Anthony Cordesman
Encyclopedia
Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
and is a national security analyst for ABC News
on a number of global conflicts. He is a former Professor of National Security
Studies at Georgetown University
and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution
.
Cordesman has served as national security assistant to Senator John McCain
of the Senate Armed Services Committee and civilian assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was also the former director of intelligence assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense
,
Cordesman also served in other government positions, including at the United States Department of State
, Department of Energy
, and director of International Staff at NATO. He has carried assignments posts in Lebanon
, Egypt
, Iran
, Turkey
, the United Kingdom
, West Germany
and has worked "extensively" in Saudi Arabia
.
Cordesman has authored over 50 books on U.S. security policy, energy policy, and the Middle East
, and continues to provide commentary and analysis on a blog.
. The report relied on Israeli briefings before and after the conflict, including visits to the Israeli Defense Spokesman, interviews with Arab officials, and experts. The report analyzes the views and reactions of Arabs, but emphasized that Hamas
has not provided more than "minimal details on the fighting, other than ideological and propaganda statements."
Cordesman points out improvements in the capability of the Israeli Defense Forces since the fighting against Hezbollah in 2006. He believes the military used "decisive force" against legitimate military objectives, in spite of their very real humanitarian cost.
Cordesman's analysis also claimed that Israel did not violate the laws of war. In an article in CounterPunch
, Norman Finkelstein
said that this assumption lacked credibility because it relied solely on information from Israeli Ministry of Defense press releases whilst ignoring information that was readily available from the United Nations
, NGOs and News reports.
Administration's efforts in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
. According to an article in National Business Review
, Cordesman was said to have been only "48 per cent” convinced on the need to invade Iraq in 2003, but contends that "concerns over Saddam’s
weapons of mass destruction
were valid." He considers the current "chaos" in Iraq as the result of "pre-existing fractures in the country’s social makeup", and a "tribal, clan-based society."
.". Michael Rubin of the Middle East Quarterly
has accused the book of being a "typical work for [Cordesman] with much information but little analysis"
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
and is a national security analyst for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
on a number of global conflicts. He is a former Professor of National Security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
Studies at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
and fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Institution
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
.
Cordesman has served as national security assistant to Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
of the Senate Armed Services Committee and civilian assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He was also the former director of intelligence assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...
,
Cordesman also served in other government positions, including at the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, and director of International Staff at NATO. He has carried assignments posts in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and has worked "extensively" in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
.
Cordesman has authored over 50 books on U.S. security policy, energy policy, and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and continues to provide commentary and analysis on a blog.
Gaza War analysis
On February 2, 2009 Cordesman published an analysis of the war in Gaza2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict
The Gaza War, known as Operation Cast Lead in Israel and as the Gaza Massacre in the Arab world, was a three-week bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israel, and hundreds of rocket attacks on south of Israel which...
. The report relied on Israeli briefings before and after the conflict, including visits to the Israeli Defense Spokesman, interviews with Arab officials, and experts. The report analyzes the views and reactions of Arabs, but emphasized that Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
has not provided more than "minimal details on the fighting, other than ideological and propaganda statements."
Cordesman points out improvements in the capability of the Israeli Defense Forces since the fighting against Hezbollah in 2006. He believes the military used "decisive force" against legitimate military objectives, in spite of their very real humanitarian cost.
Cordesman's analysis also claimed that Israel did not violate the laws of war. In an article in CounterPunch
Counterpunch
Counterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
, Norman Finkelstein
Norman Finkelstein
Norman Gary Finkelstein is an American political scientist, activist and author. His primary fields of research are the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the politics of the Holocaust. He is a graduate of Binghamton University and received his Ph.D in Political Science from Princeton University...
said that this assumption lacked credibility because it relied solely on information from Israeli Ministry of Defense press releases whilst ignoring information that was readily available from the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, NGOs and News reports.
War in Iraq and Afghanistan
He has criticized the BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Administration's efforts in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. According to an article in National Business Review
National Business Review
The National Business Review is a weekly New Zealand newspaper aimed at the business sector. The paper is owned by Barry Colman who also publishes the Grocers Review and several other small trade publications....
, Cordesman was said to have been only "48 per cent” convinced on the need to invade Iraq in 2003, but contends that "concerns over Saddam’s
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
weapons of mass destruction
Iraq and weapons of mass destruction
During the regime of Saddam Hussein, the nation of Iraq used, possessed, and made efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction . Hussein was internationally known for his use of chemical weapons in the 1980s against Iranian and Kurdish civilians during and after the Iran–Iraq War...
were valid." He considers the current "chaos" in Iraq as the result of "pre-existing fractures in the country’s social makeup", and a "tribal, clan-based society."
Iraqi Security Forces: A Strategy for Success
In 2006, Cordesman published Iraqi Security Forces: A Strategy for Success, documenting "both the initial mistakes and the recent changes in U.S. policy that now offer real hope of success in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.". Michael Rubin of the Middle East Quarterly
Middle East Quarterly
Middle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
has accused the book of being a "typical work for [Cordesman] with much information but little analysis"
Israel Attack on Iran's Nuclear Program
In March 2009, Cordesman issued a detailed assessment entitled “Study on a Possible Israeli Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Development Facilities." He concludes with the opinion that "Any realistic resolution to the Iranian nuclear program will require an approach that encompasses Military, Economic, Political interests and differences of the West vs Iran. There will be no lasting resolution to the Iranian nuclear program until the broader interests of Iran, the US, the region and the world are addressed. Iran should be engaged directly by the U.S. with an agenda open to all areas of military and non-military issues that both are in agreement or disagreement."External links
- Cordesman's biography at the CSIS web site
- Cordesman answers readers' questions regarding the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
- http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Anthony_H._Cordesman