Colin Luther Powell was an American statesman,diplomat,and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th national security advisor from 1987 to 1989,and the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.
Donald Henry Rumsfeld was an American politician,government official and businessman who served as secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford,and again from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He was both the youngest and the oldest secretary of defense. Additionally,Rumsfeld was a four-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1963–1969),director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1969–1970),counselor to the president (1969–1973),the U.S. Representative to NATO (1973–1974),and the White House Chief of Staff (1974–1975). Between his terms as secretary of defense,he served as the CEO and chairman of several companies.
The Iran–Contra affair,also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal,the Iran Initiative,or simply Iran–Contra,was a political scandal in the United States that centered around the revelation that senior officials in the Ronald Reagan administration secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran between 1981 and 1986. As Iran was subject to an arms embargo at the time,the sale of arms was deemed illegal. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras,an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendment,further funding of the Contras by legislative appropriations was prohibited by Congress,but the Reagan administration figured out a loophole by secretively using non-appropriated funds instead.
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservative think tank based in Washington,D.C.,that focused on United States foreign policy. It was established as a non-profit educational organization in 1997,and founded by William Kristol and Robert Kagan. PNAC's stated goal was "to promote American global leadership". The organization stated that "American leadership is good both for America and for the world",and sought to build support for "a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity".
James Addison Baker III is an American attorney,diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan and the 61st U.S. secretary of state before returning as the 16th White House chief of staff under President George H. W. Bush.
Charles Timothy Hagel is an American military veteran and former politician who served as the 24th United States secretary of defense from 2013 to 2015 in the administration of Barack Obama. He previously served as chairman of the president's Intelligence Advisory Board from 2009 to 2013 and as a United States senator representing Nebraska from 1997 to 2009.
Brent Scowcroft was a United States Air Force officer who was a two-time United States National Security Advisor,first under U.S. President Gerald Ford and then under George H. W. Bush. He served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005,and advised President Barack Obama on choosing his national security team.
Richard Alan Clarke is an American national security expert,novelist,and former government official. He served as the Counterterrorism Czar for the National Coordinator for Security,Infrastructure Protection,and Counter-Terrorism for the United States between 1998 and 2003.
Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change (DMCC) was an ad hoc organization of 27 retired and United States military officers and Foreign Service Officers who supported Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts against incumbent Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election.
Eliot Asher Cohen is an American political scientist. He was a counselor in the United States Department of State under Condoleezza Rice from 2007 to 2009. In 2019,Cohen was named the 9th Dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University,succeeding Vali Nasr. Before his time as dean,he directed the Strategic Studies Program at SAIS. Cohen "is one of the few teachers in the American academy to treat military history as a serious field",according to international law scholar Ruth Wedgwood. Cohen is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He is also,with Eric Edelman,a co-host of the Shield of the Republic podcast,published by The Bulwark.
Robert G. Joseph is a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy. He was the United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation,with ambassadorial rank. Prior to this post,Joseph was the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security,a position he held until January 24,2007. Joseph is known for being instrumental in creating the Proliferation Security Initiative and as the architect of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. He was also the US chief negotiator to Libya in 2003 who convinced the Libyans to give up their WMD programs. He also recently authored a book describing his experience in negotiating with Libya entitled "Countering WMD."
Hon. Carl W. Ford,Jr. is an American political scientist,consultant,defense administrator,and Asian specialist originally from Hot Springs,Arkansas. As Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research,he headed the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) in the State Department from 2001 until 2003. He reported directly to then Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equipment standardization,to plan and conduct special operations exercises and training,to develop joint special operations tactics,and to execute special operations missions worldwide. It was established in 1980 on recommendation of Colonel Charlie Beckwith,in the aftermath of the failure of Operation Eagle Claw. It is headquartered at Pope Field.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Edward Lute is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and public servant who served as the United States permanent representative to NATO from 2013 to 2017. He was nominated for the post by President Obama on May 23,2013,confirmed by the Senate on August 1,2013 via voice vote,and assumed his position on September 3,2013.
The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency,Arms Control and Disarmament Agency,and USAID. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.
Stanley Allen McChrystal is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 during which his organization was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. His final assignment was as Commander,International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander,United States Forces –Afghanistan (USFOR-A). He previously served as Director,Joint Staff from August 2008 to June 2009. McChrystal received criticism for his alleged role in the cover-up of the Pat Tillman friendly fire incident. McChrystal was reportedly known for saying what other military leaders were thinking but were afraid to say;this was one of the reasons cited for his appointment to lead all forces in Afghanistan. He held the post from June 15,2009,to June 23,2010.
John F. Kirby is a retired United States Navy rear admiral serving as White House National Security Communications Advisor since 2022. He previously served in the Biden administration as Pentagon Press Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs from 2021 to 2022. He worked as a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN from 2017 to 2021. He served in the Obama administration as Pentagon Press Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 2015 to 2017.
George H. W. Bush,whose term as president lasted from 1989 until 1993,had extensive experience with the United States foreign policy. Unlike his predecessor,Ronald Reagan,he downplayed vision and emphasized caution and careful management. He had quietly disagreed with many of Reagan's foreign policy decisions and tried to build his own policies. His main foreign policy advisors were Secretaries of State James Baker,a longtime friend,and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. Key geopolitical events that occurred during Bush's presidency were:
The following is a timeline of the presidency of George H. W. Bush,from January 1,1991 to December 31,1991.
The Helsinki Summit was a private,bilateral meeting between American President George H. W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that took place in Helsinki,Finland on September 9,1990. Due to the vested interests of both the Soviet Union and the United States in the Gulf Crisis' resolution,August 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was the primary topic of discussion for the leaders during the Helsinki Summit. The concerted efforts at easing American-Soviet tensions in the aftermath of the Cold War was another prominent topic,among other notable current events. At the summit's conclusion,Presidents Bush and Gorbachev produced a document of joint statements that illuminated the areas in which the leaders had committed to aligning their foreign policy goals. The summit was followed by a press conference wherein members of the media questioned Presidents Bush and Gorbachev about the content of their meeting and the justifications for their joint statements.
