home > the cfr think tank > experts > elliott abrams
Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Contact Info:
Phone: +1.202.509.8472
E-mail: estein@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 619K)
One-page bio (PDF, 56K)
Former senior director for democracy and human rights, senior director for the Near East, and deputy national security adviser handling Middle East affairs in the George W. Bush administration. Former assistant secretary of state for UN affairs, human rights, and Latin America in the Reagan administration.
Expertise:U.S. policy in the Middle East, Israel-Palestinian affairs, democracy promotion, human rights policy, U.S. foreign policy.
Experience:Assistant Counsel, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 1975; Special Counsel to Sen. Henry M. Jackson, 1975-1976; Special Counsel, then Chief of Staff to Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, 1977-1979; Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, 1981; Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, 1981-1985; Assistant Secretary of State for Inter- American Affairs, 1985-1989; Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, 1989-1996; President, Ethics & Public Policy Center, 1996-2001; Member, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 1999-2001, Chairman, 2000-2001; Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Organizations, 2001-2002; Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council for Near East and North African Affairs, 2002-2005; Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy, 2005-2009; Member, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, 2009-present.
Languages:French (fluent), Spanish (fluent).
Selected Publications:Author: Undue Process (1993), Security and Sacrifice (1995), and Faith or Fear: How Jews Can Survive in a Christian America (1997); editor: Close Calls: Intervention, Terrorism, Missile Defense and "Just War” Today; Honor Among Nations: Intangible Interests and Foreign Policy; and The Influence of Faith: Religion and American Foreign Policy.
Related Links:
"Obama’s Human Rights Disaster" (interview; FrontPage Magazine; August 25 2009)
"Can Diplomacy Alone Block Iran's Nuclear Goals?" (debate with Senator John Kerry; U.S. News and World Report; April 21, 2009)
Miller Center of Public Affairs Debate: Curbing Iran's Nuclear Ambitions (video; March 25, 2009)
"I was the resident skeptic." (interview; Jerusalem Post, February 13, 2009)
Current Research Projects
October 12, 2009
Op-Ed
Weekly Standard
Elliot Abrams questions the Obama administration's "disastrous" foreign policy choices in regards to Iran.
See more in Iran, Democracy and Human Rights, Diplomacy
September 8, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Elliot Abrams counteracts arguments that portray life among the Palestinians as unbearable and getting worse.
See more in Middle East, Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
August 26, 2009
Op-Ed
National Review
Elliott Abrams observes that in the current human rights debate, "Hillary Clinton mouths an old Communist bromide."
See more in Democracy and Human Rights, U.S. Strategy and Politics
August 19, 2009
Op-Ed
Weekly Standard
Elliott Abrams argues that support for democracy and human rights should be present in U.S. foreign policy toward Egypt.
See more in South Korea, Egypt, Human Rights, U.S. Strategy and Politics
August 1, 2009
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Elliott Abrams comments, "The [Obama] administration views the Israeli-Palestinian issue as the root of all problems, while Israel is focused on Iran's nuclear threat."
See more in United States, Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics
July 20, 2009
Op-Ed
National Review
Elliott Abrams argues that the Palestinians will lose on a ‘settlement freeze' too.
See more in Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 25, 2009
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Elliott Abrams argues that the Obama administration is not acknowledging prior understandings about settlements in the West Bank.
See more in Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 14, 2009
Op-Ed
Weekly Standard
Elliott Abrams argues, "In Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech today he took one major step toward the Obama administration, by endorsing a Palestinian state. In every other way, he resisted President Obama's pressure."
See more in Middle East, Israel, Palestinian Authority, National Security and Defense, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 11, 2009
Op-Ed
New York Times
Elliott Abrams argues that Lebanon's recent elections can be considered "free," while Iran's elections should not.
See more in Iran, Lebanon, Democracy Promotion
June 1, 2009
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Elliott Abrams suggests that President Obama's speech in Cairo should focus on "freedom and the future."
See more in Middle East, Egypt, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Presidency
May 14, 2009
Transcript
A Council on Foreign Relations media conference call on strategic relations between the U.S. and Middle Eastern nations.
See more in Middle East, Diplomacy
May 9, 2009
Op-Ed
Wall Street Journal
Elliott Abrams discusses the upcoming meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
See more in Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 2009
Op-Ed
Commentary
Elliott Abrams reviews The Persian Night by Amir Taheri, in Commentary.
April 24, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Times
Elliott Abrams argues that Congress should approve the United States' 123 Agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
See more in United States, Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics
April 8, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Elliott Abrams argues that calls for a freeze on settlement activity beyond the Israeli border are counterproductive to laying the foundation for a future Palestinian entity.
See more in Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 6, 2009
Interview
Elliott Abrams, former chief Middle East adviser on the National Security Council, says the Obama administration's move to send diplomats to Damascus for talks marks "a real policy change" but he is doubtful it will amount to much.
See more in Israel, Syria, International Peace and Security
March 2, 2009
Op-Ed
Weekly Standard
Elliott Abrams argues, "we are not on the verge of Israeli-Palestinian peace; a Palestinian state cannot come into being in the near future; and the focus should be on building the institutions that will allow for real Palestinian progress in the medium or longer term."
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority, Diplomacy
February 28, 2009
Op-Ed
Daily News
Elliott Abrams writes, "Secretary of State Clinton must reject Hamas "unity government" ploy."
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority, Diplomacy
February 25, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR expert Elliott Abrams discuss U.S. policy in the Middle East, in advance of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to the region.
See more in Middle East
February 25, 2009
Transcript
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's second trip abroad approaches, this time to the Middle East, CFR Senior Fellow Elliot Abrams discusses American priorities in the region, and what to expect on the diplomatic front.
See more in Middle East, Diplomacy
Explore the international finance regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
Identifying international threats and acting on them may be the most difficult job for U.S. policymakers. This report
provides an actionable road map for managing international threats before they erupt into crises and makes a strong case that preventive action is not a luxury but a necessity.
For more than a decade, the United States has mostly watched from the sidelines as Asian countries organize themselves into an alphabet soup of new multilateral groups. In this report, the authors review the relationship between pan-Asian and trans-Pacific institutions and suggest policy guidelines for a new U.S. approach to this new Asian landscape.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion-dollar question: How is it that Israel—a country of 7.1 million, only sixty years old, surrounded by enemies— produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK? With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine this nation’s adversity-driven culture to answer this question and offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
In Forces of Fortune, Vali Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
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
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
