Speaking in Maine welcomes Matthew Hoh to the podium. He is a former State Department official who resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan over US strategic policy and goals in the area in September 2009.
Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Matthew served in Iraq; first in 2004-5 in Salah ad Din Province with a State Department reconstruction and governance team and then in 2006-7 in Anbar Province as a Marine Corps company commander. When not deployed, Matthew worked on Afghanistan and Iraq policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department from 2002-8. Matthew’s writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post and his resignation letter has been cited as an "Essential Document" by the Council on Foreign Relations. Matthew was recently named the 2010 Ridenhour Prize Recipient for Truth Telling.
The talk was sponsored by the University of Maine's School of Policy & International Affairs and it was given in the Bangor Room at Memorial Union on the University of Maine campus in Orono.
Visit the University of Maine Web site where users can read Mr. Hoh's resignation letter.