Anthony Cordesman

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Professor Anthony H. Cordesman is the holder of the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is currently a National Security Analyst for ABC News. His analysis has been featured prominently during the Gulf War, Desert Fox, the conflict in Kosovo, the fighting in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. While he is widely seen providing a no-nonsense and nonpartisan perspective on international security and US defense issues, he has been a harsh critic of the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During his time at the CSIS, Professor Cordesman has been the director of the Gulf Net Assessment Project, the Gulf in Transition study, and Principle Investigator of the CSIS Homeland Defense Project. He has led studies on the Iraq War, Afghan conflict, armed nation building and counter-insurgency, national missile defense, asymmetric warfare and weapons of mass destruction], global energy supply and strategic issues, and critical infrastructure protection. He has also written studies on US defense programs and force transformation, the Western military balance, the nuclear balance and arms control the Arab-Israeli military balance, the economic stability of North Africa, the Asian military balance, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He directed the Middle East Net Assessment Program, and acted as Co-Director of the Strategic Energy Initiative. He is the author of a wide range of studies of US security policy, energy policy, and Middle East policy.

Professor Cordesman formerly served as National Security Assistant to Senator John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He also served as Director of Intelligence Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and Civilian Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He directed the analysis of the lessons of the October War for the Secretary of Defense in 1974, coordinating the US military, intelligence, and civilian analysis of the conflict. He has also served in numerous other government positions, including ones in the State Department and NATO International Staff. He served as the Director of Policy and Planning for resource applications in the Department of Energy. He has had numerous foreign assignments, including posts in Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran, and worked extensively in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Professor Cordesman is the author of more than 50 books, including a four volume series on the lessons of modern war. Most of his books are available for purchase through the Greenwood Publishing Group or the CSIS book store. [1] His recent books include Lessons of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War; Iran’s Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities; Iraqi Force Development: Conditions for Success, Consequences of Failure; Salvaging American Defense (with the assistance of Paul Fredriksen and William Sullivan); Chinese Military Modernization: Force Development and Strategic Capabilities (with Martin Kleiber); Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Warfare (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan); The Changing Dynamics of Energy in the Middle East (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan); Arab-Israeli Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars; Terrorism, Asymmetric Warfare, and Weapons of Mass Destruction; Cyberthreats, Information Warfare, and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Defending the US Homeland; Strategic Threats and National Missile Defenses; The Lessons and Non-Lessons of the Air and Missile Campaign in Kosovo; Peace and War: The Arab-Israeli Military Balance enters the 21st Century; A Tragedy of Arms: Military and Security Developments in the Maghreb; Transnational Threats from the Middle East; Saudi Arabia: Guarding the Desert Kingdom; and US Forces in the Middle East: Resources and Capabilities.

He has been awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal. He is a former Adjunct Professor of National Security Studies at Georgetown University and has twice been a Wilson Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian.

[edit] Criticism of Recent Publications

Cordesman's work has been called "prolific," but "imprecise," and he has been accused of presenting "opinions... as fact, " of "sloppiness with sources and citations," and of producing books that read "like a notebook with facts and figures cut-and-pasted, then poorly integrated into the narrative." [2]. In his book "Iraqi Security Forces: A Strategy for Success," Cordesman "reproduces practically verbatim and without citation several paragraphs of an article"[3] published by Michael Rubin in 2005, though Rubin notes in his review that Cordesman is aware of the error in the citation and correcting the electronic version and any new edition. Rubin also criticized the book as presenting "no earth shattering solutions."

