. Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Haass holds a BA from Oberlin College and the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He is the author or editor of eleven books on American foreign policy.

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