Philip J. Crowley
Encyclopedia
Philip J. “P.J.” Crowley (born July 28, 1951) is the former United States
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
, having been sworn into office on May 26, 2009. He resigned on March 13, 2011, following comments he made about the treatment of Bradley Manning. Crowley was named the 2011-2012 recipient of the General Omar N. Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership, a joint initiative among the United States Army War College, Dickinson College
and the The Pennsylvania State University — Dickinson School of Law. While in residence, Crowley will conduct classes at the three institutions.
. His mother, Mary Crowley, was a homemaker. His father, William C. Crowley, was a vice president for public relations with the Boston Red Sox
, and a B-17 pilot, who spent two years as a POW
in an East German prison camp.
Crowley was educated at the College of the Holy Cross
, graduating with a B.A.
in English
in 1973. He joined the United States Air Force
in June 1973. He spent 26 years in the Air Force, and was stationed in New Hampshire
, New York
, Massachusetts
, Colorado
, Washington State, Turkey
, and Germany
. During the Gulf War
, he was stationed at Incirlik Air Base
for four months. In 1997, he was named senior director of public affairs for the United States National Security Council
and Special Assistant to the President for national security affairs. During the Kosovo War
, he worked with Javier Solana
, Secretary General of NATO
from April to June 1999. He retired from the Air Force in September 1999 at the rank of Colonel
.
In 2001, Crowley became a vice president of the Insurance Information Institute
, specializing in the impact of terrorism on insurance in the wake of the September 11 attacks. He then joined the Center for American Progress
as a senior fellow in 2003, later becoming the Center's director of national defense and homeland security.
nominated Crowley to be Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
. Crowley was sworn into office on May 26, 2009.
He was noted for his dry wit: when reminding Americans on the ban on visiting North Korea
, he pointed out on Twitter
that "we only have a handful of former presidents" to visit North Korea and retrieve captured Americans. He was forced to apologize to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi
after telling an interviewer that Gaddafi's speech to the United Nations did not make "a lot of sense".
for the alleged mistreatment of military prisoner Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier suspected of providing whistle-blower website WikiLeaks
with classified diplomatic cables
.
Crowley told an audience of about twenty people at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
's Center for Future Civic Media that while Manning was "in the right place," he was being "mistreated" by the United States Department of Defense
. Crowley called the Defense Department's treatment of Manning "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid." When asked "Are you on the record?" by British journalist Philippa Thomas
, Crowley replied "Sure."
On March 13, 2011, Crowley resigned from office. In his resignation letter, Crowley wrote that while the "unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law," the "exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Public Affairs within the United States Department of State. Typically, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is also the official spokesperson of the State Department...
, having been sworn into office on May 26, 2009. He resigned on March 13, 2011, following comments he made about the treatment of Bradley Manning. Crowley was named the 2011-2012 recipient of the General Omar N. Bradley Chair in Strategic Leadership, a joint initiative among the United States Army War College, Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
and the The Pennsylvania State University — Dickinson School of Law. While in residence, Crowley will conduct classes at the three institutions.
Biography
Crowley was born in Brockton, MassachusettsBrockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...
. His mother, Mary Crowley, was a homemaker. His father, William C. Crowley, was a vice president for public relations with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, and a B-17 pilot, who spent two years as a POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in an East German prison camp.
Crowley was educated at the College of the Holy Cross
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
, graduating with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English
English major
The English Major is a term in the United States and a few other countries for an undergraduate university degree focused around the consumption, analysis, and production of texts in the English language...
in 1973. He joined the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in June 1973. He spent 26 years in the Air Force, and was stationed in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Washington State, 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...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. During the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, he was stationed at Incirlik Air Base
Incirlik Air Base
The Incirlik Air Base is located in İncirlik, five miles east of Adana, Turkey's fifth largest city, and from the Mediterranean Sea.The U.S...
for four months. In 1997, he was named senior director of public affairs for the United States 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...
and Special Assistant to the President for national security affairs. During the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, he worked with Javier Solana
Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...
, Secretary General of NATO
Secretary General of NATO
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the chairman of the North Atlantic Council, the supreme decision-making organisation of the defence alliance. The Secretary-General also serves as the leader of the organisation's staff and as its chief spokesman...
from April to June 1999. He retired from the Air Force in September 1999 at the rank of Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
.
In 2001, Crowley became a vice president of the Insurance Information Institute
Insurance Information Institute
The Insurance Information Institute is a U.S. industry organization which exists "to improve public understanding of insurance -- what it does and how it works."The I.I.I...
, specializing in the impact of terrorism on insurance in the wake of the September 11 attacks. He then joined the Center for American Progress
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...
as a senior fellow in 2003, later becoming the Center's director of national defense and homeland security.
Public service career
In 2009, President Barack ObamaBarack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
nominated Crowley to be Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Public Affairs within the United States Department of State. Typically, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs is also the official spokesperson of the State Department...
. Crowley was sworn into office on May 26, 2009.
He was noted for his dry wit: when reminding Americans on the ban on visiting North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, he pointed out on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that "we only have a handful of former presidents" to visit North Korea and retrieve captured Americans. He was forced to apologize to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
after telling an interviewer that Gaddafi's speech to the United Nations did not make "a lot of sense".
Bradley Manning controversy
On March 10, 2011, Crowley publicly criticized the PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
for the alleged mistreatment of military prisoner Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier suspected of providing whistle-blower website WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
with classified diplomatic cables
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
.
Crowley told an audience of about twenty people at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
's Center for Future Civic Media that while Manning was "in the right place," he was being "mistreated" by the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
. Crowley called the Defense Department's treatment of Manning "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid." When asked "Are you on the record?" by British journalist Philippa Thomas
Philippa Thomas
Philippa Thomas is a British television journalist, known for her reporting roles, both domestic and foreign, at the BBC. She grew up in Wakefield, West Yorkshire....
, Crowley replied "Sure."
On March 13, 2011, Crowley resigned from office. In his resignation letter, Crowley wrote that while the "unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law," the "exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values."