Former Foreign Service Official to Discuss Afghan War February 3 at SBU

A former State Department official who became the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over our country’s strategic policy and goals in Afghanistan will discuss the Afghan war during a talk Wednesday, Feb. 3, at St. Bonaventure University.

Matthew Hoh will speak on “Efforts at a Political Resolution: Finding a Lasting Settlement to Afghanistan’s Civil War” during the 4 p.m. presentation in Dresser Auditorium of the John J. Murphy Professional Building.

Hoh gained national attention when he resigned from his post in Afghanistan last September over U.S. strategic policy and goals. His resignation letter has been cited as an Essential Document by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Hoh served in Iraq; first in 2004-2005 in Salah ad Din Province with a State Department reconstruction and governance team and then in 2006-2007 in Anbar Province as a Marine Corps company commander.

When not deployed, Hoh worked on Afghanistan and Iraq policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department from 2002-2008.

In his four-page resignation letter, Hoh wrote: “I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan. I have doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy, but my resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end.”

Hoh is a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, and has written for the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.

He was recently named the recipient of the 2010 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling, presented to a citizen, corporate or government whistleblower, investigative journalist, or organization for bringing a specific issue of social importance to the public’s attention.

Hoh’s visit to St. Bonaventure is hosted by Fr. Michael Calabria, O.F.M., lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies, and sponsored by the Franciscan Center for Social Concern and Clare College.