[edit] Books and monographs

  1. Chinese Military Modernization: Force Development and Strategic Capabilities, (with Martin Kleiber), CSIS, Washington, 2007
  2. Iraqi Force Development: Conditions for Success, Consequences of Failure, CSIS, Washington, 2007
  3. Lessons of the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah War, (with George Sullivan and William Sullivan) CSIS, Washington, 2007
  4. Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Warfare, Volume I: Overview and Northern Gulf, (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan) Praeger, Westport, 2007
  5. Gulf Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Warfare, Volume II: GCC & Southern Gulf, (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan)Praeger, Westport, 2007
  6. The Changing Dynamics of Energy in the Middle East, Volume I: Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of Middle East Energy, (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan), Westport, 2006.
  7. The Changing Dynamics of Energy in the Middle East, Volume II: Developments by Subregion and Country, (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan), Westport, 2006
  8. Arab-Israeli Military Forces in an Era of Asymmetric Wars, Praeger, Westport, 2006.
  9. Iran’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan), Washington, CSIS, 2006.
  10. The Global Oil Market: Risks and Uncertainties, (with Khalid R. Al-Rodhan), Washington, CSIS, 2005
  11. The Challenge of Biological Terrorism, Washington, CSIS, 2005
  12. The Israeli-Palestinian War; Escalating to Nowhere:, Washington, CSIS/Praeger, 2005
  13. National Security in Saudi Arabia, with Nawaf Obaid, Washington, CSIS/Praeger, 2005
  14. Iraqi Security Forces; A Strategy for Success, Washington, CSIS/Praeger, 2005
  15. Iran’s Developing Military Capabilities, Washington, CSIS, 2005
  16. The Military Balance in the Middle East, Washington, CSIS/Praeger, 2004
  17. Energy DevelopmentsIraqi Security Forces: A Strategy for Success in the Middle East, Washington, CSIS/Praeger, 2004
  18. The War After the War: Strategic Lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, CSIS, Washington, June 2004.
  19. The Iraq War: Strategy, Tactics, and Military Lessons, Praeger/CSIS, Westport/Washington, October 2003.
  20. Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century: The Military Dimension, Praeger/Greenwood, Westport, June 2003
  21. Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century: Energy Politics, Economics, and Security in the Middle East, Praeger/Greenwood, Westport, June 2003
  22. The Lessons of Afghanistan, CSIS, Washington 2002
  23. Iraq’s Military Capabilities in 2002: A Dynamic Net Assessment, Washington, CSIS, September 2002.
  24. Strategic Threats and National Missile Defenses: Defending the US Homeland, Westport, Praeger, 2002
  25. A Tragedy of Arms: Military and Security Developments in the Maghreb, Westport, Praeger, 2001
  26. Peace and War: The Arab-Israeli Military Balance Enters the 21st Century, Westport, Praeger, 2001
  27. Terrorism, Asymmetric Warfare, and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Defending the US Homeland, Westport, Praeger, 2001
  28. Cyberthreats, Information Warfare, and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Defending the US Homeland, with Justin Cordesman, Westport, Praeger, 2001
  29. The Lessons and Non-Lessons of the Air and Missile Campaign in Kosovo, Westport, Praeger/Greenwood, 2000.
  30. Transnational Threats from the Middle East, US Army War College, Carlyle, 1999
  31. Iraq and the War of the Sanctions: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Praeger, New York, 1999.
  32. Iran in Transition: Conventional Threats and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Praeger, New York, 1999
  33. Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the UAE: Challenges of Security, Westview, Boulder, 1997
  34. Kuwait: Recovery and Security After the Gulf War, Westview, Boulder, 1997
  35. Saudi Arabia: Guarding the Desert Kingdom, Westview, Boulder, 1997
  36. US Forces in the Middle East: Resources and Capabilities, Westview, Boulder, 1997
  37. Iran: Dilemmas of Dual Containment, with Ahmed Hashim, Westview, Boulder, 1997
  38. Iraq: Sanctions and Beyond, with Ahmed Hashim, Westview, Boulder, 1997
  39. Perilous Prospects: The Peace Process and Arab-Israeli Balance, Westview, Boulder, 1996
  40. The Lessons of Modern War: Volume Four - The Gulf War, with Abraham R. Wagner, Westview, Boulder, 1995
  41. Iran and Iraq: The Threat from the Northern Gulf, Westview, Boulder, 1994
  42. US Defense Policy: Resources and Capabilities, London, RUSI Whitehall Series, 1993
  43. After the Storm: The Changing Military Balance in the Middle East, Boulder, Westview, 1993
  44. Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East, Brassey’s, London, 1991
  45. The Lessons of Modern War: Volume One - The Arab-Israeli Conflicts, with Abraham R. Wagner, Westview, Boulder, 1990.
  46. The Lessons of Modern War: Volume Two - The Iran-Iraq Conflict, with Abraham R. Wagner, Westview, Boulder, 1990.
  47. The Lessons of Modern War: Volume Three - The Afghan and Falklands Conflicts, with Abraham R. Wagner, Westview, Boulder, 1990.
  48. The Gulf and the West, Boulder, Westview, 1988
  49. NATO Central Region Forces, RUSI/Jane’s, London, 1987
  50. The Iran-Iraq War and Western Security, 1984-1987, RUSI/Jane’s, London, 1987
  51. The Arab-Israeli Balance and the Art of Operations, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)/ University Press of America, Washington, D.C., 1986
  52. Western Strategic Interests and Saudi Arabia, Croom Helm, London, 1986
  53. The Gulf and the Search for Strategic Stability, Westview, Boulder, 1984
  54. Jordanian Arms and the Middle East Balance, Middle East Institute, Washington, 1983
  55. Deterrence in the 1980s, Extended Adelphi Paper, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1982
  56. Imbalance of Power, Shifting U.S.-Soviet Military Strengths, with John M. Collins, Presidio, Monterey, 1978

[edit] External links