home > the cfr think tank > experts > steven simon
Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Contact Info:
Phone: +1.202.509.8437
E-mail: ssimon@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 466K)
One-page bio (PDF, 53K)
Award-winning coauthor of The Age of Sacred Terror and The Next Attack. Former director for global issues and senior director for transnational threats at the National Security Council. Current work examines the consequences of the American intervention in Iraq, Muslim/non-Muslim relations, and the role of religion in U.S. foreign policy.
Expertise:U.S. security policy in the Middle East and South Asia; Middle East politics; Palestinian-Israeli relations; transatlantic approaches to Islamic activism; terrorism and counterterrorism; intelligence reform.
Experience:Senior Analyst, Middle East and Terrorism, Rand (2003 - 2006); Adjunct Professor of Middle East Security Studies, Georgetown University (2005 - present); Deputy Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Carol Dean Senior Fellow in U.S. Security Studies, International Institute for Strategic Studies (1999 - 2003); Director for Global Issues and Senior Director for Transnational Threats, National Security Council (1994 - 1999).
Selected Publications:In Their Own Words (Washington Post Book World, October 2007); After the Surge: The Case for U.S. Military Disengagement from Iraq (Council on Foreign Relations, 2007) The Next Attack (Henry Holt, 2005); Building a Successful Palestinian State (coauthor, Rand Corporation, 2005); The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State (coauthor, Rand Corporation, 2005); Iraq at the Crossroads: State and Society in the Shadow of Regime Change (coeditor, Oxford University Press/IISS 2003); The Age of Sacred Terror (Random House, 2002).
Current Research Projects
Past Research Project
January 6, 2010
Interview
President Obama says "systemic failures" contributed to the Christmas Day airliner plot, but CFR's Steven Simon says given the huge volume of intelligence analyzed daily, reforms won't come easily.
See more in United States, Yemen, Intelligence, Terrorism
January 4, 2010
Audio
Listen to CFR fellows Edward Alden and Steven Simon discuss the U.S. response to the Christmas Day bombing plot, including tighter travel restrictions enacted for citizens of 14 countries.
See more in Defense/Homeland Security, Terrorism, U.S. Strategy and Politics
January 4, 2010
Transcript
CFR fellows, Edward Alden and Steven Simon, discuss the Christmas day bomb plot and the U.S. government's response to terror threats.
See more in United States, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, Terrorist Attacks
November 18, New York.
Transcript
Speakers discuss the decision by the Obama administration to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed-- the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and self-confessed organizer behind numerous other terrorist plots--and his co-conspirators in federal court in New York City.
See more in United States, Defense/Homeland Security, Terrorism and the Law
November 18, 2009
Audio
Listen to John B. Bellinger III, Steven Simon, and Lydia Khalil consider the ramifications of the Justice department's controversial decision to proscute suspected September 11th mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, and his four alleged co-conspirators.
See more in International Crime, Terrorist Leaders, Terrorist Attacks, Terrorism and the Law
November 17, 2009
Op-Ed
New York Times
Steve Simon writes in favor of trying Khalid Shaikh Mohammed--the self proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks--in a federal court in New York City and refutes the many criticisms of this option.
See more in Terrorist Leaders, Terrorism and the Law, Information Warfare
November 3, 2009
Op-Ed
Financial Times
"General Stanley McChrystal's plan to pursue counterinsurgency in the countryside is a bridge too far," write Steve Simon and Charles Kupchan, arguing, instead, that Afghanistan policy should be focused on establishing control in strategic locations.
See more in Afghanistan, Wars and Warfare, Conflict Assessment, U.S. Strategy and Politics
November 2009
Other Report
Israel would regard any expansion of nuclear weapons capability within its region as an intolerable threat to its survival, and as such regards Iran’s developing nuclear program with concern, in turn causing speculation that the Israeli government may choose to attack Iran’s nuclear installations. This Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum assesses the likelihood of an Israeli strike on Iran, the policy options available to diminish that likelihood, the implications should it take place, and measures that can be taken to mitigate the consequences should it occur.
See more in Iran, Israel, Wars and Warfare
August 10, 2009
Interview
CFR's Steven Simon says President Obama has asserted a new counterterrorism approach that balances aggressiveness on some fronts with a milder set of interrogation and detention policies.
See more in Afghanistan, Counterterrorism
July 13, 2009
Op-Ed
New York Times
Steven Simon discusses the investigation into twenty Americans who are believed to have joined a militant Islamist group in Somalia.
See more in Somalia, United States, Havens for Terrorism
July/August 2009
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
Two new books offer insightful analyses of how to succeed in Afghanistan.
See more in Afghanistan, Wars and Warfare
February 2, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Steven Simon reviews Patrick Tyler's new book "A World of Trouble:The White House and the Middle East -- From the Cold War to the War on Terror" for the Washington Post.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics
September 8, 2008
Transcript
A discussion of how to proceed in Iraq, and what the following steps within that country should be.
See more in Iraq, Democracy and Human Rights, Economics, Society and Culture, U.S. Strategy and Politics
September 8, 2008
Video
With violence down and U.S. troop deaths at their lowest point since the Iraq war began, military analysts are in near-agreement that Iraq is more secure today. But CFR's Stephen Biddle and Steven Simon disagree on how to ensure stability continues. They discuss their views during this inaugural Foreign Affairs Live debate.
See more in Iraq, Defense Strategy, U.S. Strategy and Politics
September 8, 2008
Audio
With violence down and U.S. troop deaths at their lowest point since the Iraq war began, military analysts are in near-agreement that Iraq is more secure today. But CFR's Stephen Biddle and Steven Simon disagree on how to ensure stability continues. They discuss their views during this inaugural Foreign Affairs Live debate.
See more in Iraq, National Security and Defense, Conflict Assessment
July 15, 2008
Op-Ed
International Herald Tribune
The events of the past eight years have brought the Middle East to a precipice, write Richard Clarke, Steve Simon, and Ray Takeyh. To deal with this situation, America will need a president of intellectual independence, strategic flexibility and considerable political imagination.
See more in Middle East, International Peace and Security
Updated: May 9, 2008
Online Debate
Two CFR experts on the war, Max Boot, senior fellow for national security studies, and Steven Simon, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies, debate whether the surge has put Iraq on the path to success.
See more in Iraq, Defense/Homeland Security, Wars and Warfare
April 23, 2008
Transcript
See more in United States, Europe/Russia, Middle East
April 23, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the U.S. and European approaches to dealing with challenges in the broader Middle East.
This symposium was made possible by the generosity of the European Commission and the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
See more in United States, Europe/Russia, Middle East
May/June 2008
Podcast
This audio includes readings of selected articles from the May/June 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs.
See more in United States
Explore the past, present, and future of nuclear energy with this new online interactive.
Explore the international oceans regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Bronwyn E. Bruton takes on one of today's most vexing foreign policy challenges, offering concise analysis and thoughtful recommendations grounded in a realistic assessment of U.S. and international interests and capabilities in Somalia.
James M. Goldgeier takes a sober look at what NATO and its members must do to maintain the alliance's relevance in the face of today's strategic environment.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
In Paradise Beneath Her Feet, Isobel Coleman shows how Muslim women and men are fighting back with progressive interpretations of Islam to support women's rights in a growing movement of Islamic feminism.
In this compelling book, Charles A. Kupchan explores how adversaries can transform enmity into amity, and exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace.
With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine Israel's adversity-driven culture to offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
