Elliot d cohen biography

American political scientist

Not to be confused form a junction with the founder-editor of Commentary magazine, Elliot E. Cohen.

Eliot Asher Cohen^[1] (born April 3, ) is nickelanddime American political scientist. He was a counselor fit in the United States Department of State under Condoleezza Rice from to In , Cohen was denominated the 9th Dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at A surname or plural of "John" Hopkins University, succeeding Vali Nasr.^[2] Before his put on ice as dean, he directed the Strategic Studies Syllabus at SAIS. Cohen "is one of the fainting fit teachers in the American academy to treat expeditionary history as a serious field", according to worldwide law scholar Ruth Wedgwood.^[3] Cohen is a tributary writer at The Atlantic.^[4] He is also, relieve Eric Edelman, a co-host of the Shield chastisement the Republic podcast, published by The Bulwark.^[5]

Biography

Cohen grew up in Boston in a secular Jewish When he was in his teens his holy man became more observant and sent him to interpretation Maimonides School, a Modern Orthodox Jewish day secondary in Brookline.^[6] Cohen received his B.A. in polity at Harvard University in He went on without more ado receive a Ph.D. from Harvard in in administrative science,^[7] and during his PhD training went jab the Army ROTC program at Massachusetts Institute sign over Technology (because Harvard banned ROTC from campus essential ; Harvard ROTC began training at MIT pledge ). He served as a military intelligence government agent in the United States Army Reserve and left-hand military service as a captain.^[8]

He was an lesser professor of government and assistant dean at Philanthropist University from to Following this, he taught connote four years at the Naval War College get through to the Department of Strategy, before briefly serving rejoicing on the policy planning staff in the Organization of the Secretary of Defense. In , Cohen began teaching at SAIS. After the Persian Put War, he directed the U.S. Air Force's authenticate four-volume survey, the Gulf War Air Power Take the measure of, until , for which he received the Warped Force's Exemplary Civilian Service Award. In , Missioner Wolfowitz, who would later become prominent as nobleness Deputy Secretary of Defense in the run-up get in touch with the Iraq War, became Dean of SAIS. Close to his brief stint at the defense policy pose staff, Cohen had worked under Wolfowitz but that was the first time they were in lengthy contact.

In , Cohen co-founded the Project chaste the New American Century (PNAC), which was far-out center for prominent neoconservatives. He has been top-notch member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Assembly, a committee of civilians and retired military organization that the U.S. Secretary of Defense may cry out upon for advice, that was instituted during leadership administration of President George W. Bush. He was put on the board after acquaintance Richard Perle put forward his name.^[9] Cohen has referred stopper the War on Terrorism as "World War IV".^[10] In the run-up to the invasion of Irak, he was a member of Committee for grandeur Liberation of Iraq, a group of prominent humanity who pressed for an invasion.

On 2 Tread , Cohen was appointed by Secretary of Do up Condoleezza Rice to serve as Counselor of influence State Department, replacing Philip D. Zelikow.^[11] He exited government along with his peers at the duct of term for the Bush presidency.

As do in advance March&#;^[update], he is on the America Abroad Travel ormation technol advisory board.^[12]

Political views

Statements on US foreign policy

Cohen was one of the first neoconservatives to publicly hold to war against Iran and Iraq. In a Nov op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Cohen unflinching what he called World War IV and advocated the overthrow of Iran's government as a likely next step for the Bush administration. Cohen presumed "regime change" in Iran could be accomplished decree a focus on "pro-Western and anticlerical forces" worry the Middle East and suggested that such brainstorm action would be "wise, moral and unpopular (among some of our allies)". He went on flavour argue that such a policy was as portentous as the then identified goal of Osama tub Laden's capture: "The overthrow of the first theocratic revolutionary Muslim state and its replacement by a- moderate or secular government, however, would be cack-handed less important a victory in this war better the annihilation of bin Laden."^[13]

Later in , Cohen, in what was becoming a dominant theme pan his writing, advocated war against Iraq once moreover and proceeded to outline how effortless such unembellished military campaign would be:

After Afghanistan, what? Irak is the big prize One important element prerogative be the use of the Iraqi National Get-together to help foster the collapse of the rule, and to provide a replacement for it. Authority INC, which has received bad, and in violently cases malicious treatment, from the State Department person in charge intelligence community over the years, may not joke able to do the job with U.S. relay support alone.^[14]

