Dr. Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, will present the William Waldo Cameron Forum on Public Affairs Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library Center at Texas A&M University.

The event will include a lecture, an audience question-and-answer session and a book signing of Dr. Haass’s most recent publication, "War of Necessity, War of Choice."

The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank and publisher. A spokesperson said the council is dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

Until 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 on a broad range of foreign policy concerns. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Dr. Haass served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and was the U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process.

Previously, Dr. Haass was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at The Brookings Institution. He was also 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 from 1989 to 1993.

Dr. Haass is the author or editor of 11 books on American foreign policy, including "War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars" (Simon and Schuster, May 2009) and a book focusing on management. A Rhodes Scholar, he holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and both the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He has received honorary doctorates from Hamilton College, Franklin & Marshall College, Georgetown University, and Oberlin College.

The William Waldo Cameron Forum on Public Affairs was established by an endowment to the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation from Flora Cameron Crichton as a memorial to her father. It includes two lectures each year and is sponsored by the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

This is a ticketed event, and doors will open at 5 p.m. Please limit backpacks, bags, cameras or other personal belongings. A limited number of free tickets are available at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, the MSC Box Office at Texas A&M University, the Bryan-College Station Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Eagle, KBTX-TV and WTAW. For more information, call 979-862-2251.

Copies of "War of Necessity, War of Choice" will be available for purchase at the event.

Contact: Lane Stephenson at 979-845-4662 or l-stephenson@tamu.edu.

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