Anthony Cordesman

Anthony Cordesman

Anthony Huff Cordesman (born 2 August 1938) is an American strategic analyst at the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) specialising in ‘defence’ and the Middle East. He regular appears as a commentator in the US media and is a national security analyst for ABC News.

Biography

Education

BA, University of Chicago, 1960

MA, Fletcher School, Medford, Massachusetts, 1961

PhD, Hull University, London University, London, 1963

Career

Director of intelligence analysis, Department of Defense, Washington, 1971-73.

Assistant to, Deputy Security of Defense, Washington, 1973 - 76.

Director policy, planning, analysis, Department of Energy, Washington, 1976 - 80.

President, Green Falcon, Ltd., Washington, 1980 - 83.

Washington v.p., Eaton Analytical Assessments Corp., Arlington, Va., 1983 - 88.

nat. security advisor to Sen. John McCain, Washington, 1988 - .

Washington bureau chief Armed Forces, London, 1985-.

associate professor Georgetown University, Washington, 1983-;

Profile from CSIS

Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS. He is also 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. During his time at CSIS, he has been director of the Gulf Net Assessment Project and the Gulf in Transition Study and principle investigator of the Homeland Defense Project. He also directed the Middle East Net Assessment Project and was codirector of the Strategic Energy Initiative. He has led studies on the Iraq War, Afghan conflict, armed nation building and counterinsurgency, national missile defense, asymmetric warfare and weapons of mass destruction, global energy supply, and critical infrastructure protection. He is the author of a wide range of reports on U.S. security policy, energy policy, and Middle East policy, which can be downloaded from the Burke Chair section of the CSIS Web site (www.csis.org/burke/). Cordesman formerly served as national security assistant to Senator John McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as director of intelligence assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as civilian assistant to the deputy secretary of defense. In 1974, he directed the analysis of the lessons of the October War for the secretary of defense, coordinating U.S. military, intelligence, and civilian analysis of the conflict. He has also served in other government positions, including at the Department of State, Department of Energy, and NATO International Staff. He has had numerous foreign assignments, including postings in Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran, and he has worked extensively in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf.

Case studies

Cordesman first gained notoriety when he published a report for CSIS entitled Peace and War: Israel versus the Palestinians: A Second Intifada, which openly recommended the use of torture and repression against Palestinians.

Passages from Cordesman’s Iraqi Security Forces appeared to have been cut and pasted from an article by Michael Rubin from the Turkish Policy Quarterly. Rubin reviewed Iraqi Security Forces in the Middle Eastern Quarterly writing that: “Sloppiness with sources and citations is a problem. On page 3, for example, he reproduces practically verbatim and without citation several paragraphs of an article this reviewer published in 2005. Although Cordesman does not intentionally plagiarize, this incident does suggest inattention and an over-reliance on careless research assistants.”

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

Affiliations

Organisations

• Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy
• Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, member
• International Institute for Strategic Studies, member
• Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
• Georgetown University, former adjunct professor of national security studies

Contact information

Tel: (202) 775-7325

Email: amausner@csis.org