Eric S. Edelman

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Eric S. Edelman is the current Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003-2005), former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998-2001), and former Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001-2003).

A career Foreign Service Officer, Edelman entered the Senior Foreign Service in 1992. He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense’s award for Distinguished Civilian Service (1993) and the State Department’s Superior Honor Award (1990 and 1996).

Contents

[edit] Education

Edelman received a B.A. in History and Government from Cornell University in 1972, and a Ph.D. in U.S. Diplomatic History from Yale University in 1981.

[edit] U.S. Government service

  • Edelman was appointed to the position of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy on August 9, 2005, by recess appointment by George W. Bush, after his nomination was stalled in the Senate. Edelman replaced Douglas Feith, who had resigned. The appointment, set to expire in January 2007 when a new Congress convened,[1] was confirmed by the Senate on February 9, 2006.[2] [3] Edelman has never served in the U.S. military.[citation needed]
  • Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey (July 2003-June 2005): Edelman served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey after the second Iraq invasion, during which anti-American tensions within Turkey were high. According to Ibrahim Karagul, a columninst with the Turkish Weekly, "Edelman act(ed) more like a colonial governor than an ambassador... (He) is probably the least-liked and trusted American ambassador in Turkish history, and his reputation is not likely to recuperate." [4]
  • Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (February 2001-July 2003) — a member of Dick Cheney's staff
  • Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998-2001)
  • Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State (June 1996-July 1998)
  • Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Prague, Czech Republic (June 1994-June 1996)
  • Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State on the New Independent States (April 1993-July 1993)
  • Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Soviet and East European Affairs (April 1990-April 1993)
  • Special Assistant to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (April 1989-April 1990)
  • Head of External Political Section at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow (1987-1989)
  • Director of Soviet Policies at the Office of Soviet Affairs at the Department of State (1984-1986)
  • Special Assistant to Secretary of State George P. Shultz (1982-1984)
  • Staff Officer on the Secretariat Staff (1982)
  • Watch Officer in the State Department Operations Center (1981-1982)
  • Member of the U.S. Middle East Delegation to the West Bank/Gaza Autonomy Talks Delegations (1980-1981)

[edit] Criticism of Senator Hillary Clinton

In July 2007, Edelman attracted media attention for criticizing Senator Hillary Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.[5] In a private letter to Senator Clinton in response to a request made to the Pentagon in May 2007 for an outline plans for withdrawing troops from combat in Iraq, Edelman rebuffed her request and wrote:[6][7]

"Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia."

The Associated Press (AP) described his criticisms as "stinging".[5] According to the Associated Press, Edelman's comments were: “...unusual, particularly because it was directed at a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.”[5] The Associated Press pointed out that fellow committee member Republican Senator Richard Lugar had also called for discussions of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, but had escaped Edelman's criticism. Clinton has said she is "shocked by the timeworn tactic of once again impugning the patriotism of any of us who raise serious questions about the Iraq war."[8] In a letter to Secretary of Defense Gates, Senator Clinton reiterated her request for plans on troop redeployment and protested Edelman's criticism and asked if Edelman's letter accuratedly reflected Gates' views as Secretary of Defense.[9] In reference to Clinton's comments, Secretary of Defense Gates has said "I believe that congressional debate on Iraq has been constructive and appropriate."[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bush Names Edelman to No. 3 Defense Post, Bypassing U.S. Senate. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
  2. ^ Presidential Nomination: Eric Steven Edelman. The White House. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
  3. ^ Miles, Donna. "Senate Confirms Edelman to Top Policy Post", DefenseLink, U.S. Department of Defense, February 10, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. 
  4. ^ Karagul, Ibrahim (March 18, 2005). A Few Notes On President's Visit to Syria and Edelman. Turkish Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
  5. ^ a b c "Pentagon Aide Says Clinton Helps Enemy", New York Times, July 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. 
  6. ^ Phillips, Kate. "Clinton Criticizes Defense Dept. for Reply to Her Iraq Request", New York Times, July 21, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. 
  7. ^ Associated Press. "Clinton hits back at Pentagon official", USA Today, July 20, 2007. 
  8. ^ a b Barrett, Devlin. "Clinton hits back at Pentagon official", Yahoo! News, July 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  9. ^ Clinton, Hilary Rodham (July 19, 2007). Letter to Secretary of Defense Gates (pdf). Retrieved on 2007-07-21.

[edit] External links

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Senior Officials in the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense Seal
Preceded by
Douglas Feith		 United States Department of Defense
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
2005-present		 Succeeded by
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