Friday February 3, 2012

Welcome   |   Register   |   Log in

Senior Fellow

Bruce Riedel

Bruce Riedel

Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy

Bruce Riedel joined Brookings in 2006 after 30 years service at the Central Intelligence Agency including postings overseas in the Middle East and Europe. Riedel was a senior advisor on South Asia and the Middle East to the last four presidents of the United States in the staff of the National Security Council at the White House. He was a negotiator at the Camp David, Shepherdstown and Wye River Israeli-Arab summits and organized President Clinton’s trip to India in 2000. In January 2009, President Barack Obama asked him to chair a review of American policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, the results of which the president announced in a speech on March 27, 2009. In December 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron asked him to advise the United Kingdom’s National Security Council on Pakistan. Riedel is the author of The Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of the global Jihad (2011 hardcover and 2012 paperback) and The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology and Future (2008 hardcover and 2010 paperback). He is a contributor to Which Path to Persia: Options for a New American Strategy Toward Iran (2009) and The Arab Awakening: America and the Transformation of the Middle East (2011). Read Full Bio



Expertise

Counterterrorism; Arab-Israeli issues; Persian Gulf security; India and Pakistan

Background

Past Positions
Special Advisor, NATO, Brussels, Belgium (2003-2006); Member, Royal College of Defense Studies, London, UK (2002-2003); Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs, National Security Council (2001-2002); Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs, National Security Council (1997-2001); Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asian Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense (1995-1997); National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asian Affairs, National Intelligence Council (1993-1995); Director for Gulf and South Asia Affairs, National Security Council (1991-1993); Deputy Chief Persian Gulf Task Force, Central Intelligence Agency (1990-1991); Various assignments, Central Intelligence Agency (1977-1990)

Awards
Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, 2006; Distinguished Intelligence Medal, 2001; Secretary of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, 1997; Intelligence Medal of Merit, 1991

Education

M.A., Harvard University, 1977; B.A., Brown University, 1975

"The world cannot afford Yemen becoming a failed state a la Somalia. ... One failed state in the Gulf of Aden is bad enough. Two failed states ... with al-Qaida operating in both of them would be a very dangerous situation since the Gulf of Aden's where the world's energy resources sail through every day."


Participating in These Upcoming Events

Save to My PortfolioCampaign 2012: Afghanistan and Pakistan PolicyFebruary 15, 2012The Brookings Institution

Research and Commentary


Save to My PortfolioWill Israel Really Strike Iran?November 02, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioWhat to Expect from the New Saudi Crown PrinceNovember 01, 2011The National Interest
Save to My PortfolioWho's the Next Saudi King?October 22, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioA New Pakistan Policy: ContainmentOctober 14, 2011The New York Times
Save to My PortfolioU.S.-Iran Relations After the Iranian BombSeptember 30, 2011Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University
Save to My PortfolioIran Blusters but Israel Has the EdgeSeptember 28, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioYemen on the Brink of Civil WarSeptember 24, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioIs al Qaeda Really on the Ropes?September 16, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioThe 9/11 Attacks’ Spiritual FatherSeptember 11, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioHow the United States Enabled Al QaedaSeptember 05, 2011The Daily Beast
Save to My PortfolioAfter Libya, Algeria May Be Next to FallAugust 18, 2011The National Interest

More Research and Commentary »

My Portfolio

My New Content

View suggested content based on items you have saved to your Portfolio.
Log in or register now

FEATURED RSS FEED

Subscribe to Campaign 2012 Campaign 2012

Get immediate updates on the presidential campaign and the big issues facing the next president from Campaign 2012 at Brookings.

Subscribe