Daniel Fried
Encyclopedia
Daniel Fried is a senior career diplomat of the United States
who carries the rank of Ambassador. He is presently serving as a Special Envoy to facilitate the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp located in Cuba
. Previously, he was the top U.S. diplomat in Europe, and prior to that he was the U.S. Ambassador to Poland.
Eric Holder
that is reviewing the remaining captives' cases. His particular mandate is to persuade European countries as well as Yemen to accept for resettlement some of the more than 200 detainees. Fried's position is with the U.S. Department of State and has a rank equivalent to that of an ambassador, but it has been dubbed "Guantanamo Bay Czar" and "Guantanamo Closure Czar" by the certain media outlets and by public officials such as Republican House Minority Whip Eric Cantor
of Virginia who oppose the closure of the detention camp.
Fried's job has been described as the most difficult and thankless job in Washington, due in large part to the virtual ban by Congress on resettling the prisoners on U.S. soil. However, in June 2009, Fried expressed confidence that the facility could be closed by January 23, 2009.
However, he conceded in November 2009 that the deadline would be pushed back.
According to Michelle Shephard
, writing in the Toronto Star
, Fried has a staff of just four: Tony Ricci, Mike Williams, Karen Sasahara and Brock Johnson.
Ricci, his deputy, is a retired Colonel; Williams is a lawyer, Sasahara is another diplomat, and Johnson was an Obama campaign worker.
During a trip to Europe in September 2009, Fried described the remaining Guantanamo in this way: "Some qualify as the worst of the worst, and we are going to put those on trial... if there's such a thing as an average Guanatamo detainee, it's someone who was a volunteer, a low-level traineee or a very low-level figher in a very bad cause, but not a hardened terrorist, not an organizer - and it is those people who we are asking Europeans to take a look at." As of September 16, 2009, Hungary, France, Ireland and Portugal, Palau and Bermuda had formally agreed to take former Guantanamo detainees, and according to Fried, France, Spain, Italy and Belgium had detainees under consideration.
From the time of his Senate confirmation
in April 2005 until early 2009, Fried served as the top diplomat in Europe, with the official title Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
. In that post, Fried helped build and maintain essential relationships with European nations and international organizations such as the European Union
and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. From January 2001 to May 2005, Fried served in an advisory capacity to U.S. President George W. Bush
as Special Assistant to President and also held a seat on the National Security Council
. Between May 2000 and January 2001, Fried was Principal Deputy Special Adviser to the Secretary of State
for the New Independent States. He was Ambassador to Poland
from November 1997 until May 2000.
in 1974. After earning a master's degree from the School of International and Public Affairs
at Columbia University
in 1977, Fried entered the Foreign Service
. He was employed in the Economic Bureau of the State Department from 1977 to 1979; at the U.S. Consulate General in then-Leningrad
from 1980 to 1981; as Political Officer
in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade
from 1982 to 1985; and in the Office of Soviet Affairs at the State Department from 1985 to 1987. Ambassador
Fried was Polish Desk Officer at the State Department from 1987 to 1989 as democracy
returned to Poland and Central Europe
. He served as Political Counselor in the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw
from 1990 to 1993. Between 1993 and 1997 he was on the staff of the National Security Council, ultimately serving as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton. While working at the White House, Fried was active in designing U.S. policy on Euro-Atlantic security, including NATO enlargement and the Russia-NATO relationship.
during the U. S. Congressional hearings in March 2007. He stated that the Congressional resolution "would undercut those voices emerging in Turkey who call for a truthful exploration of those events in pursuit of Turkey’s reconciliation with its own past, and with Armenia," and added, "Our fear is that passage of any such resolution would close minds and harden hearts."
In mid-2008, reporter Helene Cooper of The New York Times wrote that an anonymous administration official described Fried as a foreign policy "hawk"
. on the issue of whether the U.S. should give military aid to the nation of Georgia in its territorial dispute with Russia.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
who carries the rank of Ambassador. He is presently serving as a Special Envoy to facilitate the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp located in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Previously, he was the top U.S. diplomat in Europe, and prior to that he was the U.S. Ambassador to Poland.
Current and recent positions
As Special Envoy, Fried sits on an inter-agency committee chaired by Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Eric Holder
Eric Holder
Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
that is reviewing the remaining captives' cases. His particular mandate is to persuade European countries as well as Yemen to accept for resettlement some of the more than 200 detainees. Fried's position is with the U.S. Department of State and has a rank equivalent to that of an ambassador, but it has been dubbed "Guantanamo Bay Czar" and "Guantanamo Closure Czar" by the certain media outlets and by public officials such as Republican House Minority Whip Eric Cantor
Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor is the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district, serving since 2001. A member of the Republican Party, he became House Majority Leader when the 112th Congress convened on January 3, 2011...
of Virginia who oppose the closure of the detention camp.