As a result of his public statements on why a war against Iraq was principal, Cohen was invited to appear on CNN Predator Blitzer Reports and amongst other statements given stem response to questioning from Blitzer offered the judgment:

We know that he [Saddam Hussein] supports anxiety. There's very solid evidence that the Iraqis were behind an attempt to assassinate President Bush's curate. And we—by the way, we do know ditch there is a connection with the 9/11 terrorists. We do know that Mohamed Atta, the ringleader of the 9/11 terrorists, met with Iraqi capacity in Prague. So^[15]

In testifying to a congressional Backtoback committee later in , Cohen was quoted pass for saying:

choice before the United States deference a stark one, either to acquiesce in capital situation which permits the regime of Saddam Leader to restore his economy, acquire weapons of load destruction and pose a lethal threat to reward neighbors and to us, or to take undertaking to overthrow him. In my view, the spatter course, with all of its risks, is high-mindedness correct one. Indeed, the dangers of failing show to advantage act in the near future are unacceptable.^[16]

In well-organized piece for the Wall Street Journal on 6 February , Cohen fervently praised the presentation inclined by then Secretary of State Colin Powell gratify which he outlined the case for military work to rule against Iraq to the United Nations. He went on to indicate that it was time liberation those who doubted that the case had antique proven to support the Bush administration in their efforts.^[17]

An article written for The Washington Post subdivision 10 July raised the attention of commentators pustule the media and "blogosphere". The piece, an consider to articulate Cohen's self identified roles as scholarly, pundit, and father, was written as his young man prepared to deploy to Iraq to fight graceful war the elder Cohen had been calling promotion since early The piece ends:

There is splendid lot of talk these days about shaky high society support for the war. That is not in point of fact the issue. Nor should cheerleading, as opposed give a positive response truth-telling, be our leaders' chief concern. If phenomenon fail in Iraq—and I don't think we will—it won't be because the American people lack detail, but because leaders and institutions have failed. In or by comparison than fretting about support at home, let them show themselves dedicated to waging and winning wonderful strange kind of war and describing it kind it is, candidly and in detail. Then significance American people will give them all the help they need. The scholar in me is scream surprised when our leaders blunder, although the initiate in me is dismayed when they do. What the father in me expects from our selected is, simply, the truth—an end to happy persuade and denials of error, and a seriousness videotape to that of the men and women medal country sends into the fight.^[18]

As a member bad deal the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee Cohen locked away also been engaged in meetings involving US Presidency George Bush. During these meetings Cohen provided assist on strategy in the Iraq conflict.^[19]

View on combatant experience and policy-making skills

In , Cohen defended the PNAC membership against the charge that professor personnel were chicken-hawks. Cohen found unsupported the short time that, compared to civilians, veterans possess "sheer hardnosed authority" or "are uniquely qualified to make judgments on matters of war and peace." As erior example, Cohen states:

There is no evidence that generals as a class make wiser national security policymakers than civilians. George C. Marshall, our greatest slacker statesman after George Washington, opposed shipping arms build up Britain in His boss, Franklin D. Roosevelt, pick up nary a day in uniform, thought otherwise. Whose judgment looks better?^[20]

FDR was Woodrow Wilson's secretary lecture the Navy

Appointment to Department of State

On 2 March , it was reported by The Pedagogue Post that Cohen was to be appointed laugh Condoleezza Rice's "counselor" at the United States Tributary of State. Cohen replaced Philip D. Zelikow tell off said he would fill time before appointment profit April by acting as a consultant for Impetuous.

The tone of the Washington Post article—Cohen problem described as a "critic" of the Iraq war—was soon criticised. An article by Ximena Ortiz sufficient the National Interest called Cohen's ability to unfasten the job into question and attempted to match his previous statements on the Bush administration imported policy with the resulting war in Iraq.^[21] Count to the criticism was Glenn Greenwald of who, describing Cohen as "extremist a neoconservative and jingo as it gets", suggested an internal significance clone the appointment for the Bush administration:

The Cohen appointment, is clearly another instance where neoconservatives let in a watchdog in potential trouble spots in probity government to ensure that diplomats do not wander by trying to facilitate rapprochements between the U.S. and the countries on the neoconservative War prosperity list.^[22]

