home > about cfr > leadership and staff > thomas r. pickering
Vice Chairman, Hills & Company
Ambassador Pickering is vice chairman of Hills & Company, an international consulting firm providing advice to U.S. businesses on investment, trade, and risk assessment issues abroad, particularly in emerging market economies. He retired in 2006 as senior vice president international relations for Boeing. He has had a career spanning five decades as a U.S. diplomat, serving as under secretary of state for political affairs, ambassador to the United Nations, ambassador to Russia, India, Israel, Nigeria, Jordan and El Salvador. He also served on assignments in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He holds the personal rank of Career Ambassador, the highest in the U.S. Foreign Service. He has held numerous other positions at the State Department, including executive secretary and special assistant to Secretaries Rogers and Kissinger and assistant secretary for the bureau of oceans, environmental and scientific affairs. He is based in Washington, DC.
January 5, 2009
Audio
Listen to experts review the findings of the recent report from the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Stimson Center, "A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future: Fixing the Crisis in Diplomatic Readiness," including recommendations to increase personnel and foreign aid.
See more in Diplomacy, U.S. Strategy and Politics
September/October 2008
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
The UN must streamline its decision making process so it can start backing up its lofty words with action.
See more in International Organizations
April 18, 2008
Transcript
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September 19, 2007
Transcript
A conversation with Stephen J. Hadley, assistant to the president for national security affairs.
See more in United States, National Security and Defense
September 17, 2007
Audio
Listen to Stephen J. Hadley, assistant to the president for national security affairs, discuss the security situation in Iraq and the broader U.S. agenda in the Middle East.
See more in United States, Middle East, U.S. Strategy and Politics
January 30, 2007
Transcript
Short Description: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) discusses Iraq and his recent trip to Syria.
See more in Iraq, Syria, U.S. Strategy and Politics
March 2, 2006
Transcript
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says that, while he doesn't expect Hamas to change overnight, there is hope for the Middle East peace process if Israel can negotiate with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority
March 2, 2006
Audio
Listen to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter discuss the prospects for the Middle East peace process.
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority
March 2, 2006
Video
Watch former U.S. President Jimmy Carter discuss the prospects for the Middle East peace process.
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March 2004
Task Force Report No. 43C
Task Force Report
Written a year after U.S. and coalition forces went to war with Iraq, a time when American officials faced questions about U.S. staying power, this timely report strongly urges President Bush and senior members of Congress to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Iraq.
See more in Iraq
September 9, 2003
Transcript
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June 2003
Task Force Report No. 43B
Task Force Report
With mounting costs to American lives and treasure in Iraq, and success there so clearly tied to American staying power and the coherence of U.S. strategy, the Bush administration must sharpen and deepen its commitment to making Iraq a better and safer place. As a first step, the authors argue that the president should set the direction for his administration by making a major foreign policy address to the nation, explaining the importance of seeing the task through, as well as the costs and risks of U.S. engagement in postwar Iraq.
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March 2003
Task Force Report No. 43
Task Force Report
Written before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, this report accurately predicted that winning the peace in Iraq would be a far greater challenge than winning the war. The report says that this challenge falls largely on President Bush, who must make clear to the world that the United States is prepared to stay the course for the multibillion-dollar, multiyear commitment of U.S. troops, civilian personnel, and other resources that will be needed to achieve a lasting peace.
See more in Iraq
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