Fried's job has been described as the most difficult and thankless job in Washington, due in large part to the virtual ban by Congress on resettling the prisoners on U.S. soil. However, in June 2009, Fried expressed confidence that the facility could be closed by January 23, 2009.
However, he conceded in November 2009 that the deadline would be pushed back.
According to Michelle Shephard
Michelle Shephard
Michelle Shephard is an investigative reporter with the Toronto Star newspaper in Canada. She has been awarded the Michener Award for public service journalism and twice won Canada's top newspaper prize, the National Newspaper Award. In 2011, she was an associate producer on an Oscar-nominated...
, writing in the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, Fried has a staff of just four: Tony Ricci, Mike Williams, Karen Sasahara and Brock Johnson.
Ricci, his deputy, is a retired Colonel; Williams is a lawyer, Sasahara is another diplomat, and Johnson was an Obama campaign worker.
During a trip to Europe in September 2009, Fried described the remaining Guantanamo in this way: "Some qualify as the worst of the worst, and we are going to put those on trial... if there's such a thing as an average Guanatamo detainee, it's someone who was a volunteer, a low-level traineee or a very low-level figher in a very bad cause, but not a hardened terrorist, not an organizer - and it is those people who we are asking Europeans to take a look at." As of September 16, 2009, Hungary, France, Ireland and Portugal, Palau and Bermuda had formally agreed to take former Guantanamo detainees, and according to Fried, France, Spain, Italy and Belgium had detainees under consideration.
From the time of his Senate confirmation
Advise and Consent
Advise and Consent is a 1959 political novel by Allen Drury that explores the United States Senate confirmation of controversial Secretary of State nominee Robert Leffingwell who is a former member of the Communist Party...
in April 2005 until early 2009, Fried served as the top diplomat in Europe, with the official title Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs is a position within the American Department of State that leads the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs charged with implementing American foreign policy in Europe and Eurasia, and with advising the Under Secretary for...
. In that post, Fried helped build and maintain essential relationships with European nations and international organizations such as the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. From January 2001 to May 2005, Fried served in an advisory capacity to U.S. President George W. Bush
George 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....
as Special Assistant to President and also held a seat on the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
. Between May 2000 and January 2001, Fried was Principal Deputy Special Adviser to the Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
for the New Independent States. He was Ambassador to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
from November 1997 until May 2000.
Education and early career
Fried received a B.A., "magna cum laude" from Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1974. After earning a master's degree from the School of International and Public Affairs
School of International and Public Affairs
The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University is one of the most prestigious graduate schools of public policy in the world. Located on Columbia's Morningside Heights campus in the Borough of Manhattan, in New York City, the School has 15,000 graduates in more than 150...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1977, Fried entered the Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
. He was employed in the Economic Bureau of the State Department from 1977 to 1979; at the U.S. Consulate General in then-Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
from 1980 to 1981; as Political Officer
Political officer
Political officer may refer to:*Political officer , Occasionally, a synonym for political commissar*Political officer , in the context of the British Empire, for a pseudo-ambassadorial role in areas bordering imperial territories...
in the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
from 1982 to 1985; and in the Office of Soviet Affairs at the State Department from 1985 to 1987. Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
Fried was Polish Desk Officer at the State Department from 1987 to 1989 as democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
returned to Poland and Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. He served as Political Counselor in the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
from 1990 to 1993. Between 1993 and 1997 he was on the staff of the National Security Council, ultimately serving as Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton. While working at the White House, Fried was active in designing U.S. policy on Euro-Atlantic security, including NATO enlargement and the Russia-NATO relationship.
Select views
Fried opposed the recognition of the Armenian GenocideArmenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
during the U. S. Congressional hearings in March 2007. He stated that the Congressional resolution "would undercut those voices emerging in Turkey who call for a truthful exploration of those events in pursuit of Turkey’s reconciliation with its own past, and with Armenia," and added, "Our fear is that passage of any such resolution would close minds and harden hearts."
In mid-2008, reporter Helene Cooper of The New York Times wrote that an anonymous administration official described Fried as a foreign policy "hawk"
War Hawk
War Hawk is a term originally used to describe members of the Twelfth Congress of the United States who advocated waging war against the British in the War of 1812...
. on the issue of whether the U.S. should give military aid to the nation of Georgia in its territorial dispute with Russia.
See also
- Prunes on Line A Guide To Presidential Appointments
- List of czars of the Obama administration
External links
- Crowley, Michael Prisoner's Dilemma, The New Republic, 2009-06-17.
- Al Kamen."No Solidarity for Envoys to Poland", WashingtonPost.com, 2008-03-28.(on the rivalry with Christopher Hill)
- Brose, Christian. Dan Fried, real American hero, ForeignPolicy.com, 2009-06-01 (on the difficulty of relocating the prisoners)