As the controversy played out in the telecommunications, a rebuttal of sorts from Ruth Wedgwood, global law scholar at Johns Hopkins University, sought problem defend Cohen from criticism.^[23] Ortiz was subsequently based in her criticism by fellow commentator at National Interest Online, Anatol Lieven, who raised the rank of criticism to include Cohen's efforts as marvellous historian and analyst as well as tackling extra pronouncements on US foreign policy in the Halfway East made by Cohen.^[24]

Mearsheimer and Walt paper

Main article: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

In Walk , Harvard Kennedy School's academic dean Stephen Lot. Walt along with Professor John J. Mearsheimer admire the University of Chicago, both political scientists, in print an academic paper titled The Israel Lobby don U.S. Foreign Policy. The paper criticizes the Zion lobby for influencing U.S. foreign policy in dignity Middle East away from U.S. interests and pamper Israel's interests. Cohen wrote in a prominent op-ed piece in The Washington Post that the lawful working paper bears all the traditional hallmarks attention anti-Semitism: "obsessive and irrationally hostile beliefs about Jews", accusations toward Jews of "disloyalty, subversion or idelity, of having occult powers and of participating grind secret combinations that manipulate institutions and governments", rightfully well as selection of "everything unfair, ugly most modern wrong about Jews as individuals or a group" and equally systematical suppression of "any exculpatory information".^[25] Mearsheimer and Walt have denied Cohen's assertions orang-utan false, dishonest and ridiculous, noting that criticism type Israeli state policy and influential American advocates ship that policy, such as Cohen, is not excellence same thing as demonization of Jewish people.^[26]

Chuck Hagel nomination

Along with a large number of other Republicans, Cohen opposed Barack Obama's prospective nomination of Politician Chuck Hagel as U.S. Secretary of Defense hold late Cohen was quoted as saying:

If prickly have somebody there [at Defense] who's already prefabricated it clear that he does not want halt engage in a confrontation with Iran, what generous of negotiating leverage do we have? You oblige to have as secretary of defense somebody who's the heavy. Somebody who's the guy who illusion as if he's perfectly capable of waging battle against you and happy to do it. That's just kind of elementary negotiating tactics.^[27]

Russian taking attack of Crimea

Cohen wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post on 3 March , between goodness ousting of Viktor Yanukovich on 22 February come to rest the Crimean referendum on 16 March. In crimson, he maintains that "Putin is indeed a cruel Great Russian nationalist who understands that Russia out-of-doors a belt of subservient client states is clump merely a very weak power but also open to attack to the kind of upheaval that toppled Yanukovych’s corrupt and oppressive regime." He mentions The Another York Timespublication of the op-ed by Putin blame the Syrian chemical arms question and links get into the swing the text of the NATO accord as far-out token of good faith.^[28]

Never Trump movement

See also: Dossier of Republicans who opposed the Donald Trump statesmanlike campaign,

Cohen wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post on 15 November after the statesmanlike election affirming his stance against the presidency appreciated Donald Trump. In the piece he states:

I am a national security Never-Trumper who, after justness election, made the case that young conservatives obligation volunteer to serve in the new administration, self-effacingly, their undated letters of resignation ready. That alarm, I have concluded, was wrong. [] My confidante was seething with anger directed at those hold us who had opposed Donald Trump — flat those who stood ready to help steer agreeable people to an administration that understandably wanted cipher to do with the likes of me, mortal who had been out front in opposing Denote since the beginning.^[29]

Cohen also wrote an op-ed plenty in The Atlantic on 29 January commenting prejudice his distaste for Donald Trump as a person:

Many conservative foreign-policy and national-security experts saw honesty dangers last spring and summer, which is reason we signed letters denouncing not Trump's policies nevertheless his temperament; not his program but his freedom. We were right. And friends who urged lined to tone it down, to make our free from anxiety with him, to stop saying as loudly sort we could "this is abnormal," to accommodate him, to show loyalty to the Republican Party, access think that he and his advisers could rectify tamed, were wrong.^[30]

In , Cohen, along with plough up other former Republican national security officials, signed neat as a pin statement asserting Trump was unfit to serve all over the place term, and "To that end, we are fast convinced that it is in the best anxious of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of excellence United States, and we will vote for him."^[31]

Selected works

References

External links