The University of Chicago Political Union will host a lecture on U.S. and European relations, focusing on the impact the war in Iraq has had on relations between Germany and the U.S.

The speaker for the evening will be Dr. Hans Arnold, who has served as Germany’s Ambassador to the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Nations. Dr. Arnold is currently a professor at the Academy for Political Science in Munich, Germany, and has been on tour in the United States to discuss his most recent book, How Much Unity Does Europe Need?

“As a former ambassador who served during the Cold War, and as a college professor, he has tremendous perspective on how the U.S.-European relations have changed in the past few years,” the Chairman of the University of Chicago Political Union Greg Pesce said.

Although the lecture will discuss U.S. relations with several European countries, the primary focus of the evening is to reveal two different international perspectives on the War on Terror, and the War in Iraq. “The fact that the German government viewed the threat of Hussein and his ties to terrorists so differently than the American government vividly shows how these two countries view the War on Terror,” Pesce said.

Dr. Hans Arnold will give a lecture, followed by a question and answer session.

The event is also sponsored in part by the Student Government Finance Committee as well as the German Information Center in Washington, D.C. It will be held October 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Social Sciences 122.