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Douglas Alan Silliman (born 1960) is the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a former American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Kuwait (2014-16) and Iraq (2016-19).
Silliman was born in Castro Valley, California. At age 11, his family moved to the Houston, Texas area, where Silliman attended high school. He graduated summa cum laude from Baylor University in 1982, [1] with a bachelor's degree in political science and foreign service, and he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He studied Russian and traveled as part of a university group to Central Asia and the Caucasus. Silliman then went on to earn a master's degree in international relations from the George Washington University. His graduate thesis covered the concept and execution of Soviet city planning. [2]
Silliman joined the State Department as a Foreign Service officer in April 1984. [3]
Following his Senate confirmation, [4] Silliman arrived as ambassador to Kuwait on September 15, 2014. As ambassador, he led U.S. efforts to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait and expand trade and investment between the United States and Kuwait.
Obama then nominated Silliman ambassador to Iraq. He was confirmed by the Senate [5] in July 2016 and arrived in Baghdad on September 1, 2016. He worked closely with the U.S. military’s Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, the international coalition to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and the Iraqi military to coordinate the prosecution of the war against ISIL. [6] Silliman also played a prominent role with the United Nations and other Western donors to provide humanitarian assistance [7] to Iraqis displaced by war and assure demining and stabilization efforts [8] so that displaced Iraqis could return to their homes. After ISIL was pushed out of Iraq, he played a crucial role in implementing the policy the administration of President Donald J. Trump of focusing assistance on the Yazidi and Christian communities [9] that had been targeted by ISIL, aiming to limit Iranian activities [10] in the region, defeat ISIL in Syria, [11] and help U.S. companies conduct business [12] in Iraq. He received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from President Trump in 2018 for his service in Iraq. Silliman departed Baghdad in January 2019 and retired from the Foreign Service that April.
In June 2019, Silliman was named president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, a D.C.-based research institution focused on the Gulf Arab state and key neighboring countries. Following the January 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassim Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad International Airport, Silliman was a frequent commentator on domestic and international media [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] where he argued for de-escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran and a clearer articulation of U.S. foreign policy goals in the region.
Silliman married Catherine Raia Silliman in 1990, and they have two adult children. He currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
Ryan Clark Crocker is a retired American diplomat who served as a career ambassador within the United States Foreign Service. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he served as United States ambassador to Afghanistan (2011–2012), Iraq (2007–2009), Pakistan (2004–2007), Syria (1998–2001), Kuwait (1994–1997), and Lebanon (1990–1993). In January 2010, he became dean of Texas A&M University's George Bush School of Government and Public Service.
April Catherine Glaspie is an American former diplomat and senior member of the Foreign Service, best known for her role in the events leading up to the Gulf War.
James Franklin Jeffrey is an American diplomat who served most recently as the United States Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the International military intervention against ISIL.
David Michael Satterfield is an American diplomat and ambassador, who has served extensively in the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf area, Lebanon, and Iraq. He later served as a senior advisor on Iraq for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and was director general of the Multinational Force and Observers, the peacekeeping force for the Sinai Peninsula from June 2009 until August 2017. He was chargé d'affaires to Egypt from August 2013 to January 2014 and was subsequently Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Libya. From September 2017 to June 2019 he served as the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, and was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Turkey on June 27, 2019.
The Embassy of the United States of America in Baghdad is the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in the Republic of Iraq. Ambassador Alina Romanowski is currently the chief of mission.
Wilson Nathaniel "Nat" Howell was an American diplomat and educator. He served as the United States Ambassador to Kuwait from 1987 to 1991.
Kuwait is a designated major non-NATO ally of the United States.
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East.
Diplomatic relations between Iraq and the United States began when the U.S. first recognized Iraq on January 9, 1930, with the signing of the Anglo-American-Iraqi Convention in London by Charles G. Dawes, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. The historiography of Iraq—United States relations prior to the 1980s is considered relatively underdeveloped, with the first in-depth academic studies being published in the 2010s. Today, the United States and Iraq both consider themselves as strategic partners, given the American political and military involvement after the invasion of Iraq and their mutual, deep-rooted relationship that followed. The United States provides the Iraqi security forces hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid and training annually as well as uses its military bases.
Iraq–Saudi relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between the Republic of Iraq and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both sovereign states share the Iraq–Saudi Arabia border.
Kuwait–Russia relations is the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Kuwait and Russia.
David Duane Pearce is an American diplomat who served from 2013 to 2016 as the U.S. Ambassador to Greece. He also served as the United States Ambassador to Algeria, 2008–11 and as the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem from 2003-2005. He was the Assistant Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2011-2012; and served as the Acting United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia from 2012-2013.
Brazil–Iraq relations are the foreign relations between Brazil and Iraq. Brazil maintains an embassy in Baghdad and Iraq maintains an embassy in Brasília. Both countries are full members of the Group of 77.
Iraqi-Emirati relations are foreign relations between the Republic of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Iraq has an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulates general in Dubai, while the United Arab Emirates has an embassy in Baghdad.
Matthew Heywood Tueller is an American diplomat who formerly served as the United States Ambassador to Iraq. A career United States Foreign Service officer, he served as the United States Ambassador to Kuwait and Yemen as well.
Brett H. McGurk is an American diplomat, attorney, and academic who served in senior national security positions under presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. He currently serves as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.
Barbara A. Leaf is a U.S. diplomat serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs since May 2022. As former Senior Foreign Service officer, she served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2015 to 2018.
Joey R. Hood is an American diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Tunisia.
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