Thursday

Friday, Feb. 26 - 6:00 p.m., Fountaingrove Golf Club, 1525 Fountaingrove Pkwy, Santa Rosa. Annual Dinner, The U.S. and Asia: Where do we Stand a d Where are we Going?, Michael H. Armacost, PhD., Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee, Shorenstein Distinguished Fellow for Political Affairs, Asia/Pacific Research Center, Stanford.

Ambassador Armacost has recently been named Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of the the Asia Foundation. He served as President of the Brookings Institution, 1995-2002; Ambassador to Japan, 1989-1993; Ambassador to the Philippines, 1982-1984;and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. He has held senior policy responsibilities in the National Security Council and the Department of Defense. A native of Ohio, Armacost graduated from Carlton College and earned his Master's and PhD. at Columbia University. He is the author of three books on foreign affairs, the latest of which, Friends or Rivals, draws on his experience as Ambassador to Japan.

Ambassador Armacost will speak about the role of the United States in a rapidly developing Asia. His many years in high positions covering Asia and his present position at the Asia Foundation give him a unique perspective on foreign affairs concerning Asia.

Reservations required by Feb. 19. Costs: members $35, guests $40.

FEBRUARY 26 – ANNUAL DINNER – AMBASSADOR ARMACOST

Members $35______________, or Non-members $40__________

Choice of: ______________Prime Rib, or ___________________Vegetarian

Name(s):________________________________________________________________

Phone Number____________________

Mail your checks and this reservation form to: WACSC, P.O. Box 1433, Santa Rosa, CA 95402. Call 707-573-6014 for more information.

To print a reservation form for mailing purposes, click your mouse arrow on

Print Reservation and then the printer button on your computer.

Friday, Mar. 5 - noon, La Gare Restaurant,, 208 Wilson St., Santa Rosa. What the Allies Expect from the United States, Robert J. O'Neill, Chairman of the International Academic Advisory Committee, United States Study Centre, Sydney, Australia.

What do our Allies think of our current strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan? What do they expect us to do to in other places around the world? Is the U.S. expected to be the World’s No. 1 policeman, traffic cop and disaster aid supplier? Answers to these questions and others will be supplied by a long time friend of the United States.

Robert O’Neill, native and resident of Australia, served 13 years as an officer in the Australian regular army, was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford (Ph.D. in Modern History), taught military history at the Royal Military College of Australia, then became professor at Oxford and also a Fellow at All Souls College. He taught international relations at the Australian National University and directed its Strategic and Defense Studies Centre.

Professor O’Neill has written three books and numerous articles on war strategy, is recognized worldwide as an authority on foreign affairs, and is personally acquainted with many of the current leaders in the United States and Europe.

Reservations required. Costs: $23 for members, guests $28.

RESERVATION FORM: (due by Feb. 26)

MARCH 5 –ROBERT O’NEILL – LA GARE

Members $23_____________, or Non-member $28_______________

Choice of:_______________Salmon, or________________ Vegetarian

Name(s)_________________________________________________________

Phone Number____________________________

Mail your checks and this reservation form to: WACSC, P.O. Box 1433, Santa Rosa, CA 95402. Call 707-573-6014 for more information.

To print a reservation form for mailing purposes, click your mouse arrow on

Print Reservation and then the printer button on your computer.

Thursday, Mar. 11 & Friday Mar. 12 Innovative Leadership in the Face of Crises is a two day Webcast sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Northern California. Topics include: Environment and Climate Change, Global Economy and International Development, Global Security. WACSC members may participate by clicking your mouse arrow on the Logo and Webcast WorldAffairs 2010 at the top of the page.

Thursday, Mar. 25 7:30 p.m., Spring Lake Village. War on Sacred Grounds, Ron E. Hassner, Assistant Professor of Political Science, U.C. Berkeley

Sacred sites offer believers the possibility of communing with the divine and achieving deeper insight into their faith, but create potential for clashes. In his book War on Sacred Grounds, Ron Hassner investigates conflicts over sites that are both venerated and contested and proposes potential means for managing these disputes.

He illustrates with accounts of the Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif clashes of 2000 and the destruction of the mosque at Ayodhya in 1992; describes compromises in Jerusalem in 1967 and Mecca in 1979; and suggests management of the conflicts requires cooperation between political leaders interested in conflict resolution and religious leaders who shape the meaning that sacred places hold for believers.

Drawing on the studies of religion and politics in equal measure, Hassner offers insight into the often-violent dynamics that come into play at places where religion and politics collide.

Professor Hassner is a graduate of Stanford University with degrees in political science and religious studies. His research involves international security with particular attention to religious violence, Middle Eastern politics and territorial disputes. Professor Hassner is co-director of Berkeley's Religion, Politics and Globalization Program.

He is a former fellow of the MacArthur Consortium on Peace and Security and a visiting professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University.

Members & SLV free; Visitors $5

For reservations, make checks payable to WACSC and send to World Affairs Council, PO Box 1433, Santa Rosa, CA 95402.

Reminder!
We have a great corporate sponsor, Spring Lake Village, please support them at every opportunity.