Armand Cucciniello

Last updated
Armand Cucciniello
BornDecember 7, 1979
NationalityAmerican
Education Boston University (B.A.)
Syracuse University (M.A.)
Occupation(s)Writer, former diplomat

Armand V. Cucciniello III (born December 7, 1979) is a former American diplomat, [1] news reporter, military advisor, political commentator, and public relations executive. [2] Cucciniello was formerly spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. [3]

Contents

Education

Cucciniello is a graduate of Boston University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002. He later earned an M.A. from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. [2] Cucciniello is also a graduate of the National War College at National Defense University, where he concentrated in Cyber Studies and Influence Warfare. [4]

Career

In 2006, Cucciniello moved to Baghdad, Iraq to work for Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I). Shortly after, he was hired by the U.S. Department of State to work in the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. embassy, located in the former Republican Palace (Arabic: القصر الجمهوري al-Qaṣr al-Ǧumhūriy) of Saddam Hussein. [2] As such, Cucciniello was made a non-career U.S. diplomat [2] and became a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy until 2010. [5] He subsequently served in Islamabad, Pakistan, and later worked for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea in South Korea. [6] Cucciniello was vice president of Blue Force Communications, a public relations agency with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Writing

In a 2016 article for USA Today , Cucciniello was the first person to describe then-U.S. presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's foreign policy as "America First," a moniker subsequently used by New York Times reporters David E. Sanger and Maggie Haberman in their interview with Trump who, "agreed with a suggestion that his ideas might be summed up as 'America First'." [7] The phrase became a cornerstone of Trump's campaign platform, and later that of the Trump Administration. [8] After Rex Tillerson was announced as Trump's nominee for United States Secretary of State, Cucciniello argued that Tillerson could perform well in the role given his depth of business experience. [9] While a student at National Defense University, Cucciniello wrote about and published essays on state-sponsored Chinese influence [10] and Russian propaganda.

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References

  1. ↑ Kowarski, Ilana (February 4, 2021). "How to Become a U.S. Diplomat". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rothman, Evan. "Our Man in Iraq". New Jersey Monthly . Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  3. ↑ "U.S. State Dept helicopter crashes in Iraq, two dead". Reuters. 2009-07-18. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  4. ↑ "National Defense University: 2022 Graduation Program" (PDF). National Defense University. June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Iraqi Lawmaker Faces Prosecution For Visiting Israel, Advocating Peace". The Huffington Post. 2008-10-22. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
  6. ↑ "Reaction to Al-Maliki". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  7. ↑ "Transcript: Donald Trump Expounds on His Foreign Policy Views". The New York Times. 2016-03-26. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  8. ↑ Cucciniello III, Armand V. "Don't dismiss Trump on foreign policy: Column". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  9. ↑ Cucciniello, Armand. "Tillerson could shine as secretary of State". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  10. ↑ "Academics vs. Aliens". ndupress.ndu.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
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