Listen to interview with Andrew Erdmann (.mp3 or .wav)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A former adviser to the Bush administration on Iran
and Iraq who was also part of the Coalition Provisional Authority in
Baghdad will speak at Vanderbilt on April 4.
Andrew Erdmann, who recently left the National Security Council after
serving 17 months as director for Iran, Iraq and Strategic Planning,
will lecture in Wilson Hall, Room 103, at 4:10 p.m. His talk, which is
free and open to the public, is titled “From Washington to Baghdad and
Back: America‘s Search for Victory in Iraq.”
“Drawing upon my experiences as one of the first State Department
officials to volunteer for service for Iraq and then as a member of the
National Security Council staff, I will attempt to put the Iraqi
conflict into a broader historical context of other American wars,”
Erdmann said. His previous scholarship centered on how Americans
approached ending wars in the 20th century.
While in Iraq, Erdmann led the effort to restore essential services to
Iraq‘s system of higher education. Then, in August 2003, he left
Baghdad for a policy adviser role at the National Security Council. He
prepared regular Iraq updates for the president and also helped develop
interagency Iran policy. While in government service, he also had
served on Secretary of State Colin Powell‘s policy planning
staff.
Erdmann earned his doctorate in history from Harvard University in 2000
after receiving bachelor‘s degrees from Williams College and Oxford
University. He left the Bush administration in January 2005 to spend
more time with his family and will join a management consulting firm in
the fall.
While on campus, Erdmann also will speak to the “Power and Diplomacy in
the Modern Middle East” course taught by Professor of History Thomas
Schwartz. For more information, contact the Department of History at
322-2577.
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu