The Middle East, Global Energy and Terrorism - Flynt Leverett
| Date/Time: | Tuesday, 28 Mar 2006 at 7:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall |
| Cost: | Free |
| Contact: | |
| Phone: | 515-294-9934 |
| Channel: | Lecture Series |
| Categories: | Lectures |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
Additional biographical information
For his contributions to the formation of an international coalition to fight terror following the September 11 attacks, (he worked an all-nighter on 9/11 with Colin Powell, developing diplomatic strategies to go after Al Qaida and the Taliban)he was given the State Department's Superior Honor Award.
For eight years before that, he was a senior analyst of Middle East and South Asian affairs at the Central Intelligence Agency.
Dr. Leverett frequently comments on Middle Eastern affairs and other international issues in the national and international media. He has appeared on a wide range of news and public affairs programs, including the BBC's The Doha Debates, CNN's Capitol Gang and Lou Dobbs Tonight, C-Span's Washington Journal, NPR's Fresh Air with Terri Gross, and PBS's The Newshour With Jim Lehrer, as well as The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. He has also published articles and editorials on various Middle Eastern topics in the New York Times, The Financial Times, and The American Prospect.
Dr. Leverett is the author of Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial By Fire, a study of Syrian politics and policymaking under Bashar al Asad that also offers analysis and recommendations regarding U.S. policy toward this critical country. He is the editor of The Road Ahead: Middle East Policy in the Bush Administration's Second Term, just published by the Saban Center, and is currently working on two other books-one on the future of Saudi Arabia, and another on the implications of China's rise as a major player on the Middle Eastern energy scene.
Dr. Leverett has spoken to prestigious groups in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, including the Council on Foreign Relations, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (London) and the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (Paris). He has provided expert testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, advised members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and appeared before distinguished business audiences.
Present position: Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, The Brookings Institution .
Government Service
National Security Council Senior Director for the Middle East Initiative, and previously Acting Senior Director and Director for Middle East Affairs, at the White House. Detailed from CIA at the request of National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice, February 2002-March 2003.
Directly advised and supported the President and the National Security Adviser on Arab-Israeli issues and U.S. relations with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, and Syria; attended NSC, Principals and Deputies Committee meetings on these issues.
Traveled with the Secretary of State and the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs for consultations/negotiations on these issues.
Promoted to the CIA's Senior Intelligence Service, July 2002.
State Department Policy Planning Staff Middle East/Counterterrorism Expert. Detailed from CIA at the request of Ambassador Richard Haass, Director of Policy Planning, March 2002-February 2002.
Provided strategic advice and helped formulate policy for the Secretary of State and Director of Policy Planning on Arab-Israeli issues, U.S. relations with countries of the Levant and Maghreb, and counterterrorism.
Received the Department of State's Superior Honor Award for work on Israeli-Palestinian issues, relations with key Middle Eastern countries (including Egypt and Libya), and contributions to the formation of an international coalition to fight terror after the September 11 attacks.
CIA Senior Analyst, and previously Analyst, in the Directorate of Intelligence, May 1992-March 2001; charter member of the Senior Analytic Service, May 2000. Successive analytic responsibilities for:
India (political economy, Kashmir, foreign policy and nonproliferation),
Syria (peace process, foreign policy, and internal politics),
Arab-Israeli issues, and
Middle Eastern regional strategic, political, and economic developments.
Education and Academic Experience
Georgetown University postgraduate study in Arabic language and literature, 1997.
Intensive Arabic language, CIA Office of Training and Education and Yarmouk University (Jordan), 1994-1995.
Princeton University M.A., Ph.D. in Politics, 1983 and 1992, respectively. While a doctoral candidate:
Assistant Professor of Government and International Studies, University of South Carolina, 1991-93 (1992-93 on leave for government service);
Ford Foundation Fellow and Lecturer in Russian/East European Studies, University of Michigan, July 1988-July 1991;
Lecturer, Fels Center of Government (graduate school of public policy), University of Pennsylvania, September 1985-July 1988.
Postgraduate study in piano, Franz Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest), 1978-79.
Bachelor of Arts in political science and Bachelor of Music in piano performance, cum laude, Texas Christian University, 1978. Elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Books
Inheriting Syria: Bashar's Trial By Fire (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2005).
Editor, The Road Ahead: Middle East Policy in the Bush Administration's Second Term (Washington, DC: The Saban Center for Middle East policy, 2005); contributed "Introduction" and chapters on "Engaging Damascus" and "Reengaging Riyadh."
Monographs and Articles
"The Middle East: Thinking Big", The American Prospect, March 2005.
"The War on Terror," Council on Foreign Relations Transition 2005 web page.
Co-author, Partners in Frustration: Europe, the United States, and the Broader Middle East (Washington, DC: Atlantic Council of the United States, 2004).
U.S.-Iranian Relations: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, The Emirates Lecture Series, (Abu Dhabi: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2003).
Op-Eds
"Don't Rush on the Road to Damascus", The New York Times, March 2, 2005.
"A To-Do List for America's New Spy Chief" (co-authored with Senator Bob Graham), The Financial Times, December 16, 2004.
"Force Spies to Work Together", The New York Times, July 9, 2004.
"Let's Get Serious About Nuclear Proliferation: America Needs to Lead" (co-authored with Samuel Berger), International Herald Tribune, March 3, 2004.
"Why Libya Gave Up on the Bomb", The New York Times, January 23, 2004.
"America Must Do More to Engage With Syria", Financial Times, October 9, 2003.
"Give Iran an Alternative to Nukes", Los Angeles Times, June 15, 2003.
"How to Get Syria Out of the Terrorism Business", The New York Times, May 3, 2003.
Media
Appearances on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, CNN's Capitol Gang, C-Span's Washington Journal, NBC, NPR, PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Al Arabiyya, and Al Jazeera.
Appeared in the February 2005 Doha Debate on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, sponsored by the Qatar Foundation and broadcast internationally by the BBC.
Appeared on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, June 2005.